For the Marine Corps, 2020 was defined by both the COVID-19 pandemic and the initiation of Commandant of the Marine Corps General David H. Berger’s decisions for “sweeping changes needed to meet the principal challenges facing the institution.”1 At the same time, Marines continued to support real-world operations, conduct essential training, and acquire new capabilities. In all these activities, Marines demonstrated their forward-leaning character in their role as the nation’s premier crisis-response force around the globe.
Force Design
The Commandant in March followed up his initial July 2019 guidance with Force Design 2030, which outlined major institutional plans for transformational changes to the organization “to rapidly transition from a persistent naval forward presence posture to execution of sea denial or sea control missions.” A key element of the initial guidance was his determination to jettison both the two–Marine expeditionary brigade (MEB) lift requirement for joint forcible-entry operations and the requirement for 38 amphibious ships.2 Force Design calls for divestment of legacy “capabilities and capacity to free resources for essential new capabilities.” A reduction of approximately 12,000 Marines along with the deactivation of units and equipment—such as elimination of all tank units—is expected to free $12 billion through 2030. General Berger anticipates these funds will be “reallocated towards equipment modernization, training modernization, and force development priorities.”
Employing analysis, modeling, and wargaming, planners developed a transformed force model the Commandant believes will enable Marines to support his emerging vision for more-integrated naval forces that can effectively operate in a contested maritime environment.
Guided by new concepts currently being developed and tested—specifically, distributed maritime operations (DMO), littoral operations in a contested environment (LOCE), and expeditionary advanced base operations (EABO)—the redesigned Marine Corps force structure is expected to confront growing naval power competition and counter growing sea-control challenges. Pacing threats include the proliferation of precision-strike and other smart weapons and “gray zone” strategies executed below the threshold of armed conflict.
The new triservice maritime strategy, Advantage at Sea: Prevailing with Integrated All-Domain Naval Power, released in December 2020 and signed by the Chief of Naval Operations, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the Commandant of the Coast Guard, reinforced the urgency for modernization and a more fully integrated naval force to deter and, if required, defeat the growing threats to the nation’s maritime security and the rules-based international order.3
A Farewell to (MOST) Armor
The Marine Corps moved forward aggressively within months to deactivate all active and reserve tank companies. General Berger assured that, in the future, “heavy ground armor capability will continue to be provided by the U.S. Army.” He also stated that he had high confidence in recommendations for the divestment of infantry units, aircraft squadrons, law enforcement battalions, bridging companies, amphibious assault companies, and Marine wing support groups, as well as increased investments in rocket artillery batteries and unmanned aerial systems. (For a detailed breakdown of unit changes, see “Need to Know,” p. 11.)
General Berger also called for further analysis, modeling and simulation, wargaming, and live-fire experimentation to better understand the operational realities of the emerging warfighting environment before implementing other recommendations. These include proposed increases in light armored reconnaissance units and retaining 18 fighter-attack squadrons in the active component. Also, the Commandant directed more in-depth assessment of the recommendation for redesign of the infantry battalion, which proposed a reduction of 200 Marines per battalion. He also indicated he was “not confident that we have identified the additional structure required to provide tactical maneuver and logistical sustainment needed to execute DMO, LOCE, and EABO in contested littoral environments against our pacing threats.” Sustainment is recognized as a key vulnerability of expeditionary advanced base operations and an essential requirement for success.
