Proceedings - November 2024 Vol. 150/11/1,461

Focus on the U.S. Marine Corps

November 2024

Happy 249th birthday to the U.S. Marine Corps! We start this issue with the winners of our annual Marine Corps Essay Contest.

CEO Notes

November 2024

Registration is now open for WEST 2025. The theme is “The Future Is Now: Are We Advancing Operational Capabilities that Pace the Threat?”

The sloop-of-war USS Constellation, date unknown.

Comment & Discussion

November 2024

Readers respond to articles on shipyards, prize law, and more.

The bow sonar array for a Seawolf-class nuclear-powered attack submarine.

Sonar 101

By Lieutenant Commander Jim Halsell, U.S. Navy

November 2024

Sonar is a key tool for submarines, surface ships, and antisubmarine warfare–capable aircraft.

The USNS dry cargo ships Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE-4) and Washington Chambers (T-AKE-11) at a Unithai facility in Thailand. Unithai holds one of the 46 master ship repair agreements issued in the western Pacific that allow private shipyards to perform work on U.S. Military Sealift Command ships—but not commissioned U.S. warships.

Fat Leonard Still Weighs on WestPac Logistics

By Commander Grant Bryan and Lieutenant Commander Matt Hipple, U.S. Navy

November 2024

The scandal known by the name of its infamous protagonist—“Fat Leonard”—continues to exact a toll on the Navy.

MSRon 10, assigned to Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, conducts maritime security operations off the Horn of Africa. Maritime expeditionary security squadrons offer junior officers authorities and responsibilities usually reserved for more-senior officers.

Junior Officers in Expeditionary Command

By Commander Joey Vitollo, U.S. Navy

November 2024

Young surface warfare officers eager for the challenges and excitement of early command will find it in the Maritime Expeditionary Security Force.

By volunteering in the communities outside their bases—the author started a local high school track and cross-country team—service members can give young people positive exposure to the military and its members and change their perceptions.

Recruitment Runs Through Our Local Communities

By Commander Marc Mares, U.S. Coast Guard Reserve

November 2024

Recruiting is difficult for all the services, and they are instituting programs in an attempt to meet the challenge.

The Navy needs innovation to maintain superiority, but innovation cannot exist without bold sailors who are willing to embrace risk and face failure. Here, a new chief petty officer is saluted during a pinning ceremony.

The Enlisted Evaluation Needs a Boldness Performance Trait

By Petty Officer Second Class Dustin Evans, U.S. Navy

November 2024

Enlisted Prize Essay Contest—First Prize, Sponsored by USAA. A risk-averse culture has taken root in the Sea Services, and its consequences could be significant if global conflict materializes.

Instead of creating a technologically advanced and dependent Star Wars–like force—which may be ill-suited to austere environments—the U.S. Marine Corps should embrace the simplicity and lethality found on the post-apocalyptic battlefields in the Mad Max franchise.

Mad Max Imperatives for the Stand-In Force

By Major Dilan Swift, U.S. Marine Corps

November 2024

Marine Corps Essay Contest—First Prize, Sponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute. The Marine Corps must prioritize simplicity, sustainability, and survivability to win.

An Australian-designed Whiskey Bravo boat and two former Naval Special Warfare 11-meter rigid-hull inflatable boats that have been acquired by the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. The Whiskey Bravo is an experimental craft acquired by the Defense Innovation Unit and Marine Corps Warfighting Lab. It is being used to help refine requirements for what might eventually become an RFP and program of record. But, for now, it is one-of-a-kind.

The Stand-in Force Has to Maneuver

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

November 2024

Marine Corps Essay Contest—Second Prize, Sponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute. Maritime reconnaissance companies can help stand-in forces see farther.

An M1A2 Abrams from the Army’s 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment engages a target. To integrate armor in its amphibious training operations, the Marine Corps must rely on the Army, but the Army is decades out of practice and has no units designated as “amphibious” to test tactics and equipment.

The Marine Corps and Army Must Integrate Armor in Amphibious Ops

By Major Austin T. Schwartz, U.S. Army

November 2024

Marine Corps Essay Contest—Third Prize, Sponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute. When the Marine Corps needs armor, it will call on the Army. Will either service be ready?

The Marine Corps’ fleet of aircraft, including this CH-53K King Stallion, have become more technologically sophisticated in the past decade. Most now rely on advanced digital flight-control systems.

Aviation Maintenance: A Critical Vulnerability in the Marine Corps

By Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brian P. Brewer, U.S. Marine Corps

November 2024

Marine aviation maintenance technician training has not kept pace with technological advances.

Marine Corps special operators and conventional forces have often clashed, but both stand to benefit from greater interoperability and resource and information sharing.

MarSOC Marines Are Still Marines

By Major Michael Cariello Noblit, U.S. Marine Corps

November 2024

Special ops can help with overall retention, innovation, and interoperability with the conventional force.

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers from the 1st Airborne Brigade descend from a U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules over Narashino Training Area, Japan, in April 2022.

Making Japan’s Rapid Deployment Forces Better

By Captain Kazuki Hasegawa, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force

November 2024

The Japan Self-Defense Force and U.S. forces must work jointly to develop a true rapid deployment force.

Permitted and Prohibited Political Behavior in the Naval Service

By Captain Dave Richardson, U.S. Navy, and Colonel Eric Reid, U.S. Marine Corps

November 2024

Active-duty Navy and Marine Corps service members could use better training on civil-military relations and prohibited partisan political activity.

A Coast Guard petty officer looks on from a small boat detached from the USCGC Resolute (WMEC-620) as oil and gas are flared off at the site of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. A post-incident review identified gaps in the Coast Guard’s marine environmental response preparedness and programs.

