Compass Points - Frag Order
CMC addresses Corps
Compass Points - Frag Order
CMC addresses Corps
April 4, 2024
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The Marine Corps Commandant has issued a frag order to the Marine Corps discussing his vision for the future. The Commandant explains that his frag order covers three topics: 1. Who We Are, 2. Where We Are Going, and 3. How We Fight. Compass Points will provide a more detailed review of the frag order in the days to come, but for now it is worth focusing on how the Commandant begins his frag order.
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Marines, thank you for your service and sacrifices. The entire Marine Corps, active, reserve, civilian Marines, and our families continue to serve with the honor and commitment familiar to all who have ever earned the title, “Marine.”
-- FRAGO 01-2024, April 2024
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The Commandant is correct. Marines make the difference. Throughout the long, proud history of the Marine Corps, Marines have faced challenge after challenge. Whatever the challenge, whatever the clime or place, it has been the courage and audacity of individual Marines, teams of Marines, and small units of Marines who have always met every obstacle and found a way to overcome. The courage of Marines and the faithfulness of Marines is eternal.
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It is fitting the Commandant begins his frag order by recognizing that the Marine Corps is special because Marines are special. The Commandant's words are shared by Marine veterans of every rank and MOS, including so many of the most experienced and renowned retired Marine leaders. Senior, retired Marine leaders have long expressed their deep respect, not just for the Marines who served with them, but a deep and abiding respect for the Marines who served in the years and decades after them. Just three examples:
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Our ability to win battles boils down, as it always has, to our Marines. There is no "old Corps" or "new Corps" there is only the Marine Corps. Today's Marine has spent much of his or her career fighting in the "War on Terror" or deployed to hot spots around the world. Their value to our Nation is the same as their forebearers who fought on Iwo, endured the bitter cold of the Chosin, toiled in the jungles of Vietnam, and fought in the heat of Desert Storm. Today our Marines remain at the tip of the spear. Like those who have gone before, these Marines, when called upon, will put on their helmets and protective armor, grab their weapons, march to the sound of the guns and the smell of cordite, fight and win!! As I have said before, The Individual Marine IS the Corps. That is true today and will be true in the tomorrows to come.
-- Charles C. Krulak, General, US Marine Corps (Ret.), 31st Commandant of the Marine Corps
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The Marines that fought the two longest conflicts in our history deserve praise. Many of us older Marines have or had sons and daughters in the Corps during this time. I am very proud of my son and those who served with him. They endured multiple deployments under difficult circumstances. Iraq and Afghanistan were complicated environments and we did not have a well thought out strategy, but the performance of our forces at the junior officer and enlisted levels was great. I saw this first hand during two assessment trips I made to each theater after I retired.
-- General Anthony C. Zinni, USMC (Ret.)
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Clausewitz observed that war like a chameleon is constantly changing its character and form. An old cliché tells us that you can never put your foot in the same river twice because the water is constantly moving downstream. And Marines will never fight the same kind of war as those who went before because the face of battle is always evolving. This knowledge provides the context for why I am tremendously proud of those Marines—including my son and my nephew— who fought our nation’s enemies over the past 20-plus years. In the simplest of terms, under very difficult circumstances they adapted and performed as professionally as any of their predecessors. They were “always faithful” to our Corps. When I meet Marines who served around the world in the years since I retired, I feel privileged to say to them, “Well done, Marine.”
-- Lt. Gen. Paul K. Van Riper, USMC (Ret.)
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The Marine Corps is on a mission; it is always on a mission. The ongoing mission of building the Marine Corps of the future is a mission that is never easy and never complete. It means constantly upgrading and enhancing proven capabilities, adding new technologies, and educating an entirely new Corps of Marines. To succeed, will take ideas and input from across the entire Marine community. Compass Points salutes the Commandant for his inspiring words thanking Marines for their "service and sacrifices." It will take more service, more sacrifice, more long nights, and more long discussions to win a Marine Corps that is not just strong today but is stronger tomorrow.
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US Marine Corps
FRAGO 01-2024, April 2024
https://www.cmc.marines.mil/FRAGO-01-2024/
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Take care of your Marines
The words from the General Officers on this CP posting are strong, motivating and definitely the right words Marines both old and young need to hear. I still have to wonder, however, if there is another set of words that better provides an expression of sincerity when it comes to leading Marines.
The best advice I ever received about leading Marines came from an old Marine SgtMaj, a Guadalcanal and Korean vet, spoken to me just before I boarded a plane to Okinawa and my first platoon. Those words were “take care of your Marines and they will take care of you”. I took those words to mean, give your Marine the best training that you can and build their trust in your leadership, and build your trust and confidence in their ability to perform in combat.
I recently got the word that another Marine Battalion Commander was relieved. The rumor is this Battalion CO told his Marines, after a failed uniform inspection, they were complacent and that complacency was the same complacency, the Marine Battalion assigned to the Afghan EVAC, demonstrated and led to the Abby Gate failure.
My first reaction to this rumor was: Oops, another Command Selection Board Commander deservedly bites the dust. In addition, if true, this would certainly result in a loss “trust and confidence” which is the standard catch phrase in the news release.
