Proceedings - November 2023 Vol. 149/11/1,449

The Marine Corps Issue: Logistics 2030, Countering UASs, and Arguments on Maneuver Warfare!

November 2023

Happy 248th birthday to the Marine Corps! Every November we focus on the Corps, and this issue is especially meaty.

CEO Notes

November 2023

It was exciting to celebrate the Institute’s 150th on the exact anniversary date—right here in Annapolis, where the Institute was born on 9 October 1873!

A Coast Guard combat cutter patrolling the North Atlantic looses a depth charge in battle practice sometime during World War II.

Comment & Discussion

November 2023

Readers respond to articles on Warfighting, Sea Control, and more.

Rear Admiral Rickover; Commander William Anderson, Nautilus commanding officer; and New York mayor Robert Wagner celebrate the submarine’s historic trip under the polar ice cap. Additive manufacturing needs a visionary leader like Rickover to move it forward.

Additive Manufacturing Needs a Champion

By Captain Brad Baker and Lieutenant Commander Jake Lunday, U.S. Navy, Captain John P. Cordle, U.S. Navy (Retired), and Michael Pecota

November 2023

If the Navy does not give AM a makeover, it will not be the significant force readiness multiplier it could be.

Sea Cadets are introduced to a multitude of topics and skills—from seamanship and navigation to firefighting and damage control—that are especially relevant to maritime service.

Grow the Coast Guard–Sea Cadet Partnership

By Theo Illarionov, U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps

November 2023

The U.S. Coast Guard should grow its partnership with the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps.

Award writing is more than just another administrative burden. Sailors and Marines likely will keep their citations for their entire lives, and they should be able to read them years later with pride in their accomplishments.

Award Writing is an Undervalued Skill

By Lieutenant Commander Adam T. Biggs, U.S. Navy

November 2023

Junior personnel often do not receive adequate mentoring or training on writing citations.

A sailor stands watch on the USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77) in November 2022. Ask any sailor who has been underway, and it will not be hard to find something all deployed ships are short of: Sleep.

Mandate Uninterrupted Rest Hours for a Safer Navy

By Petty Officer Second Class Christopher Woolsey, U.S. Navy

November 2023

Ask any sailor who has been underway, and it will not be hard to find something all deployed ships are short of: Sleep.

A recent example of Navy-Marine Corps campaigning is the deployment of the Bataan Amphibious Readiness Group/26th Marine Expeditionary Unit to counter Iranian aggression in the Persian Gulf by providing security to merchant vessels.

Rethink the Marine Corps’ Role in Global Campaigning

By General Eric M. Smith, U.S. Marine Corps

November 2023

Campaigning is not a new concept, but its renewed use is a wakeup call.

While still a concept, the DARPA Liberty Lifter wing-in-ground-effect seaplane is an example of the kind of expeditionary logistics capability needed to make FD2030 viable.

Logistics 2030: Foraging Is Not Going to Cut It

By Lieutenant Colonel Brian Donlon, U.S. Marine Corps

November 2023

Marine Corps Essay Contest—First Prize. Sponsored by U.S. Naval Institute. A modernized logistics enterprise is needed to support expeditionary forces.

Marines conduct small-boat operations from HMS Albion into Latvia during the 2023 NATO Baltic Operations exercise.

Maneuver Warfare Is Not Dead, But It Must Evolve

By Colonel Pat Garrett, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired), and Lieutenant Colonel Frank Hoffman, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve (Retired)

November 2023

Marine Corps Essay Contest—Second Prize. Sponsored by U.S. Naval Institute. Properly understood and updated, maneuver warfare remains critical to the future.

Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit prepare to operate a Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System (L-MADIS) during Iron Fist 23 in Japan. L-MADIS is designed to detect and counter unmanned aircraft.

Make Every Marine a Drone Killer

By Captain Karl Flynn, U.S. Marine Corps

November 2023

Marine Corps Essay Contest—Third Prize. Sponsored by U.S. Naval Institute. Marines must prepare to counter unmanned aerial systems.

Marines from the 3d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force–Darwin 22, observe an MV-22 Osprey land during exercise Southern Jackaroo 22 at Shoalwater Bay Training Area.

Maneuver Warfare Is Just Operational Art

By Major Christopher Denzel, U.S. Marine Corps

November 2023

Rewrite MCDP-1 to synthesize the science of attrition with the art of maneuver.

A Marine Corps UH-1Y Venom helicopter with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469 flies over the USS John Finn (DDG-113). The teamwork of land, sea, and air forces and the central role of scouting—“information acquisition”—will be essential to littoral combat in the western Pacific and anywhere else the Navy and Marine Corps must team up to fight.

Designing a Force with a Fighting Foot Ashore

By Lieutenant General Matthew Glavy, U.S. Marine Corps, and Lieutenant General Philip D. Shutler, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)

November 2023

A. A. Vandegrift has much to teach today’s Marine Corps and Navy about force modernization.

An MV-22B Osprey takes off from the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6). Integrated U.S. naval power—modeled by Task Force 76/3 in the western Pacific—provides broader options for contingency and crisis response, as well as in conflict.

Naval Integration in the Western Pacific

By Rear Admiral Derek Trinque, U.S. Navy

November 2023

Task Force 76/3 models flexible command options that cross boundaries and provide greater interoperability.

An infantry fire team needs a responsive direct-fire high-explosive solution capable of reducing a hardened position or destroying an enemy armored vehicle. The Marine Corps is fielding the M3E1 Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon System (above) to fill this role.

Infantry Is More than Rifle Squads

By Major Michael Hanson, U.S. Marine Corps

November 2023

Suppression is the critical infantry task that exists to support maneuver.

