Compass Points - Calling all Captains
Combined arms readiness is key.
Compass Points - Calling all Captains
Combined arms readiness is key.
September 1, 2023
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It will take leadership to move the Marine Corps forward. It always does. For every Marine who has served for nearly any length of time, there is an important leadership role. The high quality of Marine NCO leadership is legendary. Without strong NCO leadership, the Marine Corps could not exist.
At the most senior level, the Marine Corps also, always needs high quality General Officers. Still, among the leadership needs of the Marine Corps there is a special need for leadership from Marine Corp Captains. Marine officers often say that Captain is the perfect rank in the Marine Corps. A Captain has a few years of experience and can fearlessly examine and discuss where the Marine Corps is going in the right direction and where it needs course correction.
The Marine Corps has always needed bold Captains to step up, speak out, and advocate for necessary course corrections. One such bold Captain has written an insightful article for the Marine Corps Gazette, called "Roles & Missions: Time For A Change."
In his article, the author discusses the need for the Marine Corps to be clear on its primary roles and missions for the United States.
While it is often said that the Marine Corps is a combined arms amphibious landing force with an additional role as a combined arms, expeditionary, immediate reaction force, the author argues the opposite is more true. The Marine Corps has been and should always be the Nation's immediate, combined arms, expeditionary, readiness force with an additional role as an amphibious landing force.
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The Marine Corps should be remembered for developing the amphibious concept, but the fact that we are capable of amphibious operations and continue to develop doctrine does not make us unique, nor does it justify our separate existence as a service. We have pursued other important missions throughout our history, all of which point us toward a different uniqueness, and all of which have both deeper traditional roots and more timeliness than our amphibious role . . . .
The Marine Corps, then, has a very definite and important role in the carrying out of United States foreign policy. It is the institution which is at the President’s fingertips, designed from its beginning to answer his call for immediate service anywhere.
Another important traditional role of the Marine Corps has been its participation in extensive land campaigns, as evidenced through our involvement in WWI, Korea, and most recently the Republic of Vietnam. These periods of bitter fighting were not in any way related to the prosecution of a naval campaign, and took place merely because Marine units were ready and needed. Similarly, we have fought insurgents throughout our history.
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The author asks, what is the Nation's fundamental need for the Marine Corps? What is it that the Marine Corps provides to the Nation that is essential?
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The answer, of course, is readiness. While it is realized that all Services must maintain a continual state of readiness in order that the nation remain secure, the unique feature of Marine Corps readiness is its capability of immediate reaction on a tactical level, with only internal coordination necessary to wage a fight. It might even be called “tactical readiness.” We are a package deal, the only Service which sports every tactical branch of combat arms. As such, we require a minimum of coordination in order to perform our mission. It was readiness which put us into Lebanon and the Dominican Republic. It was readiness which prompted MacArthur to ask for us in Korea, and it was again readiness which caused us to be assigned to critical tactical areas in Vietnam. All we require from the Navy or any other Service is the transportation to put us into the fight and the logistical support to keep us there.
The Marine Corps has performed the role of the “shock force” throughout its history. It is the Service which always has provided the initial reaction in any disturbance critical to the national interest.
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As the young Captain makes clear, while Marine Corps amphibious capabilities are important, it is Marine Corps combined arms readiness that makes the Marine Corps so unique and so valuable.
It will take leadership to move the Marine Corps forward. It always does. For every Marine who has served for nearly any length of time, there is an important leadership role. Compass salutes all Marine Corps leaders, past, present, and future, who step forward to help guide the Marine Corps.
The Marine Corps has also particularly needed bold Captains to step up, speak out, and advocate for necessary course corrections. Compass Points gives a special salute to the young Captain who wrote the prescient article, "Roles & Missions: Time For A Change." That Captain was Captain James H. Webb and his article was published in 1972.
Compass Points predicts an amazing future for Captain Webb. In the half century from 1972 until today Captain Webb will do great things for Corps and Country. Thank you, Captain Webb, Secretary of the Navy Webb, Senator Webb for all the many titles, contributions, accomplishments, and roles and missions of your own.
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Marine Corps Gazette – March 1972
Roles & Missions: Time For A Change
By Capt. James H. Webb
http://www.jameswebb.com/articles/military-and-veterans/roles-missions-time-for-a-change
Hear, Hear! Captains be bold! This has been done before. In the late 70s a group of DOD Officers, analyst and congressional staffers realized there needed to be an alternative to the current attrition warfare doctrine. They found a retired Air Force Colonel who started with Energy–Maneuverability theory of aerial combat and developed a study on counter insurgency into a brief entitled the “Patterns of Conflict”. The center piece of this theory was the now famous OODA Loop. For the US Marine Corps, Major Mike Wyly, assigned as the AWS tactics instructor, started to teach the tactical concepts found in the Patterns of Conflict to a generation of Marine Captains. In 1980, Col Boyd delivered his Patterns of Conflict Brief to the AWS class. After that Boyd brief, AWS formed the first Maneuver Warfare Seminar that met weekly in the home of William Lind. Mr. Lind, a military analysis, introduced and arranged for speakers at each meeting and provided reading material for discussion form other authors and analyst. At one point the US Marine Commandant made a public statement that the Marine Corps had to stop meeting in the cellars of DC to discuss new warfare concepts and theories.
After the AWS class graduated, a number of the Maneuver Warfare seminar members were assigned to 2nd MEF. Several of the seminar members continued their seminar discussions and readings at the Camp Lejeune O’Club led by Capt. Bill Woods. The team was also joined by Capt. Gary I. Wilson. Both Capt. Woods and Capt. Wilson committed themselves to approaching Major General Alfred Gray the 2nd MARDIV Commander. They invited the General to a seminar session where the group outlined their goals. “After hearing the group’s proposal, Gray announced to them their study group was now the division’s official Maneuver Warfare Board.”
When General Gray became Commandant, he recognized the US Marine Corps needed a written Maneuver Warfare warfighting doctrine. He tasked the US Marine Corps Doctrine Division for a writer who assigned Capt. John Schmitt to work directly for General Gray. The Commandant gave Capt. Schmitt a tremendous amount freedom meeting with him just a hand full of times. In 1989 FMFM 1 Warfighting was published under General Gray’s signature.
Just to tie this up a bit, Capt. James Webb, as a rifle company platoon leader in Viet Nam won the Navy Cross. Capt. (Col.) Mike Wyly was his Company Commander in Viet Nam. When Capt. Jim Webb became the SECNAV, he appointed General Al Gray as US Marine Commandant. Semper Fi Captains.