2009 Almanac Highlights

U.S. Marine Corps Organization and Missions

The U.S. Marine Corps is a globally engaged force with more than 24,000 Marines deployed to the U.S. Central Command’s region, in addition to other units positioned forward worldwide in more than 60 Theater Security Cooperation events (including training exercises).

In October 2008, I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF Forward) was in Iraq. Early in 2009, II MEF is slated to make its next deployment in support of Multi-National Force–Iraq.
The 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division was in Afghanistan, fighting Taliban guerrillas and providing humanitarian aid in Helmand and other provinces. And more than 1,200 Marines served as security forces at approximately 130 U.S. embassies and consulates in 117 countries worldwide.

Gen. James T. Conway, 34th commandant of the Marine Corps, in 2008 told Congress that ongoing operations constitute “a generational struggle against fanatical extremists; the challenges we face are of global scale and scope. This long war is multifaceted and will not be won in one battle, in one country, or by one method. Your Marines are a tough breed and will do what it takes to win — not only in these opening battles of Iraq and Afghanistan, but also in the subsequent conflicts which we endeavor to prepare for today.”

To meet the high operational tempo of the “long war,” as Conway refers to it, the Marine Corps plans by fiscal 2011 to grow by 27,000, to an active-duty end strength of 202,000 Marines. The plan would create three new battalions, increase the force by approximately 5,000 Marines per year and institute longer “dwell time” for forward-deployed units, focusing on counterinsurgency operations as well as major theater warfighting.

Conway’s point of view is that the present conflict against global extremism began Oct. 23, 1983, with the suicide bombing of Battalion Landing Team 1/8’s headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, which killed 241 Marines and Navy corpsmen. He said the Beirut attack foreshadowed other events, including al-Qaida’s Sept. 11, 2001, offensive on the United States.
In his annual Marine Corps birthday message to the service, the commandant urged the present generation of Marines to persevere against the enemy, to write a chapter in U.S. history that will honor those willing “to thrive on the hardship and sacrifice expected of an elite warrior class, to march to the sound of the guns and to ably shoulder the legacy of those Marines who have gone before.”

In Afghanistan, the United States deployed 4,000 Marines to support NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, which included more than 40,000 troops from 40 nations. Task Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I MEF, was based at Camp Barber, Helmand Province. The opium-rich region was among the toughest in Afghanistan, scene of some of the heaviest fighting between NATO and Taliban forces during the past two years.

A Marine Special Operations Company, from the 1st Special Operations Battalion, also was operating in Helmand Province, training Afghan National Army soldiers and police, distributing humanitarian aid and conducting reconnaissance patrols.

The II MEF Forward and Marine Corps transition teams have made considerable progress supporting Iraqi security and reconstruction projects, including training for Iraqi military forces and police. Garrison duty has exacted a price from the 26,000 Marines serving in Iraq, most in al Anbar Province. At Camp Fallujah, in addition to standing fast against al-Qaida-linked insurgents and helping to improve public safety in the city, Marines in July had to contend with a fire at Entry Control Point Five. The blaze destroyed several structures, military equipment and the personal possessions of 90 Marines.

At home, the Marine Corps is working to retrain its battle-weary forces and recapitalize worn equipment to prepare for the next phase of the long war. In 2009, Conway has called for the Marine Corps to return to its agile, deployable, expeditionary roots, tailoring equipment and formations once again to operational movement from the sea, and urged more time to train units returning from combat.

“We have turned into a second land army in Iraq because we had to,” Conway told Congress last spring. “That was the mission. That was the threat, and we have now grown much heavier with regard to 48,000-pound [Mine Resistant Ambush Protected] vehicles, many more numbers of rolling stock in the battalions, heavier weapons, longer-range communication, all those types of things that start to take away from your ability to get out of town quick, be agile and on your way and be lethal on the other end.”

