Leaning Into the 21st Century

[thedrifter]

Leaning Into the 21st Century

by LtGen Edward Hanlon, Jr.

The combat development process has undergone many changes in order to be more responsive to the needs of the Marine Corps and its Operating Forces.
We have a new way of doing business at Quantico. Old structures and systems have given way to streamlined processes that move ideas at high velocity along the trajectory from the point of origin to the point of impact. And impact is what we?re all about. We want our actions to make a difference for our warfighters in the Operating Forces, and we?re making that happen at the Marine Corps Combat Development Command (MCCDC) right now.

Two recent events signaled a shift in the way we operate. First, the Fiscal Year 2003 Defense Authorization Bill directed that the Commanding General (CG), MCCDC would be assigned the additional title of Deputy Commandant for Combat Development (DC CD). With this change Marines at MCCDC became full-fledged members of the Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC) staff, thereby formalizing an already strong relationship.


Second, the Commandant signed Marine Corps Order 3900.15A, Expeditionary Force Development System. This directive implements a new process for performing the functions of combat development in the Marine Corps. It establishes a systematic approach to the development of future combat capabilities while allowing for flexibility in addressing emerging requirements identified by Marine forces committed to contingency operations.


As the intellectual heart of the Corps, Quantico has long been recognized as the primary source for the new ideas that shape the way Marines fight and win. Given MCCDC?s leading role in developing combat capabilities for the Operating Forces, it is important for all Marines to understand this mission. However, in my 2 years as the CG, MCCDC, and now, the DC CD, I have found that many Marines do not fully comprehend the nature of the work performed at Quantico. To that end, it is in the spirit of professional education that I would like to inform, and perhaps enlighten, my fellow Marines.


What Is ?Combat Development??
Admittedly, combat development is not a fully descriptive term. In fairness, however, I would note that no simple title could satisfactorily describe the scope and expanse of the work we undertake at MCCDC. Our mission is a complex and multifaceted activity that involves rigorously detailed analysis, as well as the subjective intuition that is a product of the operational experience of seasoned, professional Marines.


Simply put, combat development is the process that achieves the design and delivery of warfighting capabilities for the Marine Corps?now and in the future. Take note of that last phrase. It?s very important. We deal with the needs of the Operating Forces now by responding to input from Marines regarding specific deficiencies in existing capabilities. For example, in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF) and Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF), we have thus far acted on over 60 urgent requests for new or additional capabilities, most of which originated from units in the Operating Forces. (See Sidebar 1.) As of this writing, new requests for such support continue to arrive frequently. Those that are associated with operations in the global war on terrorism (GWOT) receive our highest priority for immediate action. This direct and timely support fulfills the immediate needs of the Operating Forces.


Let me emphasize, however, that even as we support the fight today, MCCDC also addresses the future needs of the Corps. When I speak of the future, I refer to an era that will begin in earnest with the introduction of the newest equipment currently under development?the MV?22 Osprey and the expeditionary fighting vehicle?and will continue well into the decades beyond. At MCCDC we study capabilities that will be employed by Marines who have not yet been born, using technologies that have thus far been barely imagined. This long-range vision is crucial because development and exploitation of emerging technologies can be a lengthy and fragile process. We must identify potentially useful ideas as they emerge so that we can shape them into capabilities required by Marines of the future.


Combat development means transformation. Through the work undertaken at Quantico, the Corps is continually reshaped, sometimes in ways that are subtle but other times in ways that are dramatic. In all cases, MCCDC ensures that Marines possess the capabilities they need to accomplish their mission?today and tomorrow.

Who Performs Combat Development?
The Marines who perform these functions come to MCCDC with broad experience in the Operating Forces from which they draw the breadth and depth of tactical and technical proficiency essential for this kind of work. They represent many military occupational specialties with expertise that reaches across all elements of the Marine air-ground task force (MAGTF).


Our Marines have a lot of high-quality help to keep the creative ideas flowing. Shipmates from the Navy develop medical, dental, and ecclesiastical support capabilities. Army and Air Force liaison officers not only represent their respective Services but also work as members of the MCCDC staff. International officers assigned to Quantico as instructors and liaison officers contribute an important perspective on coalition warfare. Finally, our civilian Marines provide specialized knowledge and long-term continuity. These qualities are invaluable to an organization involved in work requiring steady commitment of resources for decades on end. All of these personnel, uniformed and civilian, are assigned across MCCDC in subordinate commands and staff organizations that perform one or more specific functions associated with the mission of combat development.


