A day in the life of General Charles Krulak offers a glimpse at the changes the Commandant sees in the Marines’ future.
As soon as the blockbuster movie “Apollo 13” became a smash hit—in part because of the countless Marines who flocked to see it—the expression used in the film during a crisis, “failure is not an option,” became a favorite motto of many military types. In fact, “failure is not an option” is to the Marine Corps of the 1990s what “Carpe Diem” was to the “Dead Poet Society” in the 1980s. But don’t let the comparison fool you; I’m not talking a touchy-feely Marine Corps. What I am talking about are rough and tough Marines who tend to be just a little extra hard on themselves.
Lighten Up!
Yeah, you. Lighten up. Failure is an option—at least in the beginning. And in preparing for the future, you are bound to fail. Think of it this way:
You are allowed at least one mistake.
For all of you Marines who live by the “Apollo 13” motto day by day, your commandant says forget it. Chill. Enjoy. Don’t worry so much.
He is allowing you to fail.
Yes, Krulak is allowing you to fail.
Yes, I said fail.
Fail during training, or mess up during a wargame, or screw up now and then at your desk job. He wants you to. He doesn’t mind if you miss a few fly balls on the playing field during practice.
But don’t you dare fail when you step onto the battlefield. And that battlefield your leader is talking about is what the Marine Corps future is all about.
Change: You Can Count On It
It is about change. But not just change for the sake of change. It is about change because you can count on it. Change is what General Krulak counts on.
I know. I spent a day with Krulak earlier this year. Now and then, reporters are invited to travel with the service chiefs. This was my day—the opportunity I had been looking for to get inside his mind, to hear all about his vision, to look with him into his crystal ball, to discuss what the future holds for his Marines, and more important, to eat chocolate on his airplane.
It was a day I will not soon forget, and I plan to bring that experience to you in a somewhat unconventional way: no acronyms and no “Pentagonese.” (For those out of the Washington, D.C., beltway, Pentagonese is the internal lingo spoken by the services, each with its own dialect and slang, and understood only by those who speak the same language.)
To begin our trip, let’s start at Andrews Air Force Base. It is early—real early reporters’ time, probably late military time—and the commandant has just arrived. I’m wondering, “Where are we going?” But General Krulak says, “It’s a surprise.”
Then I wonder, “How do I crack the ice and begin asking about the future?” After General Krulak settles in his seat and we experience a smooth departure, I watch him devour a chunk of chocolate. I think to myself, “Hhmm, I thought Marines ate well,” and begin firing the questions.
I want to talk specifics and details and visions of the future. He wants to talk about rollerblading. We detour. The Commandant tells a story about rollerblading on his weekend just like any other Joe. So disguised, in fact—wearing old sweats—that a teenage Marine guarding flat cement surface at a nearby base laughs in General Krulak’s face when he skates by announcing who he is. The young Marine stops General Krulak and demands identification. His service chief says, “Son, you don't understand. I’m your Commandant.” Our entire day was like this: one human interest story after another. Entertaining. Fun. Insightful.
He works hard at giving the appearance that he’s your bud. He talks to the young Marines about sports and their kids. He’s like the fun family uncle. But don’t let the rollerblades, Hershey’s, and humor fool you. General Krulak does not mess around when it comes to his Marines’ future.
“We’ve gotta’ modernize these minds, Beth,” he explains. “We’ve got to prepare these kids for the future, and I don’t even know what that future is,” General Kru- lak admits. He is both frustrated and challenged all at once.
Is There a Code on Board?
We prepare to land. General Krulak lets out a big laugh and fills me in on the secret destination. I learn that our first stop is in South Carolina. His aide scurries over and says, “Sir, they think there’s a code on board.” The aide fibs and tells the ground controllers there is no code on board—meaning the Marines down below will believe there is no one important in the aircraft today. This way, General Krulak can, as he puts it, “pop in to say hello without the red carpet treatment.”
We arrive, and the formality sets in. General Krulak transforms instantly from a casual chatty Kathy into a no-nonsense four star.
As we exit the plane, I follow and find a perfect position to view the facial reactions to the Marine Corps leader as the young enlisted Marines become speechless. It is as though they are seeing a long-lost friend. I’m trying to figure out if they are more shocked by the metal on his uniform or by the way he smacks their backs like a good- ole boy.
Jefferson to Adams
While I watch, I can’t help but wonder, “How is it that he plans to modernize these minds again?” And I ask myself, “What will it really be like in 2020?”
I am reminded of a letter Thomas Jefferson sent to John Adams in the early 1800s. Jefferson wrote: “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” Such a simple thought for such a fearless leader. It is a good thing he was not afraid of change.
General Krulak is not afraid of change either. That is clear. But with so much chatter about the future lately—you’ve heard it all: the third wave, futurists, Vision 2020, the Marine Corps after next—what kind of future will it be?
As the service modernizes its equipment, it also must modernize the mind, according to General Krulak. Doing both is ideal. Doing one without the other leaves wanting. As for the rest, it seems, no one is certain.
The A-B-Cs and 1-2-3s
When one begins to dive into the topic of a new direction of the Marine Corps, ideas have a tendency to get as jumbled as alphabet soup. A is for: A clueless Marine Corps. B is for: But what do I do now? And C is for: Can I really get there?
General Krulak will be the first to tell you that his Marines aren’t clueless. If anything, the opposite is true when it comes to dreaming up the future.
A: One way of doing this is through the Commandant’s Warfighting Laboratory, set up recently in Quantico. This is home of Sea Dragon—you wouldn’t be reading this article if you hadn’t heard of the big dragon. It is General Krulak’s answer to any question he is asked about the future.
B: Now that you know Marines aren’t clueless, what about the next step? What to do today to get to tomorrow. “You can ask me any question about the future, and the answer is, guess what, Sea Dragon,” says General Krulak. One of the most challenging obstacles the service faces is getting from here to there. General Krulak says he has no concrete answer but has a partial solution: again, Sea Dragon.
C: Getting there means sweat. “The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war,” General Krulak explains. “That is what Sea Dragon is all about in peacetime—sweating it out.” Sea Dragon is the key to unlocking the future’s door.
Now, you thought that was simplified from the usual Pentagonese. Let’s try English.
1: General Krulak has started a lab to embrace innovation and change. In short, throw out the old and the outdated.
2: Sea Dragon is his answer.
3: No pain, no gain.
Freedom to Fail
“I am giving Marines freedom to fail,” he adds. But by the time the grace period is over. General Krulak expects the Marines of the future to be “hard as nails.” In this new era, he seeks Marines who are not afraid of technology, who have ability to solve problems at crucial climaxes, and who are morally and ethically pure.
If this image is appearing like knights at a roundtable in your mind that is exactly what General Krulak wants. “What’s your image of Marines of the future?” I ask. “Simple,” he says. “Lions in the den. The enemy will tremble in our presence. Oo-rah.”
Were You Listening?
Freedom to fail is good if you don’t fail too often or on the battlefield. Sea Dragon is a starting point to test future needs. You can always count on change. If you’re feeling confused about your future, you should—because even the Commandant admits he can’t predict it.
Oh, and did I mention General Krulak really likes chocolate?
Ms. Jannery is assistant managing editor for Satellite Orbit and Satellite Direct magazines and is a former associate editor for Inside the Navy. She is co-author of the book Shut the Hell Up: 101 Reasons to Appreciate Your Life, Government, and Society Today (Rainbow Books), scheduled to be released in early 1997.