During the last decade, the Marine Corps has slowed many of its advanced acquisition programs, diverting more funds for contemporary, rather than developmental, equipment and ongoing operations. Now, the service is renewing its commitment to new platforms, including the F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, which will replace all legacy tactical aircraft, such as the F-18C/D and the AV-8B Harrier II. The Marines plan to achieve initial operating capability with the first F-35B units in 2012.

The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) is a new amphibious armored vehicle that will carry a reinforced rifle squad of 17 Marines ashore, and provide fire support with its Mk44 30mm automatic gun and coaxial 7.62mm machine gun. The EFV will be capable of 25 knots speed in water and 45 mph on roads. The Marines plan to achieve initial operating capability with the first EFV-equipped Marine Expeditionary Unit in 2015.

Already proving itself in the field, the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor has made its first operational deployment, with a third Marine Osprey squadron now in Iraq. The Osprey is helping ferry Marines through some of Iraq’s most dangerous areas, avoiding the hazards of road travel and improvised explosive devices.

Legacy
The Marine Corps traces its origin to 1775, when the Second Continental Congress raised two battalions of Marines for service aboard Continental Navy ships during the American Revolution. It was 1798 before the Corps was formally established by law, during the Fifth U.S. Congress.
Since that time, Marines have distinguished themselves in the nation’s conflicts (at Belleau Wood, France, in 1918, at Iwo Jima in 1945, at the Chosin Reservoir in Korea in 1950, at Khe Sanh in Vietnam in 1968 and at Fallujah in Iraq in 2004). Because traditionally they have been organized, trained and equipped expressly for forward deployment, the Marines have long been regarded as the United States’ rapid-reaction force.

The Commandant of the Marine Corps
The commandant is the service’s highest uniformed official, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff reporting directly to the secretary of the Navy. The commandant is responsible for the plans, policy, programs and resources that support the Marine Corps’ deployed forces and garrison commands. Gen. James T. Conway, a veteran infantry officer, previously commanded both 1st and 2d Marine Divisions, including combat experience during Operation Desert Storm and two tours during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF)
Modern Marine operational units are structured as MAGTFs, which are scalable organizations that include a ground combat element, an air combat element, a command-and-control element and a combat service support, or logistics, element. The largest MAGTFs are the three MEFs, each of which includes 20,000-90,000 Marines, with 60 days’ supply. The MEF’s fighting strength comprises the ground and air combat elements from the three active and one reserve Marine divisions.

On deployment, the divisions’ fighting forces are organized into Marine Expeditionary Brigades, which are MAGTFs of 3,000-20,000 Marines, with 30 days’ supply. The smallest MAGTF, organized for long-dwell forward deployments and rapid-reaction operations, is the Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU).

A typical MEU includes 1,500-3,000 Marines, with 15 days’ supply, embarked on amphibious ships of a Navy expeditionary strike group. Commanded by a colonel, the MEU is trained to meet a broad spectrum of amphibious mission requirements, including major theater warfare, peacekeeping, security and stability operations.

Dependent upon the size of the force in question, the ground combat element of a deploying MAGTF may include infantry, engineers, reconnaissance and headquarters units, M777 155mm field artillery, M1A1 main battle tanks, LAV-25 light armored vehicles and AAV7A1 amphibious assault vehicles. A typical air combat element includes the aviators and support personnel for what the Marines call “reinforced helicopter squadrons,” with both fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft.
Marine Corps aviators fly F/A-18C/D strike fighters, AV-8B short takeoff/vertical landing strike fighters, MV-22s, CH-53E heavy-lift helicopters, UH-1 utility and AH-1 attack helicopters. The air combat element also may include support from joint Marine Corps-Navy EA-6B or F/A-18G electronic warfare aircraft and Marine KC-130 tanker/transport planes.