9 December 1950: Marines of the 1st Marine Division march through mountain terrain in subzero weather during the Korean War’s Battle of Chosin Reservoir—one of the deadliest of the war.

Semper Fidelis

By A. Denis Clift

November 2023

Highlighting 150 years of the Marine Corps in the pages of Proceedings.

Transshipment vessels— essentially floating refrigerated warehouses—allow smaller fishing vessels to offload their catch at sea. While transshipment plays a vital role in the global fishing industry, it can obscure the source of the catch and allow illegally caught fish to enter the market.

Move the IUU Fight Up the Food Chain

By Commander Conor Sullivan, U.S. Coast Guard

November 2023

Bolstering oversight of transshipment vessels would take counter–IUU fishing efforts to a new level.

The Warner Center at Marine Corps University, Quantico, Virginia. A 2023 survey found that while most officers felt that their professional military education experience prepared them for their next assignment, a slight majority felt it was not adequate to prepare them for high-end warfighting.

Preparing the Fleet for the Next Fight: An Assessment of Navy and Marine Corps Command and Staff Courses

By Major Maxwell Stewart, U.S. Marine Corps, Captain Louis Gilbertson, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, and Mason Evers

November 2023

The next U.S. conflict is likely to emerge rapidly and require combat-ready leaders in the first minutes of crisis.

The Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Oregon (SSN-793) passes the New London Ledge Lighthouse during routine operations in the mouth of the Thames River in Groton, Connecticut.

Prepare Intelligence Officers for the Undersea Fight

By Lieutenant Commanders Andrew Kramer and Larry Green and Lieutenant Corey Grey, U.S. Navy

November 2023

Intelligence officers are arriving at Navy undersea warfare commands with an inadequate understanding of foreign and U.S. submarine operations.

Sailors on board the USS Philippine Sea (CG-58) fill out paperwork for absentee voting. Nothing shows you care about the voice of your sailors more than encouraging them to vote.

Politics: Stay Professional, But Don’t Stay Silent

By Lieutenant James A. Calloway, U.S. Navy

November 2023

One political conversation that becomes confrontational or disrespectful could erode confidence in leaders or unit cohesion.

A marine inspector for Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Portland, Oregon, inspects the propeller and rudder of the vessel Four Seasons. A data-driven marine inspection process would put the Coast Guard’s workforce in a better position to ensure the safe operation of the Marine Transportation System.

The Coast Guard Needs Data-Driven Marine Inspections

By Lieutenant Matthew Zanella, U.S. Coast Guard

November 2023

A data-driven marine inspection workforce would allow for a deeper understanding of commercial fleets, as well as a more effective and empowered workforce.

Decision scientists need to support Navy commanders so they can amalgamate a variety of information to make the best possible tactical and operational decisions. While most fields of research focus on producing new knowledge, decision science is uniquely concerned with making optimal choices based on available information.

Commanders Need Operational Decision Scientists

By Commanders James Fox and Todd Moulton, U.S. Navy

November 2023

A staff decision scientist would independently consume information about the battlespace and shape the way the staff ingests the information and acts on it.

A Marine from Bravo Company, 2d Recon Battalion, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, moves through woodland areas during a rainstorm at Pelham Range, Anniston, Alabama. In planning exercises, the Marine Corps must generate realistic weather conditions that cause commanders and staffs to consider the environment as they think through the problems presented.

Prepare to Fight in Every Clime and Place

By Captain Jason R. Tyx, U.S. Marine Corps

November 2023

In Marine Corps exercises, environmental conditions are scripted as completely permissive or completely prohibitive. However, the environment rarely deals in absolutes.

Book Reviews

November 2023

Experts review White Sun War, Reading the Glass, and other new and noteworthy books.

Starboard side view of a Soviet Kotlin-class destroyer, hull number 351, underway in the Mediterranean in October 1973.

Where We Were

November 2023

A look back at the November issues of Proceedings from 1923, 1973, and 1998.

Private Diane Curtis smiles as she receives her Marine Corps emblems during March 1967 graduation exercises at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina. The emblem-pinning ceremony signifies the recruit has successfully completed recruit training.

From Our Archive

November 2023

The emblem-pinning ceremony signifies the recruit has successfully completed recruit training.

An LG-1K Tactical Aerial Delivery Glider during a Marine Corps Warfighting Lab test.

Gliding through A2/AD

By Captain Trevor Shimulunas, U.S. Marine Corps

November 2023

One-way, unmanned glider resupply vehicles could dramatically decrease the risks to distributed forces throughout the battlespace and free conventional manned delivery platforms for other missions.

Egypt’s first Gowind 2500 corvette, the El Fateh.

Gowind-Class Surface Ships: French Innovation Tackles the Export Market

By Eric Wertheim

November 2023

The French Gowind warship program began as a privately funded effort by the French shipbuilder now known as Naval Group.

Taiwan Strait: The Ocean’s Most Contested Place

By Captain Don Walsh, U.S. Navy (Retired)

November 2023

For several decades the Taiwan Strait has frequently been front-page news.

The Power of Resiliency: Ensuring the Institute Thrives for Another 150 Years

November 2023

We hope you will consider supporting our efforts to make the Naval Institute’s future as remarkable as its past.

Asked & Answered

November 2023

Which career film actor did the best job portraying a U.S. Marine and why?

Why We Need "Brain-Inspired AI" For True Unmanned Autonomy

November 2023

A group of five unmanned surface vehicles in the South China Sea spots a contingent of enemy vessels, but can’t get that information back to operators— it’s a contested environment, and satellite communications in the area are jammed.