Marine Environmental Response Needs a New Home

By Commander Drew Casey, U.S. Coast Guard (Retired)

November 2024

The service should turn over marine environmental response to the EPA.

U.S. Marines assigned to a reconnaissance detachment prepare to move on an objective as part of amphibious operations training during an exercise in Lido Beach, Greece.

Modernize Marine Corps Intelligence for a Naval Fight

By Major Jake Yeager, U.S. Marine Corps

November 2024

Naval Intelligence Essay Contest—First Prize Sponsored by Naval Intelligence Professionals and the Naval Institute. Marine Corps intelligence must change to fight a littoral war.

A landing craft, air cushion (LCAC), transports equipment to the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD-3). The LCAC would be ideal for an abandon-ship rescue in which survivors would likely be spread out over a large area.

A Joint Solution for Open-Ocean Mass Rescue

By Lieutenant Massimo Morreale, U.S. Navy

November 2024

It is crucial the U.S. military develop new means to safely and quickly rescue sailors on the open ocean following an engagement.

A Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey lands at a forward arming and refueling point (FARP) on Ie Shima, Okinawa, Japan. In 2019, the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit conducted a combined raid/fly-in FARP that demonstrated the rapid FARP concept is solid.

Make Naval-Enabled Joint FARPs a Reality by 2026

By Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Warren, U.S. Marine Corps

November 2024

U.S. naval forces must master establishing temporary forward arming and refueling points throughout China’s weapons engagement zone.

An EA-18G Growler lands on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71). The Growler’s jamming and other suppression/destruction-of-enemy-air-defense capabilities would be essential for U.S. and allied tactical aircraft in any counterattack against Chinese forces in the defense of Taiwan.

Better Airborne Tactical Electronic Warfare

By Kenul N. Vantwest

November 2024

The Navy's EA-18G Growler remains the sole dedicated U.S. electronic attack aircraft. The joint force needs far more of them to fight a war in the western Pacific.

During February 2022 humanitarian aid/disaster relief (HA/DR) operations in Turkey, 2d MEB staff members arrived in Naples and immediately integrated into the Naval Forces Europe HA/DR battle rhythm, and some members deployed to Incirlik with the commanding general to provide additional capacity as required.

Transforming 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade

By Lieutenant Colonel Joel Rea, U.S. Marine Corps

November 2024

This transformation involved setting three conditions: educating the force, casting a vision, and building the organizational mechanism for achieving objectives.

Book Reviews

November 2024

Experts review Algorithms of Armageddon, The Restless Wave, and other new and noteworthy books.

Where We Were

November 2024

A look back at the November issues of Proceedings from 1934, 1954, and 1974.

Symbolizing the Marine Corps’ victory in the Battle of Saipan, a rifleman stands atop the wreckage of Japanese planes destroyed in the fight for the Mariana Islands base.

From Our Archive

November 2024

Symbolizing the Marine Corps’ victory in the Battle of Saipan, a rifleman stands atop the wreckage of Japanese planes destroyed in the fight for the Mariana Islands base.

On 25 September 2024, the Sazanami, the fourth ship of the Takanami class, became the first JMSDF warship to sail through the Taiwan Strait.

Japan’s Takanami-class Destroyers: Making Waves In the Indo-Pacific

By Eric Wertheim

November 2024

The Sazanami joins a growing number of warships from international navies conducting freedom-of-navigation voyages to dispute Chinese claims of sovereignty and jurisdiction.

The author with his father in February 1956.

Two Destroyers for Postwar Japan

By Lieutenant Commander Warren B. Galkin, U.S. Naval Reserve (Retired)

November 2024

After World War II, the United States decided to transfer two U.S. destroyers to Japan. They would be building blocks for a reconstituted Japanese Navy.

The USNS Marie Tharp (T-AGS-66) is one of the 23 research and survey vessels operated by the Naval Oceanographic Office and U.S. universities and research institutions. China has 64 active research vessels.

Ocean Intelligence: A Decisive Factor for Defending Taiwan

By Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet, U.S. Navy (Retired)

November 2024

Since the United States has pledged to defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion by China, it's worth comparing the oceanographic capabilities of the U.S. Navy and the PLA.

Honoring the Lifetime Giving of Our Donors: A Legacy of Generosity and Support

November 2024

Whether you have supported the Naval Institute for a year or over several decades, your contributions are invaluable.

Asked & Answered

November 2024

What was the most memorable reprimand or punishment your Marine Corps drill instructor inflicted on you or your unit?

Protecting Warships Inport with a Fast, Resilient Defense

November 2024

War has suddenly broken out between the U.S. and a powerful adversary. At a major Navy base, much-needed warships that were undergoing maintenance and resupply are now hurriedly preparing to sail into the fight.

Why I Hate Sun Tzu: Reevaluating a Supposedly Foundational Text

By Major James M. Stephens

November 2024

2024 Chase Prize Essay Contest Winner: Honorable Mention. Reprinted with permission from the Marine Corps Association.

E-2C Hawkeye on USS Dwight D. Eisenhower

Beyond Tactics: How the Hawkeye Proved the Power of Adaptability in the Red Sea

By Lieutenant Commander Nathan Sawyer, U.S. Navy

October 2024

Training for naval aviators is too strictly geared toward combat against a peer adversary. As the battlespace evolves, the Navy should train for adaptability and flexibility.

The Transnational Navy: A New Strategic Focus

By Captain Robert C. Rubel, U.S. Navy (Retired)

November 2024

The U.S. Navy still needs a concept on which to base a new maritime strategy. The documents issued by a succession of CNOs hint at what that strategy could be.