Compass Points - The Right Force?
Fiction is good; facts are better.
Compass Points - The Right Force?
Fiction is good; facts are better.
November 20, 2024
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Eight years ago, the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab put together a team of science fiction writers and had them write stories about the future of war and warfighting. The idea was to help the Marine Corps peer into the future and produce "the right force in the right place at the right time."
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As we continue to think and work diligently to prepare for the challenges of the world we think we know today, we must leave room for imagination and creative anticipation. Our collective efforts to ensure the Marine Corps produces the right force in the right place at the right time demand we go beyond the relative certainty of today and prepare for possibilities beyond the knowable. Innovative approaches to anticipating the future such as the MCSEF and this supplement are well served by the imagination of the young writers that crafted this product. Open your mind and enjoy. The future is coming, ready or not.
-- Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, Science Fiction Futures
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One of the stories speculated that the future would demand more urban combat, and the Marine Corps would need to focus more and more on not only the 'Three Block War' but also on something called, "Four Floor War."
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Double Ten Day
About this world: . . . Conflicts in megacities will force both antagonist and protagonist not only to master the “Three Block War,” but also to think vertically and adapt to “Four Floor Wars”—aiding noncombatants on one floor or evacuating them from a rooftop, detaining adversaries on a second level, while conducting train, advise, and assist inside the spaces of a third, and offensive operations in the subterranean realm below.
-- By Major Vic Ruble USMC & Captain Sara Kirstein USMC
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Years have gone by since the science fiction stories were created and compiled. Warfighting technologies have indeed advanced over the years, but some of the most serious concerns today are not futuristic, they are mundane and predictable.
For example, Admiral Paparo warns that the military is running out of munitions to fight and win the next war.
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Head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Adm. Samuel Paparo cautioned Tuesday that the U.S. providing or selling billions of dollars’ worth of air defenses to both Ukraine and Israel is now impeding his ability to respond in the Indo-Pacific, such as if China invades Taiwan. “Up to this year, where most of the employment of weapons were really artillery pieces and short-range weapons, I had said, ‘not at all,’” when asked if the conflicts were hampering U.S. ability to respond to threats in the Indo-Pacific, Paparo said. “It’s now eating into stocks, and to say otherwise would be dishonest,” he told an audience at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
-- AP "U.S. Support For Ukraine And Israel Is Eating Into Weapons Stockpiles, Indo-Pacific Commander Says"
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Admiral Paparo nearly laughed when asked whether drones could make up the difference:
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Speaking at the Brookings Institution, Adm. Sam Paparo said smaller unmanned platforms won’t get the job done in the vast oceans of the Indo-Pacific.
. . . “Oh let’s just quit on everything. We’ve got some drones,” Paparo said sarcastically. “Alright, well the [People’s Republic of China]’s got 2,100 fighters,” he continued. “They’ve got three aircraft carriers. They have a battle force of 200 destroyers. Oh well roger, we’ve got a couple drones. No problem . . . ."
-- USNI News
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The Marine Corps Warfighting Lab asked writers to stretch their imaginations and create stories about “Science Fiction Futures.” The idea was to help the Marine Corps produce "the right force in the right place at the right time." No matter how much the authors stretched their imaginations, none of he authors predicted that the US military would neglect to build and maintain all the ships, planes, and munitions needed to deter or fight the next war. Not one author could predict that the Marine Corps would turn its focus toward small Marine missile units on remote islands instead of maintaining focus on global, combined arms, crisis response.
Often, science fiction stories present a scary vision of the future. Today it is military facts that are scary. The US needs"the right force in the right place at the right time." It is long past time to rebuild, enhance, and restore US warfighting capabilities -- including particularly the Navy and Marine Corps.
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Marine Corps Warfighting Lab
Science Fiction Futures: Marine Corps Security Environment Forecast: Futures 2030 -- 2045
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AP - 11/19/2024
U.S. Support For Ukraine And Israel Is Eating Into Weapons Stockpiles, Indo-Pacific Commander Says
The conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are eating away at critical U.S. weapons stockpiles and could hamper the military’s ability to respond to China should a conflict arise in the Indo-Pacific
By Tara Copp
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USNI News - 11/19/2024
Military Challenges In The Pacific Can’t Be Solved With Just Drones, Says Paparo
By Mallory Shelbourne
Congressional Research Service March 8, 2024 Number of Active Duty General and Flag Officers It is a critical time in the history of Our Republic. Table 3. All 5 Active Duty General and Flag Officers total number 809. 4Star Army 15, Navy 7, Marine Corps 2, Air Force 11, Space Force 2 Total 37. 3Stars Army 44 Navy28, Marine Corps 16, Air Force 39, Space Force 5. Total 132. Perhaps the USMC tradition of having Generals tender their letter to retire and the CMC then picks those he desires to nominate to continue to serve be applied to all services ie 169 currently serving 3 and 4 star Generals and Admirals be subjected to a review of their performance based on merit and performance vice their appointment being based on race, gender, support for CRT, DEI, and in the case of the USMC failure to obey 10 US Code 8063-United States Marine Corps : composition;function. A board chaired by the Vice President of the United States w members he chooses conducts a review and determines continued service or retirement with nominations of replacements 3 and 4 star officer submitted to the President. A similar board must be convened for all Senior Executive Service Billets in DoD and all other Federal Agencies. Semper Fidelis.
Dereliction of duty, insubordination, disrespecting the US Congress by failing to meet the duly authorized Title X mandates, failure to report fully on the fitness for active duty, etc etc. Whether the Vice President or SecDef review each 3 and 4 star flag officer, all should come to their appointment with a letter of resignation in hand.