One area of focused experimentation during 2020 in support of Force Design 2030 was the proposed Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR). Designated as the initial test unit, the Hawaii-based 3d Marine Regiment, 3d Marine Division, will operate with three littoral combat teams (LCTs), each built around a tailored infantry battalion and a long-range antiship missile battery. The MLR will include an enhanced air-defense battalion and a robust littoral logistics battalion to provide dispersed forces with necessary supplies, maintenance, and medical support. The LCT’s platoon-size elements will be reinforced to operate from expeditionary advanced bases within the enemy’s weapon engagement zone. These mobile advanced bases will provide survivable and lethal antiship fires, forward arming and refueling of aircraft for extending their range and duration from sea-based platforms, and long-range sensors for targeting and early warning.4
Immediately after its release in March, the report generated significant debate.5 Critics include former Senator and Secretary of the Navy Jim Webb, who worries the Marine Corps is overoptimizing “to respond to one specific set of contingencies, giving an adversary the ability to adjust and adapt beforehand.” He also has reservations about the confidence the Commandant is placing in wargaming to validate his decisions, noting the subtle biases inherent in this methodology.6 However, most commentators, whether critical or in favor of the changes, were generally in agreement that the Marine Corps—in close coordination with the Navy—needs to reorient toward the growing challenge posed by China’s naval buildup and modernization.
The plan hinges on congressional appreciation of the value of the force design changes and its approval for redirecting cost savings toward the Marine Corps’ modernization priorities. In December, lawmakers slashed funding in fiscal year 2021 (FY21) for the Corps’ development of expeditionary ground-based long-range precision fires, a capability Force Design 2030 had highlighted first on its list of necessary new capabilities.7 At the same time, Congress moved forward with funding a similar Army long-range precision missile system.8 Whether this indicates a lack of support for the Commandant’s initiatives or that their value requires better articulation is still uncertain. The Marine Corps needs clear support from Congress for divesting legacy capabilities and establishing acceptable investment risks and required testing in the face of the new threats, changing roles, and mission emphasis.
Deployments and Operations
Despite 2020’s challenges and the attention on transformation, the Marine Corps executed 156 operations during the year, including 8 amphibious operations and 36 theater security cooperation events, and participated in 25 major exercises.9 Marine expeditionary units (MEUs), Special Purpose Marine air-ground task forces (SPMAGTFs), and Marine rotational forces (MRFs) conducted most operations in support of combatant commanders’ requirements.
Marine Expeditionary Units. Three MEUs and their associated amphibious ready groups (ARGs) were deployed. The 26th MEU departed the East Coast with the Bataan ARG at the end of December 2019 and returned in July 2020 after supporting both the U.S. Sixth and Fifth Fleets. The Marine Corps canceled a planned training exercise in January with Moroccan forces following the U.S. killing of Iranian Quds Force leader General Qasem Soleimani. The MEU/ARG was directed to the Arabian Sea in anticipation of potential retaliatory attacks. During the deployment, the MEU/ARG team conducted multiple evolutions in close coordination with Saudi Arabian forces on two uninhabited islands in the region. In June, Marines on board the ARG’s USS Oak Hill (LSD-51) operated in the Black Sea with that ship.
In November 2020, the 15th MEU, embarked in the Makin Island ARG, departed the West Coast, with a return scheduled for May 2021. In early December, the MEU/ARG conducted a freedom of navigation transit of the South China Sea that China condemned. The Navy–Marine Corps team then drilled in mid-December with forces from the Republic of Singapore before entering the Indian Ocean, where they supported the relocation of U.S. forces from Somalia.
The 31st MEU, operating from Japan as an element of the forward deployed naval forces, sailed twice during the year with the America expeditionary strike group. The first deployment, from January to May, included extensive presence around the South China Sea while the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) was quarantined in Guam battling her COVID-19 outbreak. The 31st MEU and the America strike group also participated in the annual Cobra Gold exercise in Thailand, with forces from Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, and Korea. This operation highlighted the coordinated employment of the high-mobility artillery rocket system and the F-35B with ground forces in amphibious operations. The Marines conducted sustainment training with the multinational forces, including exchange of engineering and medical procedures, in part to demonstrate tangible benefits to an underserved populace. They also participated in bilateral jungle training and live-fire and maneuver exercises with their Thai hosts.
Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Forces. SPMAGTF rotations continued to augment combatant commanders with Marine Corps capabilities beyond those provided by MEUs and the constraints of limited amphibious warship capacity. During 2020, SPMAGTF–Crisis Response–Central Command (SPMAGTF-CR-CC)—sourced out of the West Coast–based I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF)—provided continuous support in the region. For eight months, SPMAGTF-CR-CC provided task-organized security reinforcements to the U.S. embassy and diplomatic personnel in Baghdad, Iraq, during a period of heightened regional tensions.
SPMAGTF–Crisis Response–Africa Command (SPMAGTF-CR-AF), sourced out of II MEF on the East Coast, conducted operations to protect U.S. citizens and to strengthen U.S. interests in the theater. In March, SPMAGTF-CR-AF Marines participated in Exercise Obangame Express, a multilateral maritime exercise held in Ghana and the Gulf of Guinea to improve the capability of African partner nations to interdict illicit activity. In February and March, the ground combat element of the SPMAGTF integrated with Spanish amphibious forces and embarked on board the Spanish amphibious assault ship Juan Carlos I. The combined force conducted amphibious assault operations along the Spanish southern coast, exercising allied power projection capabilities and demonstrating responsiveness in humanitarian relief operations.
In October, SPMAGTF-CR-AF concluded its mission and handed it off to the Northwest Africa Response Force (NARF). NARF is a joint force with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 266 operating from Spain and the U.S. Army’s 173d Infantry Combat Brigade Team (Airborne) stationed in Italy to respond to crises in the U.S. Africa Command area of responsibility.
SPMAGTF–Southern Command (SPMAGTF-SC) was activated from June through November 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic limited its operations, with a detachment deploying forward to Honduras from its base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. This detachment conducted training with key partners in the region, including Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. In November, SPMAGTF-SC Marines participated in Exercise UNITAS 2020, a long-standing multinational maritime exercise in Latin America and the Caribbean to enhance security cooperation and improve coalition operations. The 2020 exercise was hosted by Ecuador and included 11 warships from 9 nations. In addition, the SPMAGTF deployed a security team on board the USNS Burlington (T-EPF-10), as the ship conducted a proof of concept for performing planned maintenance availabilities at multiple ports throughout the region.
SPMAGTF–Customs and Border Protection (SPMAGTF-CBP) provided support to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Marine infantry battalions from Camp Pendleton and Twentynine Palms, California, conducted 90-day rotation deployments along the southwest border until the SPMAGTF completed its mission in October.
Marine Rotational Forces. Marine Corps rotational forces, including the venerable unit deployment program, continued to deploy forces in support of training and demonstrate responsiveness to contingency operational requirements. Marine Rotational Force–Europe (MRF-E) rotations employing an infantry battalion based out of Norway were conducted continuously during the year by two units from II MEF. They conducted exercises around Europe, including participating in peacekeeping operations training, technical skills familiarization, multilateral amphibious and live-fire exercises, and various professional engagements with partner nations and allies in the Black Sea region. When the second yearly iteration of MRF-E concluded its mission in October 2020, the continuous rotation model also ended. In the future, while MRF-E rotations will continue, units will deploy for training from the continental United States to Norway, rather than a rotational commitment, to support major exercises in the theater.
The 3d Battalion, 6th Marines, conducted the first of the shortened MRF-E rotations to Norway from October to December. After a 14-day COVID-19 quarantine period on arrival, the battalion participated in Exercise Reindeer II, an annual bilateral Arctic training exercise with the Norwegian Army Brigade North.
The annual six-month MAGTF deployment to Australia by Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D) was delayed until Australia granted an exemption to its COVID-19 travel restrictions. The deployed force from the Japan-based III MEF was only 1,200 of the originally planned 2,500 Marines and did not include manned aviation units. The Marines were quarantined for 14 days after arriving in Australia, with virus tests conducted at the start and end of this period. Nevertheless, MRF-D still conducted several unilateral, bilateral, and joint exercises. In September, as a culminating event for the rotation, MRF-D participated with Australian Defence Forces in Exercise Koolendong, a live-fire event designed to increase interoperability and exercise command and control of a MAGTF in coordination with the Australian forces.