Expeditionary Force Development Center (EFDC). The EFDC is a directorate within MCCDC headquarters that serves as the combat development staff of the DC CD. Subordinate divisions of the EFDC contribute directly to the creation of warfighting capabilities by designing future concepts, doctrine, force structure, and materiel requirements. In the effort to capture the lessons emerging from the GWOT, the EFDC organizes and deploys a combat assessment team to active theaters of operations. (See Sidebar 2.)


The EFDC also performs the most vital of all combat development functions: integration. This is the critical process of ensuring that all of the constituent elements of a combat capability are developed in concert with one another, that they all progress according to schedule and, most importantly, that these elements all lead toward a common goal.(See Sidebar 3.)

Training and Education Command (TECom). The TECom mission is to identify training requirements and to develop training and education solutions in support of commanders preparing Marines to meet the challenges of present and future operational environments.


This mission is carried out through a training and education continuum that spans the career of every Marine. With core competencies and mission essential tasks as its foundation, the continuum includes entry-level training, professional military education, common skills training, skill progression training, and unit-level training. These five elements are linked by training and educational standards that form the basis of course content and training syllabi and objectives. Using standards-based training and education, the TECom end state is to provide combat ready Marines in support of the combatant commander?s warfighting requirements.


Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL). Any organization that is focused on the future must have a group dedicated to experimentation. Ours is the MCWL. I think of the MCWL as MCCDC?s ?deep reconnaissance? element, operating in the furthermost reaches of the realm of the possible. The lab conducts experimentation aimed at developing new tactics and technologies that can be fed into the combat development system for full integration as complete combat capabilities.


The four focus areas of the lab are fire and maneuver; asymmetrical warfare; reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition; and command and control and information. These areas reflect both Service-specific and Marine Corps contributions to future joint warfighting capabilities.

Marine Corps Base Quantico. The base is an element of MCCDC without which none of the important work accomplished at Quantico would be possible. This command, comprised of Marines, sailors, and a professional civilian workforce, provides administration, logistics, security, and operations support for all activities onboard Marine Corps Base Quantico. These activities include separate commands, such as MCCDC, Marine Corps Recruiting Command, Marine Corps Systems Command (MarCorSysCom), Marine Security Guard Battalion, Marine Experimental Helicopter Squadron 1, and Marine Corps Intelligence Activity, as well as staff agencies, such as the Manpower and Reserve Affairs Department (HQMC), Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate, and the Marine Corps Operational Test and Evaluation Activity.

Combat Development: A Collaborative Effort
While each subordinate element of MCCDC performs an important mission in its own right, combat development is a process of collective action among the EFDC, the MCWL, and TECom. Through the synergistic effort of this combat development team, working with other organizations throughout the Corps, we create fully ready warfighting capabilities.


MCCDC joins with external organizations to plan and execute combat development activities. Proposed new capabilities are assessed by a working group that includes members from the EFDC, MCWL, TECom, MarCorSysCom, and the four ?advocates? for the elements of the MAGTF. By bringing together all of these stakeholders, we shape combat development actions to ensure that we best serve the interests of our Operating Forces.


Our organizational construct is the key to success. Because the EFDC, TECom, and MCWL all take their top-down guidance from CG, MCCDC, all Marine Corps combat development tasks remain intimately entwined. The EFDC crafts warfighting concepts that form the basis for all combat development. Using these concepts the MCWL designs and conducts experimentation and channels the findings into the EFDC and TECom. The results of experimentation influence the development of doctrine, force structure, materiel, or training solutions. For example, the ship-to-objective maneuver (STOM) concept will provide the basis for the MCCDC?s upcoming SEA VIKING experiment?our most aggressive effort thus far to identify solutions for some challenging future capability gaps. The outcome of SEA VIKING will help the EFDC and TECom to develop the specific capabilities required to make STOM a reality.

The Future of MCCDC
As the Corps enters the 21st century, MCCDC remains at the forefront of efforts to support our Operating Forces at the tip of the Nation?s spear. The Marines who perfected amphibious warfare at Quantico in the 1930s would hardly recognize the place today, but they would surely recognize the same sense of innovation in the sense that they are shaping the future of the Marine Corps. I ask all Marines to be a part of the process by sharing your ideas with the combat developers. Better yet, if you can think ?out of the box,? join us at Quantico and become part of the team that is shaping the Corps for the future.


