Introduction to the
United States
Marine Corps
Our Culture
Core Values
• Honor
• Courage
• Commitment
Our most important attributes.
This is what we stand for.
Mission
• Make Marines
• Win Battles
• Create Quality Citizens
Mission accomplishment is the foundation of our reputation
This is what we do.
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.
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.
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
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
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 way—two
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
moment’s notice
– Spartan attitude: willingness to endure
hardship and austere conditions
Innovative
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Close Air Support
Amphibious Operations
Naval Gunfire Support
Vertical envelopment
Maritime Prepositioning
Korea, September 1951
“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
Warfighting
Philosophy
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
Warfighting Philosophy
• Maneuver Warfare
– “… a warfighting philosophy that seeks to shatter the
enemy’s 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)
Warfighting Philosophy
• Key Ingredients of Maneuver Warfare
– Speed
• Establish pace the enemy can’t maintain
– Focus
• Against enemy’s critical vulnerabilities
– Ruthless Opportunism
• Seek out weakness
– Surprise
• Strike at unexpected time and place
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
Army
Navy
Marines
1:4
1:5
1:6
1:8.5
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
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
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
Organization
Marine Air Ground Task Force
• MAGTF is a balanced, airground combined arms task
organization of Marine Corps
forces under a single
commander, structured to
accomplish a specific mission.
What does that mean?
a. Ground Marines, aircraft, and support
b. Put them all under a single Headquarters Element
c. They fight together for one common mission.
MAGTF Basic Organization
Command Element
(CE)
Ground Combat Element
(GCE)
Air Combat Element
(ACE)
Logistics Combat Element
(LCE)
Basic structure never varies, but number, type, and size of units in each
of the four elements will be mission-dependent.
Command Element (CE)
• Headquarters
integrates the ACE,
GCE, and LCE together
to accomplish a mission
• Command and Control
(C2) functions
Ground Combat Element (GCE)
• Ground combat power
• May include:
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Infantry
Artillery
Tanks
Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV)
Light Armored Recon (LAR)
Combat Engineers
Reconnaissance
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
Logistics Combat Element (LCE)
• Logistical sustainment
• Functions include:
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–
–
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Transportation
Supply (food, fuel, ammo)
Maintenance
General engineering
Health services (medical/dental)
General Services
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
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
Four Types of MAGTFs
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Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) – large
Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) – medium
Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) – small
Special Purpose MAGTF (SPMAGTF) – varies
CE
GCE
ACE
LCE
Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF)
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The largest and principal MAGTF
35,000-55,000 Marines + Sailors
60 days sustainment
Only standing MAGTF
Commanded by:
Lt General
MEF HQ Group
(CE)
Marine Division
(GCE)
Marine Air Wing
(ACE)
Marine Logistics
Group (LCE)
MEF Headquarters
II MEF
I MEF
Camp Pendleton, CA
Camp Lejeune, NC
III MEF
Okinawa, Japan
Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB)
• 5,000-15,000 Marines + Sailors
• 30 days sustainment
Commanded by:
Brig. General
MEB HQ
(CE)
Infantry Regiment (rein)
(GCE)
Aircraft Group
(ACE)
Combat Logistics
Regiment (LCE)
Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU)
• 2,200 Marines + Sailors
• 15 days sustainment
• Forward deployed on amphibious ships
Commanded by:
Colonel
– 6 hour response
– Can reach 75% of world’s littorals in about 5 days
MEU HQ
(CE)
Infantry Battalion (rein)
(GCE)
Composite Aviation
Squadron (ACE)
Combat Logistics
Battalion (LCE)
MEU – Typical Operating Areas
II MEF
I MEF
III MEF
• 22nd MEU
• 11th MEU
• 31st MEU
• 24th MEU
• 13th MEU
• 26th MEU
• 15th MEU
Special Purpose MAGTF
• Anything and everything
• Tailored to meet specific missions
• Occasionally assembled because no other
MAGTF structures are available
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
USMC: What we are…
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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 didn’t have a Marine Corps, we would have to invent one.”
…and what we are not
• An Army
– Immense combat power
– Logistics for the sustained fight
• An Air Force
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Strategic Lift
Air-to-Air Refueling
Numbers & Endurance
Strategic Piece
• A Special Operations Force
– Training
– Equipment
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
Bottom Line
• The Marine Corps cannot:
–Replace the Army
–Replace the Air Force
–Replace Special Operations Forces
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
Questions?