Compass Points - Stand Up
Marine Corps needs young leaders
Compass Points - Stand Up
Marine Corps needs young leaders
May 13, 2025
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The US Marine Corps, and all the military services, need young leaders willing to stand up.
Recently, at the Modern Day Marine exhibition in Washington, DC, Capt. Braden Trent stood up. At the exhibition, Capt Trent reviewed for reporters the findings from a 52 page report he had written during his time at the Marine Corps’ Expeditionary Warfare School.
In his report, Capt Trent was critical of the Army's decision to move to a new rifle -- not a weapon with the standard 5.56mm round, but one with a larger 6.8mm round.
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As part of his research, Trent said he visited the 1st Brigade Combat Team “Bastogne,” 101st Airborne Division, which was the first active-duty Army unit to receive the XM7. Trent said he interviewed more than 150 soldiers and disassembled 23 XM7 rifles.
His 52-page report on the subject, which included testing with experts, ballistic research, and input from soldiers, concluded that the XM7 is “unfit for use as a modern service rifle,” Trent said on April 29 during his presentation at Modern Day Marine.
Trent said his research has shown that soldiers equipped with the XM7 in a live-fire exercise quickly run out of ammunition because its magazine only holds 20 rounds. He also said that gouges and scratches can form in the barrel after firing more than 2,000 rounds, the rifle’s weight makes it hard for soldiers to maneuver.
[ … Trent said ]
“The XM7 is a tactically outdated service rifle that would be better classified as a designated marksman rifle, if that,” Trent said during his presentation. “This rifle is a mechanically unsound design that will not hold up to sustained combat on a peer-on-peer conflict.”
-- Captains Journal
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Capt Trent is not a Marine officer. He is a US Army officer. Is he correct that the Army's new XM7 rifle with the larger 6.8mm round is inferior to the M4 carbine?
The manufacturer of the XM7, Sig Sauer, defends their product and says Capt Trent's criticism is off base.
Is Capt Trent correct? Is Sig Sauer correct? No matter who is correct, the debate about the XM7 will help the Army make sure they are adopting the correct weapon. The whole reason the Army is testing the weapon with only one unit, is to check the validity of their decision. Capt Trent is boldly helping the Army make sure their decision is sound.
Whatever defects the XM7 rifle may have, now is not the time to hide the defects, now is the time to expose the defects.
If only the Marine Corps had taken time for a robust debate about its decision to get rid of tanks, cut nearly 75% of tubed artillery and all the other decisions made in such haste to degrade and destroy the Marine Corps' combined arms units, equipment, and capabilities.
With little discussion or debate, the Marine Corps jumped into the controversial plan to turn the focus of the Corps away from global crisis response, and toward regional, defensive, Stand-in Force missile units off China's coast.
The crucial issue of logistics for the island missile units was given little attention. Even today, years later, there is still no comprehensive solution to the logistics problems.
In too many ways, over too many years, young Marine officers were discouraged from speaking up. Discussion, debate, and discourse were truncated instead of being encouraged.
There were a few exceptions. One of the most notable exceptions was Major Daniel Katzman. Major Katzman, a logistics officer, wrote an authoritative article about the logistics shortfalls of the island missile units. His article was called, "Sustaining Stand-In Forces."
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In a modern, high-end conflict, EABO is not logistically supportable given the need to persist and operate within the enemy’s weapons engagement zone at a significant distance from friendly support bases. EABs used for fires in support of sea control or forward arming and refueling points (FARP) provide the required sustainment scope to appreciate the logistics dilemma. When these EABs operate simultaneously to realize operations at scale, a logistics distribution challenge arises that is greater than the Marine Corps or joint force can support.
. . . While not all-inclusive, these selected functions demonstrate more competition for logistics priority within EABO. These competing logistics priorities are subject to the same distribution complexity resulting from inefficient distribution networks, losses to enemy actions, and unforecasted requirements. Moreover, logistics support will compete with the movement and maneuver operational function for the same surface or air assets. These factors only further complicate the daily challenge of distributing 928 tons of supplies, making EABO at scale unsupportable in a modern, high-end conflict.
-- Major Katzman, Sustaining Stand-In Forces
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Major Katzman was bold enough to call the logistics requirements of the Stand-in-Force missile units, "unsupportable."
What will happen to bold officers, like the Army's Capt Trent and the Marine Corps' Major Katzman? No military service can grow strong without young leaders willing to stand up boldly and help the service make good decisions. The Marine Corps in particular is renowned for its boldness and daring. That boldness and daring must be displayed and encouraged by Marine leaders at every level.
The US Marine Corps and all the military services need young leaders willing to stand up. It is not clear yet what will happen to Capt Trent. Major Katzman, however, wrote his masterful article years ago. What has happened to Major Katzman? In January 2025, Lieutenant Colonel Katzman took command of Combat Logistics Battalion 5. Now, LtCol Katzman is tasked with solving the very serious logistics issues he identified. LtCol Katzman is still working toward a stronger Marine Corps. Compass Points salutes LtCol Katzman and all the bold leaders in all the services who through their boldness are helping keep the Nation strong.
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Capatains Journal - 05/06/2025
Army infantry officer calls new XM7 ‘unfit for use as a modern service rifle’
By Herschel Smith
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Marine Corps Gazette (mca-marines.org) December 2022
Sustaining Stand-In Forces
By Major Daniel Katzman
https://mca-marines.org/wp-content/uploads/Sustaining-Stand-in-Forces.pdf
(Or, type into search engine: Sustaining Stand-in Forces Katzman)
Based on this CP topic I had to add this linked article to my comments: https://cdrsalamander.substack.com/p/the-us-navy-is-sleepwalking-into
With the establishment of the Joint Combatant Commanders, we have turned DOD and our Military Services into institutional bureaucracies that, in my opinion, overshadow the war fighters. “CP Marines” has made this point crystal clear with its criticisms of FD21030. We need to promote based on strategic and tactical thinking. In addition, officers that solve problems while in command need to be promoted vs the careerist.
We need something in addition to fitness reports. I often wonder why CAX and Marine Corps Combat Readiness Evaluations (MCCRE) after act reports are not available to the Colonel Promotion Board. In my opinion, that would be a good start. We need a way to uncover real leaders vs the bone heads that think that the US Marine Corps can solve all the DOD military strategic issues. The issue with bureaucracies when face with an issue or controversy they default to the cover your butt SOP.
This feels, as Yogi Berra would opine, like “Deja vu all over again.” M-14 v. M-16, 7.62 v. 5.56. Juice the rounds, shorten the barrel add a couple of turns in the barrel and you get there, just in time to go to 6.8? 9mm v .45. More rounds and lighter. So if it comes down to the side arms it is safe to say things have not gone well and you want stopping power. It seems like there is not too much difference between the NATO 7.62 and this 6.8 and even the Creedmore 6.5 which sounds superior to the 7.62. But now we are back to logistics. There used to be a sign at the Quantico MTU and rifle range. Words to the effect of “it took 50,000 rounds to kill one enemy in Vietnam”. Then below that, the following “There is nothing more dangerous on the battlefield than one well aimed round down range.” Again words to that effect. If memory serves, it was a GySgt. Carlos Hathcock quote.