U.S. Marine Corps in Review

In his new battle history of the U.S. Marine Corps, James Warren describes modern-day Marines as American Spartans. The analogy to the ancient, scarletclad Greek warriors, renowned for their dedicated professionalism and austere way of life, is apt. The performance of Marines in battle last year validated their standing among the world's foremost military professionals. Today's Spartans wrote new pages into the storied legacy of the Corps.

Global War on Terrorism

In 2005 Marines continued to demonstrate their versatility and flexibility. The focus of effort, of course, has been in Iraq. They continue to lead Multi-National Force-West and are responsible for training Iraqi forces, providing stability and security, and conducting counter-insurgency operations in the Al Anbar province. The California-based I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) was replaced by elements of the II MEF, home stationed at Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, North Carolina. The forward element, led by Major General Stephen T. Johnson, shifted from offensive counter-insurgency operations to training and partnering with Iraqi forces.

Operation Matador

One of the year's most significant operations was conducted 7 to 14 May in northern Iraq by Marines, sailors, and soldiers of Regimental Combat Team 2 (RCT-2), 2d Marine Division (2d MarDiv). The action was designed as a disruptive operation, a series of strikes through the wild west of Iraq. The RCT's objectives were to eliminate insurgent elements, disrupt attacks, and fracture their bases and networks in the area. The operation was executed around and in the cities of Karabilah, Ramana, and Ubaydi, which lie along the Euphrates River close to the Syrian border. This sector is a historical smuggling route and has been used as a staging area for insurgents to equip, arm, and prepare for attacks against major cities farther south toward Fallujah and Baghdad.

Matador started during the evening of 7 May as Marines penetrated the village of Ubaydi. As the operation progressed, the Marines and their Coalition partners faced fierce resistance from well-armed defenders. Almost 70 insurgents died in the initial phase, confirming intelligence about their strength and experience. The RCT commander, Colonel Stephen Davis, stated, "The insurgents we're fighting today are not the guys getting $50 to put an IED on the side of the road. . . . These are the professional fighters who have come from all over the Middle East. These are people who have received training and are very well-armed." The insurgents employed baited attacks-hoping to lure American troops who rush forward to save friends or civilians. One defender hid in a basement of a house and ambushed entering Marines by firing up through a floor grate.

During the week-long drive, 1,000 Marines from RCT-2 successfully disrupted infiltration routes and uncovered numerous arms caches. While exposing the enemy-held sanctuary, the Marines and allies killed more than 125 insurgents and foreign fighters, and detained almost 40. During Operation Matador, the Marines suffered 9 fatalities and 40 wounded. Thanks to the repressive tactics of the foreign fighters, the Marines were greeted with hospitality from local villagers. Regretfully, Coalition forces were not strong enough to remain in these cities and villages to keep insurgents away.

The Camp Lejeune-based Marines never let up on the enemy. In a series of operations they continued to exploit new intelligence with strikes that kept insurgents off balance.

In Operation New Market, Marines from 3d Battalion, 25th Marines (3/25), an Ohio reserve unit, worked with Coalition forces in and around the town of Haditha in late May, disrupting insurgent plans there.

In June, RCT-8, led by Colonel Dave Berger, conducted Operation Dagger in the Lake Thar-Thar area, 50 miles northwest of Baghdad, to locate remaining insurgent networks operating there. Later that month, Operations Spear and Sword were initiated by RCT-2 resulting in the deaths of more than 50 insurgents. These security operations continued to disrupt insurgent activity and undercut their ability to intimidate local populations between Haditha and Hit.

RCT-8 deftly nabbed almost two-dozen insurgents in a July raid in the town of Zaidon near Fallujah as part of eight-day-long Operation Scimitar.

In August, more than 800 Marines from RCT-2, along with supporting Iraqi security Force units, advanced into Haqliniyah, five miles outside Haditha, during Operation Quick Strike to attack a group of foreign fighters operating between those towns. The operation bagged three dozen suspects, nine car bombs, and several dozen improvised explosive devices (IED). But it was a costly operation. On 3 August an amphibious assault vehicle was destroyed near Haditha by a powerful IED killing 14 Marines from the 3/25.

