Introduction to the United States Marine Corps

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Introduction to the United States Marine Corps
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Our Culture
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Core Values

• Honor
• Courage
• Commitment
• Our most important attributes.

This is what we stand for.
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Mission

• Make Marines
• Win Battles
• Create Quality Citizens
• Mission accomplishment is the foundation of our
  reputation

This is what we do.
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Priority 1

• Our Marines and Sailors in combat
• Our top priority is a reflection of our warrior
• ethos the stuff of which heroes are made.

This is who we are.
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Elite Warriors

• The Corps and individual Marine strive to be the
  epitome of military virtue
• Smart, tough, warriors who gain strength of mind,
  body, and character through earning a place in an
  elite and proud organization

This is what we aspire to be.
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Every Marine a Rifleman

• All Marines are basic riflemen first, regardless
  of specialty
• 25 of enlisted recruit training is dedicated to
  rifle marksmanship
• TBS trains officers to be infantry platoon
  commanders
• Our history is full of examples of pilots,
  logisticians, administrators assigned infantry
  duties

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Naval Character

• The Marine Corps is fundamentally a naval service
• Soldiers of the Sea
• Sea provides avenue for projecting power
  practically anywhere
• Today the Navy-Marine Corps team has the unique
  ability to provide forward-deployed expeditionary
  combat forces in response to crises

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Expeditionary Mindset

• Word came on May 27 that another revolution was
  in full swing at Bluefields, on the east coast of
  Nicaragua. We received orders to leave at eight
  thirty in the morning and by eleven thirty were
  on our waytwo hundred and fifty officers and
  men. Mrs. Butler had gone . . . to do some
  shopping. When she returned at noon, I was gone .
  . . Smedley D. Butler
• Being expeditionary is a state of mind
• Bags packed ready to deploy on a moments
  notice
• Spartan attitude willingness to endure hardship
  and austere conditions

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Innovative

• Close Air Support
• Amphibious Operations
• Naval Gunfire Support
• Vertical envelopment
• Maritime Prepositioning

The Marines combatant function was and is
unique. Nobody has ever been interested in
providing the necessary operating techniques of
hardware for them, so they have had to do it
themselves. - LtGen Victor H. Krulak, First
to Fight
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Warfighting Philosophy
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Doctrine

• MCDP-1 Warfighting
• Cornerstone doctrinal publication
• The nature and theory of warfare, how to prepare
  for it, and how to conduct it
• Read by all ranks

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Warfighting Philosophy

• Maneuver Warfare
• a warfighting philosophy that seeks to shatter
  the enemys cohesion through a variety of rapid,
  focused, and unexpected actions which create a
  turbulent and rapidly deteriorating situation
  with which the enemy cannot cope. (MCDP-1)
• Aims to shatter enemy system rather than
  completely destroy his forces
• Maneuver in space (positional) and time (temporal)

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Warfighting Philosophy

• Key Ingredients of Maneuver Warfare
• Speed
• Establish pace the enemy cant maintain
• Focus
• Against enemys critical vulnerabilities
• Ruthless Opportunism
• Seek out weakness
• Surprise
• Strike at unexpected time and place

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Warfighting Philosophy

• Maneuver Warfare requires leaders with a
  flexibility and independence of mind
• Initiative and judgment crucial at all levels
• USMC is the youngest military service
• About 2/3 are 25 or younger
• Officer to Enlisted Ratios
• Air Force 14
• Army 15
• Navy 16
• Marines 18.5

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Warfighting Philosophy

• Philosophy of Command
• Must be decentralized
• Not just equipment and procedures
• Human element of command is critical
• Boldness, initiative, personality, strength of
  will, imagination
• Lead from the front
• Where you can best influence the action
• Show willingness to share danger and privation

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Warfighting Philosophy

• Mission Tactics
• Subordinates tasked to accomplish a mission
  without specifying how
• Small unit leaders expected to adapt to changing
  situations rather than wait for seniors
  permission
• Freedom for initiative permits high tempo ops

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Warfighting Philosophy

• Combined Arms
• The full integration of arms in such a way that
  to counteract one, the enemy must become more
  vulnerable to another
• Takes advantage of complimentary characteristics
  of different types of units
• Pose the enemy not just with a problem, but with
  a dilemma a no-win situation

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• Organization

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Marine Air Ground Task Force

• MAGTF is a balanced, air-ground combined arms
  task organization of Marine Corps forces under a
  single commander, structured to accomplish a
  specific mission.

• What does that mean?
• Ground Marines, aircraft, and support
• Put them all under a single Headquarters Element
• They fight together for one common mission.