>LtGen Hanlon is the CG, MCCDC and the DC CD.

Sidebar 1.

Urgent Needs
Since the beginning of the GWOT, Marine Corps units involved in (or preparing for) combat operations have identified over 60 urgent and compelling needs for new capabilities. MCCDC processes urgent requests using streamlined procedures that enable the CG, MarCorSysCom to rapidly procure and field new equipment. Some of the items rapidly fielded using this method include:


Blue force tracker. This enhanced situational awareness technology was used successfully during combat operations in Iraq to provide a ?common tactical picture? for ground units.


Laser designators/rangefinders. Parts of the first two increments of the target location designation handoff system were rapidly fielded for the GWOT. Units deployed for OEF were equipped with the laser rangefinder capability. Units deploying for OIF received the laser designator capability as well.


Bridging equipment. Used by I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) during OIF to cross water obstacles, enabling decisive, high-speed penetration.


Mortar ballistic computer. Successfully used in combat by 60mm and 81mm mortar units for technical fire direction, resulting in more rapid and accurate fire support.


Personal role radio (PRR). Individual communications device used to provide enhanced command and control at the small unit (squad and below) level, especially in complex terrain. PRRs were used successfully during urban combat operations in Iraq.


Sidebar 1.


Sidebar 2.

Combat Assessment Team
The foundation of combat development is information reported directly from the battlefield. We need to know whether our weapons, tactics, training, and force structure are working as expected. Further, we need to identify any ?gaps? in our combat capabilities. MCCDC combat assessment teams join units of the Operating Forces in forward areas to collect such data. Operating under the direction of the Studies and Analysis Division, EFDC, these teams comprise subject matter experts representing all elements of the MAGTF and many functional areas. They observe operations, conduct interviews and surveys, secure copies of combat records, and forward their findings to the DC CD for analysis and action.


Two significant combat assessment team deployments have occurred during the GWOT. The OEF combat assessment team collected data on operations in Afghanistan. The OIF combat assessment team is deployed to the Central Command theater of operations, collecting data, as of this writing.
The combat assessment team includes two components. The deployed cell consists of 26 Marines and sailors and 1 civilian. These personnel are embedded with staffs at Marine Forces Central Command, I MEF, and all major subordinate commands. At Quantico, six Marines and nine contractors man the central collection cell that receives and catalogues all data reported from the combat area.


The full database resulting from combat assessment team operations provides an information warehouse that supports our focus on providing the best possible capabilities to the Operating Forces. Operationally experienced Marines continually analyze these data to identify new ideas or validate existing capabilities. Summary reports, such as the one already published on OIF, provide an overview of the more cogent findings identified during the assessment process.


Sidebar 2.



Sidebar 3.

The ?Pillars of DOTMLPF?
In the language of combat development, a ?capability? is said to comprise up to seven elements:

Pillar Responsiblity
Doctrine CG,MCCDC (Doctrine Division, EFDC)
Organization CG, MCCDC (Total Force Structure Division, EFDC)
Training/Education CG, MCCDC (CG, TECom)
Materiel CG, MCCDC (Materiel Requirements Division, EFDC)
Leader Development CG, MCCDC (CG, TECom)
Personnel DC, Manpower & Reserve Affairs
Facilities DC, Installations & Logistics

While each of the pillars of DOTMLPF is important in its own right, one of the most critical combat development tasks is the integration of these discrete parts into complete, coherent combat capabilities. Through integration, for example, we ensure that the fielding of a new item of equipment is accompanied by appropriate changes to doctrine and force structure, that training plans are in place to prepare Marines to employ the equipment, and that our facilities, such as armories and motor pools, are adequate to support the introduction of the new equipment. As is evident from the table above, integration requires coordinated action by a number of different organizations.


The Director, EFDC leads the integration of combat development for the Marine Corps. The goal is to deliver fully integrated capabilities to the Operating Forces and to maintain them for as long as they are needed. Accomplishing that objective is a complex process that remains active throughout the ?lifespan? of any combat capability.



Sidebar 3.



http://www.mca-marines.org/Gazette/1003hanlon.html


Sempers,

Roger