In October, RCT-2 began a major offensive as part of Operation Iron Fist to root out an identified terrorist cell in the western Al Anbar town of Sa'dah. The Marines sought to destroy this element and its ability to disrupt the upcoming political referendum. Over the next week, more than four dozen insurgents were killed, including 20 confirmed kills in one fortified three-story hotel used as a staging base in Husaybah.

Later that same month, the Marines once again launched a drive into the cities of Haditha, Haqlaniyah. and Barwana to maintain pressure on the insurgent network. This time, with more than 2.500 Marines, soldiers, and Iraqis, the 2d MarDiv sought to free the local populace from an apparent resurgence of violence. Operation River Gate helped convince local Iraqis to swing their support away from the insurgents.

Operation Steel Curtain

RCT-2 was also at the center of the year's other major operation that was different from all previous disruption operations and raids. While those operations certainly reduced the insurgents' toehold along the Euphrates River valley in the Al Qa'im region, Coalition forces never had sufficient troops to hold the towns after the enemy was dislodged. This time roughly 2,500 U.S. Marines, sailors, and soldiers, along with 1.000 Iraqi army soldiers, swept from the Syrian border eastward to destroy the al Qaeda and anti-Iraqi network operating throughout Husaybah down toward Karabilah. This time Coalition and Iraqi forces would establish a permanent presence once the sweeps were finished. The artery had to be stemmed, so clear-and-hold became the new operational imperative.

Operation Steel Curtain marked the first large-scale employment of multiple battalion-size units of Iraqi army forces in combined operations with Coalition forces. It was also marked by the use of locally recruited soldiers known as the Desert Protectors. They were recruited from the Al Qa'im region and worked alongside Iraqi army and U.S. units throughout the operation. Their knowledge of the area and its people was critical in assisting planners with the local conditions, and for picking out suspicious individuals.

The RCT's attack was spearheaded by the 2d Battalion, 1st Marines (2/1) led by lieutenant Colonel Robert G. Oltman and 3d Battalion. 6th Marines (3/6) under Lieutenant Colonel Julian Ashford. They jumped off before dawn on 5 November and began cordoning off and conducting searches in Husaybah. Iraqi soldiers and Marines found numerous and substantial weapons caches there. They then cleared approximately two kilometers of desert before reaching the town of Karabilah. Resistance was far lighter than expected, although that did not reduce the stress for the grunts clearing houses room-byroom. After entering Karabilah. Coalition and Iraqi forces met limited resistance in the form of sporadic small-arms fire and IEDs. When the Marines entered Karabilah on 9 November, they found about 20 IEDs, and three houses rigged with explosives to ambush careless Coalition forces.

Once Karabilah was cleared, 2/1 swung around and crossed the Euphrates, moving on to Ubaydi. The fleeing insurgents had little maneuver room and put up a stiff resistance inflicting 16 casualties, including the deaths of two Marine officers. Overall, the 17-day offensive cost the lives of 10 Marines. About 140 insurgents were killed and 256 detained.

Afghanistan

Marines continue to support Operation Enduring Freedom with a reinforced infantry battalion and three Embedded Training Teams to the Afghan National Army. The purpose of the teams is to train, mentor, and operate with their respective Afghan battalions and brigade. The 2d Battalion. 3d Marines (2/3), led by lieutenant Colonel James Donnellan, conducted stability operations in the contested Korengal Valley in August. There the Marines worked with local officials, secured the area against persistent insurgent interference, and built support for the upcoming elections. The battalion twice fought off Taliban ambushes of company and platoon strength.

In addition to Iraq and Afghanistan, the Marine Corps remains actively engaged in security cooperation efforts in the Horn of Africa and Georgia. It also supported humanitarian relief efforts around the world, including medical support from the 3d Marine Logistics Group to the victims of Pakistan's deadly earthquake.