Major Commands
■ Marine Corps Forces Command (MARFORCOM)/
U.S. Marine Corps Forces Atlantic
Headquartered at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., and commanded by Lt. Gen. Richard F. Natonski, MARFORCOM is one of three major commands in the Marine Corps (including U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, and U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Reserve). Natonski also commands Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic, and U.S. Marine Corps Bases, Atlantic, which provide Marine units in support of NATO and other operational commands. MARFORCOM includes approximately 45,000 personnel of II MEF, led by former MARSOC commander Lt. Gen. Dennis J. Hejlik, headquartered at Camp Lejeune, N.C. II MEF (Forward), commanded by Maj. Gen. Richard T. Tryon, is preparing for deployment to Iraq in 2009.

■ U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific (MARFORPAC)
The largest field command in the Marine Corps, MARFORPAC includes approximately 84,000 Marines and Sailors, led by Lt. Gen. Keith J. Stalder, with headquarters at Camp Smith, Hawaii. MARFORPAC, which is the Marine Corps component command for U.S. Central Command, includes I MEF, commanded by Lt. Gen. Samuel T. Helland, with headquarters at Camp Pendleton, Calif. At the end of 2008, I MEF (Forward), commanded by Maj. Gen. John F. Kelly, was stationed at Al Anbar province, Iraq. MARFORPAC also includes III MEF, commanded by Lt. Gen. Richard C. Zilmer, with headquarters at Okinawa, Japan. During 2008, the Marine Corps continued studies and analyses to support the planned relocation of III MEF from Okinawa to Guam by 2014.

■ U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve (MARFORRES)
MARFORRES and Marine Forces North, until recently commanded by Lt. Gen. John W. Bergman, is headquartered in New Orleans. The reserves comprise approximately 39,600 personnel, including those of the 4th Marine Division, commanded by Maj. Gen. James L. Williams, the 4th Marine Air Wing and the 4th Service Support Group. MARFORRES is responsible for augmenting and reinforcing active duty Marine units, and providing Marines for the U.S. Northern Command. Since 2001, Marine reserve units have served multiple combat tours in Iraq and elsewhere in Central Command.

■ Marine Corps Combat Development Command (MCCDC)
Commanded by Lt. Gen. George J. Flynn, with headquarters at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., MCCDC is the service’s center for operational analysis, doctrine and capabilities development. One of MCCDC’s core organizations is the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, commanded by Brig. Gen. Thomas Murray, who also serves as vice chief, Office of Naval Research. The laboratory explores advanced concepts and technologies, as well as conducts war-gaming research into future concepts for Marine Corps and joint operations. Another of MCCDC’s divisions is the Center for Irregular Warfare, which is dedicated to developing the doctrine and tactics for counterinsurgency and operations other than major theater war, and studies concepts for stability operations, sea basing, distributed operations and other ideas that will shape the Marine Corps for the 21st century.

■ Marine Corps Systems Command (MARCORSYSCOM)
From MARCORSYSCOM’s headquarters at Quantico, Brig. Gen. Michael M. Brogan manages the service’s modernization investment programs, which acquire and deliver command, control and communications systems; infantry, armor and fire-support weapons; engineering equipment and other combat support items. During 2008, the 1,600 Marines and civilians of MARCORSYSCOM focused on delivering capabilities to meet emergent threats, including that of improvised explosive devices. For example, the command has delivered more than 900 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles to Afghanistan and approximately 8,000 to Iraq.

■ U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC)
Headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., and commanded by Maj. Gen. Mastin M. Robeson, MARSOC celebrated its second anniversary as it established full operational capability in 2008. Last year, MARSOC units deployed for more than 40 missions.
The command, comprising 2,600 Marines and Sailors, includes two Marine Special Operations Battalions, at Camp Lejeune and at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Each battalion includes four Marine Special Operations Companies, manned, trained and equipped for intelligence and fire-support missions.

MARSOC’s Marine Special Operations Advisor Group is organized to provide combat skills training and support for foreign forces, taking over some of the allied engagement duties traditionally held by U.S. Army Special Forces. Additionally, the command includes the special operations logistics support group, as well as the Marine Special Operations School, which screens, recruits and trains candidates for special missions duty.