A Marine brigadier general led Task Force Southwest (TFSW), a composite force deployed since 2017 to the southwest region of Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel to train, advise, and assist the Afghan National Army’s 215th Corps and the Afghan 505th Zone Police. In October, TFSW concluded its mission and turned responsibility over to NATO Special Operations Component Command–Afghanistan.
Marine Fighter-Attack Squadron (VMFA) 323 deployed in June on board the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) as an element of the Navy’s Carrier Air Wing 17. The carrier strike group participated in overseas operations, including Operation Inherent Resolve in Syria and Iraq and Operation Octave Quartz, which focused on repositioning forces from Somalia to neighboring countries. VMFA- 323’s deployment marked the final deployment of the F/A-18C Hornet on board an aircraft carrier. Future Marine squadrons deploying with large-deck carriers will fly the F-35C carrier-variant of the fifth-generation Lightning II aircraft.
In a unique mission assignment, Marine Corps F-35B squadron VMFA-211, the “Wake Island Avengers” based out of Yuma, Arizona, deployed to the United Kingdom in September to begin predeployment training with the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth and Carrier Strike Group 2021 (CSG-21). The exercise consisted of day/night carrier qualification, weapons integration, expeditionary advanced base operations, air combat maneuvers, tactical intercepts, airborne interdiction, defensive counterair, armed reconnaissance, and F-35 digital interoperability with CSG-21 and the Royal Air Force (RAF) 617th Fighter Squadron. The workup training culminated with the highly integrated combined force’s participation in NATO exercise Joint Warrior off Scotland, which also included Marines from 2d Air-Naval Gunfire Liaison Company. The Marine Corps and RAF squadrons are scheduled to deploy on board HMS Queen Elizabeth during her inaugural deployment in late May, which will see CSG-21 operate in the Mediterranean Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Pacific. While the integration of the Marine Corps squadron mitigates U.K. aircraft gaps (while the British are still acquiring F-35s), it also demonstrates the increasing collaboration and integration of partner and allied naval forces.
The Marine Special Operations Command continued to support Combined Joint Task Force–Operation Inherent Resolve with teams focused on defeating the remaining terrorists of the Islamic State (ISIS). In March, two Marine Raiders—Captain Moises A. Navas and Gunnery Sergeant Diego D. Pongo—were killed while advising and accompanying Iraqi Special Forces during an assault on an ISIS stronghold in northern Iraq.
Marines responded rapidly to COVID-19 crisis support requirements. In March, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, provided quarantined billeting for more than 400 people from the Grand Princess cruise ship (out of some 3,500 passengers and crew on board). In response to the outbreak on board the Theodore Roosevelt, III MEF Marines and sailors from Okinawa deployed to Guam and provided medical and security support. They also supported the offload of an expeditionary medical facility from the maritime prepositioning ship USNS Dahl (T-AKR-312). During the spring, two infantry battalions—1st Battalion, 7th Marines, from Twentynine Palms and 3d Battalion, 2d Marines, from Camp Lejeune—provided pierside security forces for the USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) in Los Angeles and USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) in New York.
Other Significant Exercises
Marines participated in several other significant exercises that improved the ability of operational forces to enhance warfighting skills and demonstrate support of allies and partners. In the Indo-Pacific, Marine Corps units participated during January and February in Exercise Northern Viper, a combined live-fire, expeditionary operation with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) on the island of Hokkaido, developing cold-weather operations capability and improved treaty alliance interoperability. Nearly simultaneously, more than 300 JGSDF soldiers from Japan’s Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB), which stood up in 2019, participated in the bilateral Exercise Iron Fist with I MEF Marines at Camp Pendleton and San Clemente Island, California. Operating from the USS Portland (LPD-27) and Pearl Harbor (LSD-52), the force practiced amphibious operations including live-fire training. The ARDB, which stood up in part to better defend Japan and its littoral territories from increasing Chinese aggression, is expected to reach full operational capability in 2021. In November and December, the III MEF-based 3d Battalion, 8th Marines, and supporting MV-22s conducted bilateral combined-arms training with the JGSDF Eastern Army. This training included night system and low-altitude training events. May’s Exercise Balikatan in the Philippines was canceled because of COVID concerns.