At Home

Once again, the flexibility and responsiveness of the Navy/Marine Corps team was on exhibit as Marines went to the assistance of their fellow Americans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Local residents were rescued, streets cleared, food and water provided, and transportation assets distributed. Starting on 1 September, the Marines sent a detachment of six CH-53E Super Stallions and a pair of CH-46E helicopters from Marine Corps Air Station, New River, North Carolina. Additional reserve helicopters were dispatched from Pennsylvania and Georgia. Marines from the Camp Lejeune-based 24th MEU arrived on 3 September, to provide command and control for the Marine Special Purpose Task Force Katrina. Right behind them were almost 700 Marines from the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines. Elements of the 11th MEU from California also pitched in. From 4 September to 4 October 2005, more than 2,650 Marines and sailors, conducted search and rescue, humanitarian relief, and disaster recovery activities in both Louisiana and Mississippi. In all, Marine helicopters flew 815 sorties transporting more than one million tons of cargo and 5,248 survivors. A total of 446 rescue missions were conducted, rescuing nearly 1,500 fellow citizens.

Recenf Warfighting Initiatives

Ongoing operations in support of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) highlight the growing mutual interdependence between Marines and special-operations forces. Several initiatives to improve the way the Marine Corps and U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCom) operate together are ongoing.

In October 2005, secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld approved the creation of a Marine Component within SOCom. The component, known as MarSOC, will provide a force of 2,600 Marines and sailors led by Brigadier General Dennis Hejlik. The component will provide additional capability for direct-action, special-reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, and foreign military training missions. "We face a ruthless enemy, one that has killed thousands of Americans, that is lurking in the shadows and eager to unleash more death on the American public," said secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who went to Camp Lejeune for the activation ceremony on 22 February. "In this long struggle," he added, "it has become vital we arrange ourselves in new and unconventional ways." The MarSOC will provide an initial operating capability this year and be fully staffed by 2008.

Equipment Programs

* Individual Marine Initiatives. The Marine Corps' priority is the preparation and equipment of the individual Marine. New or soon-to-be-fielded equipment include the lightweight helmet, an enhanced small-arms protective insert, and the individual load-bearing equipment set. The new helmet provides improved ballistic protection capability over the existing one while reducing weight by one-half pound and having a more comfortable suspension system. The enhanced smallarms protective insert plates are heavier by about 1.5 pounds than current ceramic armor plates, but provide increased ballistic protection. The individual loadbearing equipment (ILBE) replaces the older modular lightweight load-bearing equipment system. It integrates an assault pack, main ruck, and hydration system. More than 96,000 ILBE packs are in the field with very favorable feedback.

* Counter IED. The Corps is continuing to bolster its force protection capabilities, and in addition to remote-control improvised explosive device jammers and vehicle arming efforts, have fielded a number of new force protection systems. Primary among these are personal extremity protective equipment, tactical vest enhancements, enhanced small-arms protective inserts, and unmanned ground vehicles. Marines continue to upgrade vehicle armor.

* M777A1 lightweight howitzer. This new gun replaces the 1980s-era M198 155-mm howitzer. The system weighs 6,500 pounds less than its predecessor and can be lifted by the MV-22 tiltrotor Osprey and CH53E helicopters. Coupled with the Corps' medium tactical vehicle, it has significantly improved crosscountry mobility. The M777A1 has digital fire control and improved positioning devices that enhance first-round accuracy over the older gun. The Marine Corps began fielding the first of 356 new howitzers in April 2005 and expects to complete the process in 2008.

* Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV). This remains the Marines' number one ground-acquisition program. It replaces the venerable but dated assault amphibian vehicle. This vehicle significantly improves the speed, lethality, and survivability of Marine surface assault elements. Its reach and mobility both in the water and ashore is substantially improved, including a water speed in excess of 20 nautical miles per hour. The EFVs hull and ballistic protection reduces the vulnerability of the Marines it carries, and its 30-mm gun is a step change in stabilized fire support. Designed to launch from amphibious ships stationed over the horizon, it will be capable of carrying a reinforced Marine rifle squad. Once ashore, the EFV will provide Marines with an armored personnel carrier designed to overmatch future threats, including navigation and enhanced communications, and operate in contaminated zones.

* MV-22. The Osprey continues to make progress in development and operational testing. It dramatically improves the operational reach and speed of Marine forces, and will become the cornerstone in Marine aviation support to the maneuver force. A squadron of tiltrotor MV-22s can lift a reinforced infantry battalion 100 nautical miles in four waves in less than four hours. This contrasts greatly with the nine waves of CH-46s required to accomplish the same mission in 18 hours, generating more tempo and less vulnerability to the ground force.

