stone of our warfighting capability, the
aviation community has provided phenomenal leaders during both peace and
war. Accordingly, it is time to recognize
their potential to lead our Corps; it is
time to name an aviator as the next
Commandant of the Marine Corps.
1. Provide Fleet Marine Force with combined arms and supporting air
components for service with the United States Fleet in the seizure or de-
fense of advanced naval bases and for the conduct of such land opera-
tions as may be essential to the execution of naval campaign.
The U.S. Marine Corps
Established by the National Security
Act of 1947 (NSA 1947), and
amended in 1952, the Marine Corps’
official mission is to provide power
projection from the sea, utilizing the
mobility and lift of the U.S. Navy to
rapidly deliver combined arms task
forces across the spectrum of military
operations. In concert with the U.S.
Navy, the Marine Corps operates
under the U.S. Department of the
Navy and is trained, organized, and
equipped for offensive amphibious operations.
The NSA 1947 defines seven elements to the Marine Corps mission.
(See Table 1.) Thematic in this mission
is the mandate to provide combined
arms and airborne operations. Both elements are fundamental to our success
and the forte of the Marine air-ground
task force (MAGTF).
2. Provide detachments and organizations for service on armed vessels of
the Navy and security detachments for the protection of naval property
at naval stations and bases.
3. Develop, in coordination with the Army, Navy, and Air Force, the
doctrine, tactics, techniques, and equipment employed by landing forces
in amphibious operations.
4. Provide Marine forces for airborne operations, in coordination with
the Army, Navy, and Air Force, according to the doctrine established by
the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
5. Develop, in coordination with the Army, Navy, and Air Force, the
doctrine, procedures, and equipment for airborne operations.
6. Expand peacetime components to meet wartime needs according to
the joint mobilization plans.
7. Perform such other duties as the President may direct.
Table 1. The seven elements of the Marine Corps mission.
The MAGTF
The MAGTF is the Marine Corps’
principal organization for conducting
missions across the spectrum of military operations. MAGTFs provide
combatant commanders or joint task
force commanders with scalable, versatile expeditionary forces able to respond to a broad range of crisis and
conflict situations. They are balanced
combined-arms force packages containing organic command, ground,
aviation, and sustainment elements. A
single commander leads and coordinates this combined-arms team from
peacetime training through deployment. MAGTF teams live and train
together, further increasing their cohesion and fighting power.
2
The varied application of our
Corps, dependent on situation and
scale, has seen the MAGTF concept
adapt over time. Since Operation
DESERT STORM, where the “super”
Marine expeditionary force (MEF) was
employed, we saw the importance of
the Marine expeditionary unit (special
operations capable) (MEU(SOC))
consume our efforts and focus. After
11 September 2001, we employed the
15th MEU(SOC), as part of a Marine
expeditionary brigade, 3 in response to
the attacks that initiated the global war
on terror. In order to conduct a historic
amphibious assault, we successfully utilized Marine aviation to cover some
400 miles. This brigade made history
when it used its aviation component to
execute a successful seabased assault of
unprecedented distance into enemy
territory.
Ultimately, we have come full circle
with the MEF again taking center stage
for operations in Iraq. As the principal
warfighting organization for the Marine Corps, the MEF has historically
been considered the definitive application of our warfighting potential, and
those who lead the MEF, our consummate MAGTF officers.
MAGTF Leadership
Over the course of our illustrious
history, the infantry officer—the physical embodiment for all that the Marine Corps represents—has symbolized
leadership in the Marine Corps. With
the necessary development of the
MAGTF and its four components, 4 we
now accept that the infantry officer is
no longer the lone example of either
the total MAGTF officer or the only
military occupational specialty (MOS)
capable of leading large combined
forces.
In point of fact, good examples date
back to World War II. MajGen Roy
Geiger was named commander of the
III Amphibious Corps in 1944 and became the first Marine to command an
army when he assumed command of
the 10th Army during the battle of Okinawa. Another example was Keith B.
McCutcheon, a Marine helicopter
pilot whom President Richard M.
Nixon nominated in 1970 for his third
star and subsequent assignment as