Beginning in July, I MEF provided two task-organized forces that exercised in the Pacific and Indian Oceans in support of regional engagement objectives. From July to November, Task Force Ellis, embarked on board the USS Comstock (LSD-45), supported Pacific Partnership 2020 engagement and potential humanitarian assistance. They conducted multilateral exercises in Guam, Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Timor-Leste, and Indonesia in close coordination with allies, partners, U.S. government agencies, and nongovernmental organizations. From July through September, Task Force Koa Moana embarked on board the USNS City of Bismarck (T-EPF-9) and participated in the annual transit-exercise series, this year in Palau. The task force conducted bilateral engagements and exchanged subject matter experts with law enforcement, medical, and engineer organizations in Palau.
In support of U.S. Northern Command, the Marine Corps deployed eight iterations of approximately 50 Marine instructors each to various regions of Mexico during the year. The training cadres offered instructional classes to Mexican Marine Corps forces on basic leadership, noncommissioned officer development, brigade staff integration, and unit-level training. These theater security cooperation events focused on improving partner skills in counternarcotics and counter–transnational organized crime operations.
Modernization Highlights
Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV). Fielding the ACV to replace the 1970s- era amphibious assault vehicle (AAV) moved forward apace during 2020. From June to September, the initial operational test and evaluation employed a platoon of 18 ACVs and a Marine rifle company. The testers found that the “ACV performed better than the legacy vehicle across all mission profiles.” However, issues were raised about maintainability, particularly for the remote weapons system. Evaluators were also concerned about the limited interior space and the ability of 16 Marines in full combat load to egress rapidly in an emergency.10 In November, the program achieved initial operational capability, and, a few weeks later, the Marine Corps initiated full-rate production with the award of a $184 million contract to BAE to produce 36 personnel carrier variant ACVs. In line with Force Design 2030, the Marine Corps decided to reduce the planned acquisition objective from 1,122 ACVs to 632.
Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV). The ARV program to replace the legacy light armored vehicle appears to be in limbo. In Force Design 2030, General Berger wrote, “I remain unconvinced that additional wheeled, manned armored ground reconnaissance units are the best and only answer—especially in the Indo-Pacific region.” He called for more wargaming and experimentation before “committing billions of dollars in procurement funds towards the acquisition of an Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle.” The planned release of a request to industry for proposals to develop prototypes was delayed from the end of 2020 but was to be released in early 2021. The test vehicles, expected to be procured using accelerated acquisition procedures, will assist in fully testing potential vehicle capabilities and requirements to support the developing warfighting concepts.
F-35C Joint Strike Fighters. VMFA-314 became the first Marine Corps unit equipped with the carrier variant of the F-35. In March, the squadron was certified as “safe for flight,” allowing personnel to train without the supervision of the fleet replacement squadron, and, by December, it had achieved initial operational capability. Training included catapult launches and arrested landings. The squadron is scheduled to deploy in late 2021 on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72).
It will be the second F-35C squadron to deploy, after a Navy squadron—Fighter Attack Squadron (VFA) 147—deploys this year on board the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70). VMFA-314 also demonstrated in late 2020 its ability to rearm and refuel from an expeditionary advanced base. The Marine Corps plans to procure 67 F-35C aircraft to support four carrier-capable squadrons in addition to 353 short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B variants.
CH-53K King Stallion. In mid-March, Lieutenant General Steven Rudder, then Deputy Commandant for Aviation, highlighted in testimony before a congressional committee that, with solutions for almost all technical challenges identified, King Stallion production could be ramped up. By December, Sikorsky began training pilots, crew chiefs, and maintainers of Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron One (VMX-1), who will conduct initial operational test and evaluation of the aircraft during 2021, with initial operational capability now anticipated in FY2024.
