By Robert Kozloski
>> Robert Kozloski is a
program analyst for the Department of the Navy.
The views expressed here are his alone and do not represent those of the
Departments of the Navy or Defense.
The Marine Corps is facing a host of challenges and must contend
with the current fiscal pressure on all of DoD while trying to innovate after a
decade of war. It will likely have to
reduce its endstrength while adapting to a new threat environment. These
challenges should force the Marine Corps to reconsider some fundamental premises
today that will help it effectively adapt to the operational environment ten to
twenty years from now.
The Marine Corps must intellectually challenge some basic organizational
issues. The fundamental structure of the Marine Corps today is based on a model
that was effective during the legendary amphibious assaults of World War II and
the epic battles in Korea, where high casualty rates, limited communications,
and massing of firepower were primary concerns. Is the same organizational
structure, particularly the use of enlisted Marines, right for the Marine Corps
of 2025 and beyond?
While amphibious operations will be the cornerstone of the
Marine Corps for the foreseeable future, the Marine Corps could also find
itself in a host of other missions and roles: full integration into special
operations, distributed operations, partnership building, military to military
training, and even integration with federal law enforcement units to counter
transnational threats. Will the Marine Corps use the same rifle company construct
for an opposed beach landing as it does for training a foreign military unit?
Will the right personnel be in the right units?
Below are a few “what-if” challenges that should stimulate
debate among Marines at all levels on the use of the greatest strength of the
Marine Corps, the enlisted Marine, over the next several decades.
What if… the US economy remains flat and unemployment
rates climb because technology has replaced humans in labor-intensive fields? A
typical rifle squad may consist of all college graduates in the future and the
only difference between an E-1 and O-1 is the training path selected by the
Marine Corps. How does the Marine Corps maximize personnel and prevent
underutilization of the talent entrusted to them by American society? Harvesting
civilian knowledge and skills may become as important as making Marines.
What if… the line between Marine officers and enlisted
Marines is erased or significantly blurred? Many retired military officers
and scholars alike note the problems with the antiquated military personnel
system. Many often compare changes in the private sector to changes that should
occur in the military, chief among them is closing the gap between the roles of
officers and enlisted. How can the
Marine Corps close this gap? Should all future officers serve as enlisted for a
period, then attend college and finally to officer training? Will 25 different ranks in the Marine Corps
still be necessary to distinguish levels of authority or should the rank
structure be compressed?
What if…
the 18 year-old private becomes obsolete in infantry units? Given the
missions being considered by the Marine Corps and the emphasis placed on
smaller more independent units, should Marine Corps Infantry become more elite?
Should an enlisted Marine first be assigned to a support unit for their initial
enlistment, then compete for a slot in the infantry in order to reenlist? This would create a more mature and highly
specialized infantry but it would also create problems with leadership roles if
everyone in a unit was an NCO or above. Could
changes in the compensation system facilitate a more agile organization with
qualified personnel filling billets at different echelons or type of units?
Consider what an oval vice pyramid enlisted force structure would look like.
Could a Corporal in a line unit find himself as a Lance Corporal in a more
high-end unit with no loss of compensation?
What if… semi-autonomous unmanned weapon
systems become fully integrated into small units? How will future technology
change leadership roles? Integrating and
controlling technology may become as important, if not more so, than leading
(human) Marines. If so, how does leadership development models change?
What if… the lethality and non-lethality of a small
unit increases significantly? A
decade from now it is possible infantry units will increase both lethal and
non-lethal force capability at the squad level.
This will be caused by advances in nano-explosive technology, directed
energy weapons and lasers, and electro-magnetic weapons. How would increased
capabilities alter the size of a typical rifle company and officer/enlisted
ratios?
What if… genetic or performance enhancing technology
become accepted on the modern battlefield? The concept of creating
super-“soldiers” (using super with Marine seems a bit redundant) through genetic,
robotic or medical enhancement is currently being hotly debated. How does the Marine Corps contend with
civilian integration after conflict?
Does the Marine Corps simply escort these military-modified super humans
to the front gate and turn them loose on society? Or is Marine for life a
future reality?
Service purists will resist any change and argue that the
Marine Corps has adapted throughout its history without any significant changes
in the enlisted personnel structure. A generation of Marine Corps leaders is now
faced with a host of challenges that heretofore it has not had to consider. However, the Corporals of today will be the Sergeants
Major of 2025 and they must start to consider these issues now so they will be
able to effectively shape the future enlisted structure in the future.
Koz,
ReplyDeleteVery interesting concepts/ideas. As 25 year Marine who spent 12 years enlisted and 13 as an officer, I am going to take some time to think about this before I offer my comments. Always good to see a Marine thinking outside of the box, keep of the good work. ROGER MAHAR
I found this very interesting as well. However, I would like to point out that though the current trend that our military is facing at this moment is very focused on small wars, counter terrorism, and other quasi-military operations, that will not likely be that case forever. Look at the early 20th century, the Marine Corps at the time was primarily engaged in the banana wars and other small scale actions around the world. Though that was the trend from the end of the Spanish American War through the first decade of the new century, it did not last. Once the US entered the first World War the Marine Corps had to quickly raise forces into the current structure that we have now to fight this major conflict instead of relying on already existing units.
ReplyDeleteAs the Marine Corps has grown we have created more and more flexible MAGTF's, right now even we have a MAGTF that consists of a rifle company and some support aircraft to quickly move those troops where they are needed. I use this example only to point out that our structure is not antiquated, rather it is extremely flexible and adaptable as it stands now. That flexibility and adaptability allow the Marine Corps more latitude with its forces in supporting the operations you mentioned as well as be prepared for a large scale conflict. People can make the argument that we may never have another large scale war, but its not a matter of if but when. I for one would rather keep the current structure in place to ensure that the Marine Corps maintains maximum combat readiness for a large scale war, because when it happens I don't want to be the one in a 10 man team being sent against an enemy battalion, I would rather have a whole company, battalion, or regiment of Marines at my back.