I would like to think that our military leaders have figured out that the primary cause of the Abby Gate failure is the bad application of ROEs and the unwarranted loss of “trust and confidence” in a Marine sniper. The news reports tell us that a Marine sniper had the suicide bomber identified and in his sights but was waiting for permission to shoot from his battalion commander. The authority of that decision should rest with the sniper because the time delay can have very bad results like the death of 12 Marines and 1 Soldier. Let’s not forget the hundreds of civilian casualties.
If true, this is an example that our senior US Military Leadership does not understand the LOAC (Laws of Armed Conflict). Combat ROEs are always based on the LOAC (Laws of Armed Combat). A recommended reading for every military officer is “Fighting Today’s Wars; How America’s Leaders Have Failed Our Warriors by David G. Boigiano and James M. Patterson”. I once asked one of the authors of this book why our leaders keep trying to apply the “Rule of Law” instead of the LOAC to combat investigations. His reply was our senior leaders do not understand the LOAC nor the Rule of Law. After reading his book I had to agree.
Just to add a little weight to this argument, I attended a conference a year or two ago, and the guest speaker was LTGEN Charles Pede, at the time, the US Army Judge Advocate General. He made the argument that because our commanders are applying the LOAC too restrictively we are limiting our “legal maneuver space on the battlefield”. Here is his speech addressing what he called the US Military’s COIN and CT (Counter Terrorism) “Hangover”. The bottom line here we are applying the LOAC too restrictively.
https://sites.duke.edu/lawfire/2020/03/07/ltg-pede-on-the-coin-ct-hangover-roe-war-sustaining-targets-and-much-more/
The reason why LOAC are important is they are the primary legal protection for our Marines. Our warriors deserve ROEs that enable them instead of restricting them. The “three block war” we expect corporals to fight cannot be won without our trust in our Corporals. Marines deserve ROEs that allow them to protect their fellow Marines and as legal combatants, our Marines deserve the right of self-defense on the battlefield.
Now what drives me “nuts” is when I hear the Abby Gate deaths (12 Marines and 1 Soldier) described as paying the “ultimate sacrifice”. This "ultimate sacrifice" is horse-pucky and a poor excuse for bad combat leadership. I know of no Marine that willingly sacrificed his life in combat. Ultimately, a Marine in combat today wants to be a live Marine in combat tomorrow. Marine’s life is never sacrificed. A Marine’s life must be TAKEN by an enemy. When in combat and under no circumstance should a Marine's life be taken by the treachery of a terrorist suicide bomber. Especially when another Marine is waiting for the approval of the opportunity to put one into the bomber's head and/or two into his chest. Semper Fi
Having read the CMC FRAGO 01-2024 twice, once scanning for content and then reading for comprehension, one is left with a sense of bipolar thinking in the message. Agreed that the end to the zero defect mentality is an optimistic message for Marines. Cynically one thinks good luck with that, we are surrounded by a much larger system that lays blame where it can and fails consistently to take responsibility for its actions. The withdrawal from Afghanistan and specifically the suicide bombing at Abby Gate is a good example of higher commanders laying blame and not taking responsibility. Be that as it may, at least there is an effort by the CMC to address zero defect thinking and change it.
After that the message gets cloudy again. “The ARG/MEU remains our crown jewel” and a long dissertation follows compelling that “We will staunchly advocate for and be unambiguous in our requirements for a mission-capable amphibious force” with specifics on the type and process for building and maintaining this amphibious force. However, later under the heading of How We Fight we learn that we will go from the sea to land, (thanks for clarity) AND a now we will “project power from the land to sea.” (Ah yes, Wake Island redeux, get those firecrackers ready to fire at Chinese naval assets as they steam unwittingly past your littoral regiment who remain brilliantly undetected) once again we are treated to the virtues of the Stand In Forces, a component of the flexible response of the Marine Corps, and enhanced level of lethality if you will. At least this time there is admission later in How We Fight that logistics is a critical component “Sustaining those forces will be both vitally important and exceptionally difficult.” Yep, after four to five years of saying nothing to see here, we have logistics all wrapped up in a tidy bag with balls of excrement, it comes to the fore, that it’s complicated. The geniuses behind FD2030, never thought it through for minute, this now is obvious.
Again, okay, give this devil his due, he is admitting that once we strand the SIF we can’t really give them the beans, bullets and band aids they will need and once the fire crackers are launched not much good will come after it.
As it goes, the optimistic outlook is, that the current CMC is slowly backing out of the FD2030 concept, as example it is now just Force Design, and he is addressing many issues of significance. But did we need to find the Marine Corps in this position in the first place? Having listened to a podcast interview of General Robert Neller 37th CMC, (Controversy and Clarity) he made several important points, but one that stuck out was that rather than wholesale “vertical” removal of an asset (say like HMLA 269) it is painful but easier to make “horizontal” changes, ie make the rifle squad smaller until you can figure out your next move. His comments were very polite and professional but CLEAR. Once an assets is gone it is hard to get it back.
Falling under the “nobody asked me but,” category, the FRAGO needs to be even more simply stated. There should be no ambiguity. As the late great GS Patton, Jr. Once stated “I give it to them loud, I give it to them dirty, and repeat it, that way they will understand and won’t forget.” Or words to that effect.
For this writer, the fight is still on, the FRAGO 01-2024 word salad said some good things, but there is still far to much left unsaid, and where there is a lack of clarity, interpretation may take on too many different meanings leading to unexpected and unwanted outcomes.