MAGTF Unmanned Aerial System Expeditionary (MUX). The Marine Corps backed away from its plan to buy a large, unmanned aerial system (UAS) capable of operating from a range of ships. Analysis showed that the cost of achieving the established technical requirements was prohibitive. The Marine Corps plans to continue to evaluate solutions for a large UAS, which is seen as important to support the anticipated dispersed operations in the Indo-Pacific. Marines will continue to fly the MQ-9 Reaper large UAS the service procured in 2018 as an interim solution to inform the MUX development process. In addition, the Marine Corps is looking to push smaller UAS capabilities down to the ground combat element in support of EABO, with the aviation combat element focusing on employment of the bigger medium-altitude, long-endurance systems.
Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR). In August, the Marine Corps announced that the AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR radar system would replace the legacy AN/TPS-59 long-range air-search radar. The multi-function G/ATOR will replace other Marine Corps systems, including the AN/TPS-63 air-defense radar, the AN/MPQ-62 short-range air-defense radar, and the AN/TPQ-46 counterfire artillery target acquisition radar. The AN/TPS-59 has a setup and teardown time of four to eight hours; the G/ATOR will enhance mobility by reducing these evolutions to about 30 minutes, while requiring fewer people. It is also expected to enable greater integrated air and missile defense for Marines operating within an enemy’s weapon engagement zone.
Amphibious Assault Ships. In July, fire broke out on board the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) pierside in San Diego, during the ship’s maintenance availability. The fire quickly got out of control and burned for five days, destroying nearly 60 percent of the ship. By November, after considering a range of reconstruction options, the Navy decided to decommission and scrap the “BHR” because of the high cost of rehabilitating a 24-year-old hull. Part of the maintenance period had included updates to the ship to enable operation of the F-35B. The unplanned loss of the big-deck amphibious warship will impact to some extent future MEU/ARG deployments and the amphibious force’s maintenance availabilities. While the second amphibious assault ship of the America class was commissioned in July 2020, the USS Tripoli (LHA-7), like the class’s namesake, lacks a well deck capable of also supporting surface assaults. The America-class Flight 1 variant USS Bougainville (LHA-8), which will have a well deck as well as increased vehicle storage, is currently under construction, but she is not expected to be commissioned until the middle of the decade.
Light Amphibious Warship (LAW). The EABO concept, along with the Commandant’s decision to jettison the 38 amphibious-warship requirement, initiated planning for a new smaller amphibious ship that can operate outside the current MEU/ARG framework. The LAW is envisioned as a smaller, lower signature, and more affordable vessel. It will be optimized to support highly mobile dispersed forces (for example, MLR units) conducting sea-control and sea-denial operations from littoral terrain within the range of an enemy’s fires. The program, currently in the planning stage, envisions a class of 28 to 30 new amphibious warships costing between $100 million and $130 million each, with funding starting in FY2023. The ship would have a displacement of up to 4,000 tons, with a length of 200 to 400 feet and a maximum draft of 12 feet. The LAW is expected to embark at least 75 troops.11
Other Major Events
On 31 July 2020, eight Marines and a Navy corpsman died when the AAV they were embarked in sank off San Clemente Island as the vehicle was returning to the USS Somerset (LPD-25). Seven others were rescued and survived. In October, the commander of the battalion landing team was relieved because of issues exposed during investigations into the accident.
At the end of September, a KC-130J and F-35B collided during a midair refueling near El Centro, California. The F-35B pilot safely ejected, while the KC-130J pilot from Marine Aerial Refueler Squadron (VMGR) 352, with the loss of two engines and only partial control of the aircraft, executed a safe crash landing in a field, saving all the Marines on board.