The VMX-22 program completed its operational evaluation in June 2005, and the operational test report was completed in August. The Osprey was found to be operationally effective and suitable, with all key parameters met or exceeded. Accordingly, on 28 September, the Defense Acquisition Board approved Milestone III and authorized the program to begin full production. To date, 28 aircraft have been delivered and are supporting training at Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204 (VMMT-204) and Marine Tiltrotor Test and Evaluation Squadron 22 (VMX-22) at Marine Corps Air Station, New River, North Carolina. Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263 (HMM263), a CH-46E unit, stood down in June 2005 to begin transition to the MV-22.

* Heavy Lift Replacement (HLR). This is now Marine aviation's number one acquisition priority. It will replace the legacy CH-53E helicopter, lifting more than twice as much as the Super Stallion over the same range. Because it is the only sea-based aircraft capable of transporting heavy vehicles and fire-support assets critical to the Marine Air-Ground Task Force's success ashore, the HLR has become a key effort. Consequently, it received full funding in 2005 and has reached "Milestone B" status-initiation of system development and demonstrations. An upgraded CH-53 is planned to cover the transition period and deliver increased range and payload, reduced operations and support costs, and increased commonality and interoperability with current airframes.

GWOT Acquisition

The new equipment being developed for the Global War on Terrorism comes from Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC), led by Major General William D. Catto. The command was fully engaged in responding to warfighters' needs in 2005, sustaining forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as equipping Marines to stay ahead of emerging threats.

Rapid procurement and fielding of vehicle and body armor were MCSC's top priority. The addition of new sniper rifles, rifle scopes, night sights, thermal imagers, and multi-shot grenade launchers has improved battlefield effectiveness for Marine units, and demonstrated a commitment to excellence from MCSC's acquisition professionals. Testing and acquisition of new tools to counter remotely controlled IEDs, and the rapid fielding of support wide-area networks provided commanders with effective countermeasures and crucial new beyondline-of-sight communication capabilities. Last, with a fresh input of supplemental funding from Congress, MCSC executed $5.6 billion of programs-nearly triple the normal budget-to ensure that the Marines in harm's way continue to receive the best systems and equipment available.

Training and Educating Marines

As did the Spartans of old, today's Marines live by a creed-every Marine a rifleman. This fundamental ethos proved its worth many times over in the GWOT. It is the bedrock tenet for all Marine training and the common-core experience that defines each Marine. Over the past year, Marine trainers and educators have continuously refined Marine Corps training and education programs to stay ahead of a tenacious and agile adversary.

Because the complexities of irregular conflict and urban warfare place a premium on the decision-making skills and leadership of our young leaders, that has been a key component of an aggressive revolution at the Marine Training and Education Command (TECom), led by Major General Keith Stalder. The command is transforming enlisted professional military education by adapting the curricula in noncommissioned officer leadership courses to instill increased tactical competence and better decision-making abilities in all enlisted occupations.

Since an acute understanding of local culture and languages is crucial to irregular operations, TECom established the Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning in February 2005, employing Marines and civilians with foreign culture and regional studies expertise. The first class of new lieutenants with formal training in the operational aspects of foreign cultures graduated last year, and the center began distributing basic tactical language training programs, preparing individuals to serve in Iraq and Africa. The center helped train the new Foreign Military Training Units, as well as Marines preparing to serve as advisors in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Marine Corps University has also incorporated cultural understanding and Arabic language classes into its already crammed but noteworthy educational curriculum.

TECom has designed and significantly invested in training infrastructure and ranges, much of which focuses on rigorous urban and convoy operations training packages at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California. Marine rifle battalions and combat support personnel deploying to Iraq now have a realistic training venue to hone their skills for the complexities of stability operations. A demanding 30-day training evolution-expanding on the Marine's traditional live-fire combined-arms event of the past-will prepare combat units for deployment. Known as Mojave Viper, this exercise combines urban and live-fire events, along with stability operations and cultural awareness drills. Aided by Iraqi civilian contractors and other role players, the realistic regimen relies on time constraints and fleeting targets of opportunity instead of scripted scenarios to resolve. To simulate the dense nature of modern urban areas, the Marines built a 125-building urban training facility with plans to construct the largest such complex in the country.

