Compass Points – Future is Near
Time to make the Marine Corps stronger
Compass Points – Future is Near
Time to make the Marine Corps stronger
December 26, 2024
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Compass Points wishes a Happy Hanukkah to all those celebrating this week.
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A new year is rapidly arriving and with it a new administration with a new Commander in Chief, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Navy, and new Congressional leaders. There will also be a wild card, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In addition, the new year will shortly bring a report on the Marine Corps’ aging and controversial Force Design.
Last year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), included a requirement that the Marine Corps' Force Design 2030 undergo a full and independent review by a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), most likely Rand Corporation, the Institute for Defense Analyses, or the Center for Naval Analyses.
Writing in the Marine Times, reporter Irene Loewenson summarizes the range of questions the Marine Corps will be required to answer.
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The outside assessment of Force Design will examine questions that include, in boiled-down form:
-- What evidence does the Marine Corps have to back up the changes it has made?
-- Does the war in Ukraine make Force Design changes seem more or less advisable?
-- Can the defense industrial base, in a timely fashion, develop and produce the tech the Corps wants for Force Design?
-- Does Force Design meet the requirements of combatant commanders, who lead forces across the globe?
-- Does Force Design comply with the federal law laying out the required organization and functions of the Marine Corps?
-- How should the Marine Corps prepare for future conflict?
-- Irene Loewenson, Marine Times
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Any thorough and independent review of Force Design 2030 will, at the very least, raise more questions. Conceivably, the report could recommend restoring the Marine Corps focus on global, combined arms, crisis response forces, including the restoration of lost or degraded capabilities like, armor, air, artillery, combat breaching and bridging, and more.
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But the report might also be less clear and less decisive, leaving Marine Corps plans more in a muddle. Instead of waiting for a civilian report, the broad Marine community needs to begin now to help brief the new incoming leaders. The Marine Corps needs weapons, equipment, and amphibious lift, but even more importantly the Marine Corps needs to look at the future with fresh eyes and engage in deep, open, and robust discussions.
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Instead of focusing on an FFRDC report that is still in the future, here are seven steps the Marine Corps could take now to move toward a stronger Marine Corps.
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1. Take seriously, US Code Title 10 - § 8063.
"The Marine Corps, within the Department of the Navy, shall be so organized as to include not less than three combat divisions and three air wings, and such other land combat, aviation, and other services as may be organic therein." Over the years, the Marine Corps has come to call each of the "three combat divisions and three air wings" a Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF). The three MEFs, headquartered on the East Coast, the West Coast, and in Japan, are the repository and generator of Marine combat power. The MEF in Japan has been badly degraded and Title 10 requires three full combat divisions and air wings – not just two.
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2. Understand the importance of the Goldwater Nichols Act (GNA).
The GNA requires the Marine Corps to organize, train, and equip forces for missions set forth by the regional Combatant Commanders. GNA makes it clear the Marine Corps cannot deploy Marines however it wants to. The Commander -in-Chief with help from the DOD decides what needs to be done, then, Marines are deployed on order from the Combatant Commanders. The Marine Corps has no authority to take Marines off amphibious ships and place them on remote Pacific islands. Marine deployment orders come from Combatant Commanders
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3. Make full use of the Marine Corps Combat Development Process.
The Marine Corps is innovative and should be always experimenting with new approaches. Before new ideas and approaches are adopted throughout the Marine Corps, however, they must be vetted by the Combat Development Process. Fundamental changes to the Marine Corps do not take place in locked rooms behind a veil of non-disclosure agreements, but through the open, rigorous, and creative Combat Development Process.
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4. Build a bigger discussion and a better concept.
The Marine Corps needs to build a new concept for the future. That will require widespread professional discussions. Two documents that could fuel those discussions are "Operational Maneuver from the Sea" and "Vision 2035."
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5. Begin to reconcile the two views of the future.
A defensive, narrow, regional, missile force? Or, An offensive, combined arms, maneuver, multi-mission, MAGTF, global, crisis response force?
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6. Upgrade the plan for SIF.
For example, the original Stand-in-Force plan could be upgraded to SIF 2.0 where: 1. The island missile mission is turned over to local nations. 2. The ship-to-ship missile mission is returned to the Navy. 3. The former SIF Marines are returned to global MAGTFs. If MAGTFs need to add more missiles, add more missiles. The Marine Expeditionary Unit, Special Operations Capable, MEU SOC could add Missile Operations Capable and become MEU SOC/MOC.
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7. Keep the focus on more ships.
Continue to focus on and advocate for more amphibious ships and maritime prepositioning ships. Advocate for legislative changes allowing expanded ship maintenance at facilities in Australia, South Korea, the Philippines, and Japan.
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It is good news that the previous NDAA required a thorough and independent report on Marine Corps future plans. That report from an FFRDC is still coming. But the future is here now. The Marine Corps cannot wait for a report. The Marine Corps needs to focus on taking steps now to move toward a better future. Compass Points salutes all those across the broad Marine community and in Congress working to move the Marine Corps forward.
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Marine Times (marinecorpstimes.com) 12/08/2023
Defense bill calls for outside scrutiny of Marines’ modernization plan
By Irene Loewenson
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US Marine Corps
Operational Maneuver from the Sea
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The National Interest 12/16/2022
Vision 2035: Global Response in the Age of Precision Munitions
Unlike Force Design 2030, Vision 2035 is a roadmap for a better way forward for the U.S. Marine Corps.
By Charles Krulak and Anthony Zinni
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/vision-2035-global-response-age-precision-munitions-205995
US Code 8063 USMC Composition and function and The Goldwater Nichols Act are Federal Laws not “suggestions”! CMCs Berger and Smith have violated these laws!
Even without Title 10 USC, the Marine Corps Combat Development Process and other mandates, you would think that CMCs Berger and Smith would have seen the big world view, and not be so narrow minded as to only see the China threat. To divest of Marine artillery and tanks, has only neutered the Marine Corps. The big picture is that the world is in chaos and the Marine Corps needs to be ready for anything, anywhere. He has also learned the wrong lessons from the war in Ukraine. Combined arms, properly used, is still the best advantage in combat. For these reasons, the United States no longer has a credible rapid expeditionary crisis response force. Bring back the pre-FD MEU. Forget the LSM/LST, and build back the ARGs.