By Walker Mills
CIMSEC Co-Host Walker Mills discusses Force Design 2030 with Travis Reese, Ian Brown, Zach Ota, Travis Hord, Leo Spaeder, and Brian Strom, who are all active or retired Marines in this wide-ranging conversation. They published an article “Trends in Maritime Challenges Indicate that Force Design 2030 is the Proper Path,” for War on the Rocks in January 2024.
Download Sea Control 550 – Six Marines Talk Force Design 2030
Links
1. Travis Reese, Ian Brown, Zach Ota, Travis Hord, Leo Spaeder, and Brian Strom “Trends in Maritime Challenges Indicate Force Design 2030 is the Proper Path,” War on the Rocks, January 29, 2024.
2. “Force Design 2030,” Headquarters US Marine Corps, March 2020.
3. “Force Design 2030: Annual Update,” Headquarters US Marine Corps, June 2023.
C. Travis Reese retired from the Marine Corps after nearly 21 years of service. While on active duty he served in a variety of billets including tours in capabilities development, future scenario design, and institutional strategy. Mr. Reese is now the director of wargaming and net assessment for Troika Solutions in Reston, VA.
Ian T. Brown recently retired from the Marine Corps after 20 years of service. He frequently writes (and wargames) on modern and future war concepts. Ian currently works as a wargame analyst in the private sector.
Zach Ota is an infantry officer and an international affairs officer in the Marine Corps. LtCol Ota is also a non-resident fellow at the Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Future Warfare who advances issues involving maritime security, alliances and partnerships, and military history in the Pacific. LtCol Ota currently serves as a future operations planner at U.S. Pacific Fleet and U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific.
Travis Hord is an infantry officer. LtCol Hord contributed to future concept and capability development while assigned as a planner at the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory.
Leo Spaeder is the commanding officer of Combat Logistics Battalion 12 in Okinawa, Japan and a non-resident fellow at Marine Corps University’s Brute Krulak Center for Innovation & Future Warfare. In previous assignments, LtCol Spaeder participated in scenario design and capability development related to Force Design 2030.
Brian Strom is an intelligence officer in the Marine Corps. Major Strom currently serves as the Marine Corps Forces Pacific Target Intelligence Officer and as part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet staff.
Walker Mills is Co-Host of the Sea Control podcast and an active-duty Marine. Contact the Sea Control team at Seacontrol@cimsec.org.
This episode was edited and produced by Andrew Frame.
