Compass Points - Drill Down Deeper
What do common phrases mean?
Compass Points - Drill Down Deeper
What do common phrases mean?
April 24, 2024
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We speak in smooth phrases. Sometimes the meaning of a smooth phrase is not clear. To get the real meaning, it is necessary to drill down deeper.
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For example, when a Marine 2nd Lieutenant hears his reporting senior say, "Lieutenant, I have an opportunity for you to excel." That smooth phrase makes things sound much better than they are. The real meaning of the phrase is that an unpleasant and difficult task is on the way.
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The recent frag order from the Commandant and other official statements from Marine leadership repeat certain smooth phrases. The phrases sound fine on the surface. But to gain the real meaning of these overused official Marine phrases, it is necessary to drill down deeper.
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The top four official Marine Corps smooth phrases:
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1. Smooth Phrase - "The MEU remains our crown jewel.”
Drill Down Deeper – The MEU is valued because it can arrive at a crisis quickly. But the MEU also has far greater power when it can be rapidly augmented, reinforced, and expanded with the supplies and equipment from Maritime Prepositioning Ships, together with MEF supplied fly-in-echelons. MEUs are produced from robust MEFs. It is the Marine Expeditionary Force -- not the MEU -- that is designed to be the “repository of capabilities” including three MEUs or two Marine Expeditionary Brigades (MEBs). If the MEU is going to shine, the MEF must shine first.
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2. Smooth Phrase - MEUs are a "persistent, global, forward presence."
Drill Down Deeper - Current Marine Corps leadership often say they have an unwavering commitment to making sure MEUs have a persistent, global forward presence. Those are nice sounding words and a worthy goal. Unfortunately, that is not the reality around the globe. Today Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs) are not forward deployed year-round as they have been in the past. Today, there are weeks and months when there is no MEU available in entire regions of the globe. There is no MEU now in either the Persian Gulf or in the Mediterranean and no estimate of how many months will go by without one.
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3. Smooth Phrase - "We will advocate staunchly for a mission-capable amphibious force."
Drill Down Deeper - To be truly “mission capable” means the ability to lift and support a MEB at a minimum and that means no less than a resource constrained 38 amphibious ships. The actual global ship requirement to meet the needs of the regional combatant commanders is "upwards of 50" as General Neller testified. In addition to amphibious ships, a "mission capable" force requires a robust Maritime Prepositioning Force. It is being reported that SecNav will announce soon a block buy of amphibious ships. That is good, but amphibious ships take time to build. To get healthier now, the Navy and Marine Corps must experiment with ships available now, like the Expeditionary Sea Base and the Expeditionary Fast Transport.
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4. Smooth Phrase - "Combined arms is now all-domain, incorporating effects in and from cyberspace, space, the electromagnetic spectrum, and the information environment."
Drill Down Deeper - Since the beginning of history, military forces have used information operations to enhance their combat power, but that does not change combined arms. Today military forces around the world define combined arms as the coordinated employment of infantry, armor, cannon artillery, engineers with breaching and bridging equipment, and close support aircraft. New technologies in cyber and information bring additive and complementary capabilities to these elements, they do not replace any of them. Marine Corps leaders should not suggest that somehow cyber is a substitute for genuine combined arms.
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We speak in smooth phrases. But sometimes the meaning of a smooth phrase is not clear. To get the real meaning, it is necessary to drill down deeper. Perhaps some civilians can be temporarily fooled by the smooth phrases, but military leaders around the world are not fooled. In addition, not all members of the US Congress are fooled either. Compass Points salutes all those working to rebuild and rebalance the Marine Corps so that smooth phrases are backed up with concrete capabilities. Through it all, one smooth phrase will always remain useful, "Lieutenant, I have an opportunity for you to excel!”
When General Berger became the Commandant, I first became aware of Marine officers speaking in long, drawn phrases and using terms that meant absolutely nothing. It’s a common dodge today when one has little to say or is avoiding the truth. It goes double for the way they write…The Gazette this month is a timely example. Why no opinion letters?
As a retired MARINE, I don't have much confidence in the Leadership and haven't for some time. Seems like they're all show and no go and the PC part is enough to make you puke!