The old adage that history repeats itself can almost be the back bone of doctrine as we look to
the future of warfare and the threats that lay on the horizon. When Major Earl “Pete” Ellis, published
Operation Plan 712 – Advanced Base Operations in Micronesia, the world had many parallels to today.
They faced a super power to the east who was a powerful peer advisory with a far reach, exceptional
military capabilities and a population with a fanatical loyalty to their nation. As the US military and
Marine Corps begins to position ourselves to move from 20 years of fighting in the Middle East against
an insurgency to what a near peer may bring to the table, we need to think about how we can change
our mindset. In order for the US to maintain its dominance as a world leader and to protect its
economic power and that of its allies we need to not just go back to our roots but rework them. The
Marine Corps is stuck in the mindset of fighting a desert war in a country that is far less developed
against an enemy with less technical power. The next battle will most likely not take place in the same
environment. Whether we find ourselves fighting foes in the high north in the artic sea or to the east in
the China Sea there will be a strong need for advances. As a military we need to change and develop
new tactics. This includes a focus on naval integration and how surface connectors are going to get
assets ashore against advanced counter surveillance and targeting capabilities. In addition to that we
need to be rethinking how we prepare the battle space in a non-kinetic environment. Lastly the battle
for economic advantage drives the actions of many nations as they seek to take control of resources and
how they may affect future contested areas and proxy wars.
As a nation and a military we are shifting our focus away from the foes in the Middle East and
the fear of insurgency and terrorism has dwindled. Now the nations to the west are seeing the strength
and aggression of the power players to the east. However, our tactics, training and mindset as a military
is slow to adapt from 20 years of dessert warfare. We are beginning to war game, conduct trainings,
and exercises against a notional advisory to the “high north.” However, in many of these meetings
planners still engage this foe as if they were patrolling through villages in a third world country and not
with the mindset of these conflicts taking place in the well-manicured backyards of a first world country.
Not only are these well-educated first world nations but they are well connected to instant access to
information and the rest of the world. They also hold their own set of ethics, culture and beliefs. A
huge downfall to previous conflicts was the delay in training for operating in the dessert and insurgent
environment and more importantly the delay in cultural training and understanding. It is near impossible
to have a nation buy into what you are trying to accomplish if you don’t understand their basic drives.
The Marine Corps has started to ramp up their focus on cold weather training and operations but is still
light-years behind in cultural training for much of Europe. The understanding that we cannot fight in a
country like Norway and have vehicles plow through back yards, Marines dumping MRE trash and spit
bottles out the window and defecating on the street in a neighborhood. We not only need to change
our tactics but our mindsets and understanding. Trash littered across a nation that views the
environment as national priority will not garner long term support or positive sentiment. We focus on
trying to understand our advisories but lack understanding of our allies.