Submissions Due: May 13, 2022
Topic Week Dates: May 23-27, 2022
Article Length: 1,000-3,000 words
Submit to: [email protected]
By Dmitry Filipoff
The ongoing transformation of the Marine Corps has become more controversial. A new working group of senior retired Marine Corps generals is reportedly engaged in opposing initiatives of the incumbent Commandant, General David Berger. These initiatives are aimed at modernizing the Marine Corps for modern great power competition, as expressed in key documents such as the Commandant’s Planning Guidance, Force Design 2030, and the tentative manual for Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO). These initiatives have been implemented through the divestment of legacy force structure, among other lines of effort, and are characterized as a return to the maritime identity of the USMC.
What are the merits of these operating concepts and their associated force structure, including EABO, stand-in forces, and Marine units equipped with more missiles and sensors instead of heavier armor and cannon artillery? Are these concepts fit to meet modern threats, and if so, how best to proceed with implementation?
If these concepts are not fit to meet modern threats, especially China, then what should the Marine Corps do instead? Do the Marine operating concepts and force structure of preceding decades effectively meet the challenges of today and tomorrow? Or should the Marines move in a different direction, and if so, what should that look like? What scope and pace of change is necessary?
Authors are invited to answer these questions and more as we debate the merits and implementation of the ongoing transformation of the Marine Corps. Send all submissions to [email protected].
Dmitry Filipoff is CIMSEC’s Director of Online Content. Contact him at [email protected].
Featured Image: A Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System launcher deploys into position aboard Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands, Hawaii, Aug. 16, 2021. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Maj. Nick Mannweiler, released)