West Coast Marines responded to Cali-fornia wildfires during the summer and fall. Crash-fire-rescue teams from Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS) 373 deployed to support aerial firefighting aircraft responding to a fire that had spread onto the training area of the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in the Toiyabe National Forest near Bridgeport. Marines from the Seventh Engineer Support Battalion provided defense support to civil authorities and established wildland firefighting strike teams. They deployed to assist with containing both the Creek Fire and the August Complex Fire in Northern California, including protecting a key helicopter landing pad from encroaching flames.
In December, the Marine Corps moved closer to instituting gender-integrated recruit training at both its recruit depots. The first female drill instructors graduated from the first integrated drill instructor class at Marine Recruit Depot (MCRD) San Diego at the end of the year in anticipation of female recruit training beginning at the West Coast facility in early 2021. Training is anticipated to mirror the structure employed at MCRD Parris Island, South Carolina, with several male platoons and one female platoon training together for the 13 weeks. However, this framework will not meet congressionally mandated requirements for gender-integrated recruit training. General Berger cited the need for improvements to each recruit training facility to enable coed training. The Marine Corps is studying options, including the possibility of establishing a new, centrally located MCRD to replace both Parris Island and San Diego.12
Recruit training was affected by COVID-19 throughout 2020. In late March, the Marine Corps temporarily suspended shipping recruits to MCRD Parris Island after cases of the virus were diagnosed there. Training resumed after both boot camps instituted a 14-day quarantine protocol. In support of the increased troop-handling requirements, task forces stood up to augment both MCRDs’ staffs. Also, social distancing requirements limited barracks capacities. The Marine Corps planned on 38,000 recruits going through basic training during FY2020, and the service did not come up as short as initially forecast, once COVID-19 protocols settled in.
The year 2020 will likely be seen as a defining moment for the Marine Corps. In response to growing great power competition and an increasingly contested maritime environment, major modernization changes to its organizational structure and employment concepts were initiated. And while the global pandemic created unique challenges, Marines repeatedly demonstrated their ability to rapidly adapt, supporting important operations and exercises worldwide and continuing to execute their role as the nation’s naval expeditionary force in readiness.
1. GEN David H. Berger, USMC, Force Design 2030 (Washington DC: March 2020).
2. GEN David H. Berger, USMC, The 38th Commandant of the Marine Corps Commandant’s Planning Guidance (Washington, DC: 16 July 2019).
3. Department of the Navy, Advantage at Sea: Prevailing with Integrated All-Domain Naval Power (Washington, DC: December 2020).
4. Megan Eckstein, “Marines Testing Regiment at Heart of Emerging Island-Hopping Future,” USNI News, 4 June 2020.
5. See, for example: Dakota Wood, “The Marines: To Boldly Go Where the Corps Has Gone Before,” The Washington Times, 24 June 2020; Frank G. Hoffman, “Still First to Fight?: Shaping the 21st Century Marine Corps,” Foreign Policy Research Institute, May 2020; Mark Cancian, “The Marine Corps’ Radical Shift toward China,” Center for Strategic International Studies, 25 March 2020; and William S. Lind, “The View from Olympus: Did the Marine Corps Just Commit Suicide?” Traditional Right, 14 April 2020.
6. Jim Webb, “The Future of the U.S. Marine Corps,” The National Interest, 8 May 2020.
7. Jen Judson, “Lawmakers Slash Funding for Marine Corps’ Long-range Fires Development,” Defense News, 23 December 2020.
8. Jen Judson, “US Army’s Cross-domain Tactical Missile Dies in FY21 Defense Spending Bill,” Defense News, 23 December 2020.
9. Department of Plans, Policies, and Operations, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, “Fiscal and Calendar Year 2020 USMC Operational Highlights Paper,” 31 January 2021.
10. Office of the Secretary of Defense, Director, Operational Test and Evaluation, “FY 2020 Annual Report,” January 2021, 121–23.
11. Congressional Research Service, “Navy Light Amphibious Warship (LAW) Program: Background and Issues for Congress,” updated 22 December 2020.
12. Gina Harkins, “Marines Weigh Closing Parris Island and San Diego to Open New Coed Boot Camp,” Military.com, 24 September 2020.
