Lance Cpl. Marco S. Buehler, right, a scout sniper assigned to Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, fires an MK-11 sniper rifle as another Marine spots for him, inside a CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter over the Gulf of Aden.
The Corps provides forces and specialized detachments for service aboard naval ships, on stations and for operations ashore. The Marine Corps and the Navy share a common heritage. Throughout our history, Marines have served aboard Navy ships as marksmen, embarked Marine Air Ground Task Forces, naval aviators, and specialized detachments afloat. This heritage isreflected in the Marine Corps’ doctrine and in how the Corps designs its equipment and weapons systems. Close association with the Navy continues today. The new maritime strategy articulates the Corps renewed emphasis on integrating naval capabilities and capacities.
Endurance and Evolution over time Past: Robust Marine detachments aboard capital ships and aircraft carriers Marine Corps Security Force Companies
Current: Reduction of ship’s companies and security details due to manpower shortages.
Future: Highly trained regional specialists will be able todeploy in tailored small units to support the Navy across allaspects of warfare and assistance⁄relief operations.
Regionally focused
Global Fleet Stations
SCMAGTF
Relevance
During the Small Wars period in the early decades of the 1900s, Marines routinely deployed as detachments frombarracks aboard naval stations and aboard ships of the line,routinely heavy cruisers. The formation of expeditionary battalions used the Marine task-organized companies from multiple ships along with ship’s companies to conduct operations ashore.
In contrast, today Marines are mainlyemployed aboard L-Class ships grouped into routinely deploying Marine Expeditionary Units. The MEUs have been the only force routinely conducting contingency operations such as non-combatant evacuation operations, humanitarian assistance⁄disaster relief, and security force assistance.
Future operations will continue to encompass NEO and HA⁄DR but will require increased maritime security capabilities for combating piracy, terrorism at sea and providing criticalinfrastructure protection.
Future capabilities, such as SCMAGTF and regionally focused forces, will enable Marines to serve on Global Fleet Stations,Littoral Combat Ships, and ashore in support of CombatantCommand Phase Zero Operations.
Uniqueness
The ability to provide forward deployed tailored detachments aboard naval vessels is unique to the Marine Corps.
This historical role is innate in the Marine culture, doctrine, and training. Although other services can provide personnel to naval vessels and stations, such contributions do not possess theinherent maritime expeditionary proficiency necessaryto add credible capability to Naval forces.
As identified in the Vision and Strategy 2025, these competencies are not well understood by senior decision-makers outside of the Marine Corps. As a result, there are frequent and non-productive discussions arguing the validity of core competencies. Such diversions prevent a more meaningful discussion of how the Corps will provide capabilities within its competencies now and in the future. Problems arise as a result of both misunderstandings and objections to the relevance and unique contribution the Corps’ core competencies represent. This articlecovers the Marine Corps’ renewed emphasis on integrating naval capabilities and capacities, andsupports the argument that endurance over time, relevance and uniqueness are the criteria that bestexpresses the Corps’ core competencies. Theendurance of each competency will be demonstrated by brief examples offering past, present and potential future manifestations of each competency. Next,arguments for continual relevance both now and in the foreseeable future will be offered. A brief description of how each competency is unique whencompared to similar attributes elsewhere in the joint force will conclude this framework.
Six Core Competencies
1) Persistent Forward Naval Engagement
2) Integrated Combined Arms
3) Forces and Specialized Detachments forService with the Navy
4) Joint Forcible Entry From the Sea
5) Complex Expeditionary Operations
6) Lead Joint and Multinational Operations and Enable Interagency Activities
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