Manpower and Reserve Affairs

It is not enough to train and educate today's existing force for the GWOT. The maintenance of the Corps' reputation and its capacity to meet the nation's needs depends on recruiting the next generation of Spartans. The Marine Recruiting Command met this challenge in Fiscal Year 2005, despite a tough recruiting environment, achieving more than 100% of its active-duty goal of 32,917 Marines. Just as important, the hard-working recruiters met their qualitative benchmarks in terms of test scores and educational standards as well. Furthermore, the Marine Corps Reserve achieved 101% of its recruiting goals, with 9,000 accessions.

The contributions of the Marine Reserve should not be overlooked. More than 37,500 reserve Marines have served on active duty in the Global War on Terrorism, with more than 7,000 Reservists training and serving alongside their active component colleagues at this time. Nearly 4,000 will serve in Iraq during 2006, while others will support training the Afghan National Army, or serve in Africa, Central America, and the Caribbean.

Experimentation, Technology, and Concepts.

The Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory develops innovative concepts and conducts experiments to support the Combat Development Command's mission. The lab, under the command of Brigadier General Randolph "Tex" Alles, identifies solutions in training, equipment, organization, and doctrine needed to resolve critical shortfalls and improve combat effectiveness. Its efforts over the past few years resulted in modified or new tactics and training for Marines fighting in Iraq, as well as paved the way for new commandand-control systems, tactical communications, and unmanned aerial vehicles. It is currently developing solutions to defeat IEDs, provide superior body and vehicle armor, negate the urban sniper, and counter rocket and mortar attacks.

In addition to its technical support, the lab explores future concepts and rapidly advances lessons learned from Iraq and Afghanistan into changes to Marine procedures and training programs. The Sea Viking '06 Advanced Warfighting Experiment is aimed at maximizing warfighting capabilities at the small-unit level, including the adoption of new equipment or technology where appropriate. The distributed operations concept has been the impetus behind this renewed focus on small-unit excellence and the Marine NCO. An implementation group was chartered by the commandant to make the necessary changes in doctrine, structure, training, and Marine leadership development programs.

Quadrennial Defense Review

The GWOT has made distinct demands on the Marine Corps. After four years of fighting, the Marines are battle hardened, but they require refurbishment and the funds to carry on today's missions while preparing for tomorrow's.

The Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) and DoD's Fiscal Year 2007 budget failed to come to terms with this point. The QDR was a slight disappointment to the Marines. The report specifically highlighted the need to adapt to irregular and adaptive enemies, something the Corps previously recognized as far back as the "Three-Block War" concept. The report applauded numerous Marine initiatives-even adapting Marine concepts and language, but it did not expressly acknowledge the need to preserve or even expand today's force. Instead, incredibly, it downsized the Corps by 5,000 Marines. Just as incongruously, it failed to acknowledge the worn status of Corps equipment. Extended operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere over the past several years have severely expended the materiel needs of today's MAGTFs.

The Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Mike W. Hagee, laid out this requirement in fairly stark terms during his congressional testimony in February 2006. The combined demands to train today's force, modernize for tomorrow, and replace worn-out or destroyed vehicles and gear needed for the next operation poses severe resource constraints. The commandant identified the bare bones needed to "reset the force" at just under $12 billion. This estimate is in addition to annual Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom operating costs, and on top of any costs needed to fulfill the guidance set forth in the QDR. Without sustained supplemental funding, it could take the Corps years to regain its materiel readiness, and still end up smaller and under-equipped.

America's modern-day Spartans once again demonstrated their battlefield prowess this year. Instead of scarlet cloaks, these Spartans wear computer-generated camouflage utilities. While the uniform may be different, the results are not. The ferocity of an unconventional enemy in Iraq was no match for the disciplined Leathernecks. From Afghanistan's mountains. Iraq's river valleys and slums, to the chaos of Hurricane Katrina, the Marines performed as expected. Those who expect tomorrow's smaller force of Spartans to excel must, however, ensure the budget maintains current operations and the foundation for tomorrow's force.