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MAGTF Basic Organization
Basic structure never varies, but number, type,
and size of units in each of the four elements
will be mission-dependent.
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Command Element (CE)

• Headquarters integrates the ACE, GCE, and LCE
  together to accomplish a mission
• Command and Control (C2) functions

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Ground Combat Element (GCE)

• Ground combat power
• May include
• Infantry
• Artillery
• Tanks
• Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV)
• Light Armored Recon (LAR)
• Combat Engineers
• Reconnaissance

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Air Combat Element (ACE)

• Air and lift capabilities
• May include
• Fixed rotary wing
• Attack
• Assault
• Marine air control
• Air Traffic Control (ATC)
• Air defense
• Aviation logistics and support

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Logistics Combat Element (LCE)

• Logistical sustainment
• Functions include
• Transportation
• Supply (food, fuel, ammo)
• Maintenance
• General engineering
• Health services (medical/dental)
• General Services

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MAGTF Strengths

• Leverages strengths of different units weapon
  systems to achieve combined arms effect
• MAGTF commander has a joint type force
• Scalable
• Task-organized based on mission
• Flexible
• Wide range of capabilities and weapon systems
• In a JTF, Marine aviation assets remain under
  control of MAGTF commander vice JFACC

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Some MAGTF Capabilities

• Forcible entry (Amphibious Assault)
• Deterrence
• Demonstrations
• Amphibious Raids
• Limited Objective attacks
• 3-Block Warfare
• Seizure of terrain, bases, territory

• Disaster Relief
• Non-Combatant Evacuation Op (NEO)
• Stability/Peace keeping
• TRAP
• Humanitarian
• Visit, Board, Search Seizure (VBSS)
• Mass Casualty

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Four Types of MAGTFs

• Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) large
• Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) medium
• Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) small
• Special Purpose MAGTF (SPMAGTF) varies

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Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF)

• The largest and principal MAGTF
• 35,000-55,000 Marines Sailors
• 60 days sustainment
• Only standing MAGTF

Commanded by Lt General
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MEF Headquarters
II MEF
III MEF
I MEF
Camp Lejeune, NC
Okinawa, Japan
Camp Pendleton, CA
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Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB)

• 5,000-15,000 Marines Sailors
• 30 days sustainment

Commanded by Brig. General
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Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU)

• 2,200 Marines Sailors
• 15 days sustainment
• Forward deployed on amphibious ships
• 6 hour response
• Can reach 75 of worlds littorals in about 5
  days

Commanded by Colonel
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MEU Typical Operating Areas

• II MEF
• 22nd MEU
• 24th MEU
• 26th MEU

• I MEF
• 11th MEU
• 13th MEU
• 15th MEU

• III MEF
• 31st MEU

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Special Purpose MAGTF

• Anything and everything
• Tailored to meet specific missions
• Occasionally assembled because no other MAGTF
  structures are available

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Recent Examples

• MEF
• OIF I MEF (rein with 2nd MarDiv) deployed to
  Kuwait and attacked 500 miles into Iraq, 2003
• MEB
• Desert Storm 4th 5th MEBs conducted an amphib
  demonstration (deception) off Kuwaiti coast, 1991
• MEU
• East Timor 11th MEU (SOC) humanitarian
  assistance, 1999
• Liberia 26th MEU (SOC) landed Marines to support
  peacekeeping efforts in Monrovia, 2003
• SPMAGTF
• New Orleans Humanitarian assistance ops post
  Katrina, 2005

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USMC What we are

• A forward deployed force
• A Truly expeditionary force in readiness
• An instrument of real presence
• A young force
• A lean force
• An inexpensive force
• An institutionally paranoid force

If we didnt have a Marine Corps, we would have
to invent one.
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and what we are not

• An Army
• Immense combat power
• Logistics for the sustained fight
• An Air Force
• Strategic Lift
• Air-to-Air Refueling
• Numbers Endurance
• Strategic Piece
• A Special Operations Force
• Training
• Equipment

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Bottom Line

• The Marine Corps can
• Kick down the front door
• Go in the back door (stealth and surprise)
• Knock the house down (destroy)
• Fix the house (humanitarian-disaster relief)
• The Navy-Marine Corps Team can
• Loiter for long periods (threat, diplomatic
  pressure)
• Self sustain

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Bottom Line

• The Marine Corps cannot
• Replace the Army
• Replace the Air Force
• Replace Special Operations Forces

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Take Aways

• Unique culture
• Warfighting philosophy based on maneuver and
  combined arms
• Expeditionary force-in-readiness
• Task organized as MAGTFs Combined arms,
  air-ground team

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Questions?