2010 Almanac Highlights

U.S. Marine Corps Organization and Missions

At the end of 2009, the U.S. Marine Corps had more than 25,000 troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. That number is unlikely to fall in the next year, although the focus of their efforts is shifting. According to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, the department is reducing the Marine presence in Iraq and increasing the number of Marines deployed to the NATO-led conflict in Afghanistan, where approximately 5,700 Marines currently serve. More than 1,200 Marines are deployed as security forces to 130 U.S. embassies and consulates in 117 countries worldwide.

One way the Marine Corps is meeting the demands of current operations in Afghanistan and Iraq is to grow larger. Still “the few,” in contrast to the Army, the Corps has increased the end strength of its active component by 27,000, building toward a goal of having 202,000 or more Marines on active duty. “This growth will significantly improve the ability of [the] Corps to train to the full range of military operations,” Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway told the Senate Armed Services Committee in June.

Elsewhere, the service is studying how its garrison forces are positioned overseas. For example, the Marines are considering a major “realignment” of forces in the Pacific region. Changes in the political relationship between Japan and the United States have encouraged a rethinking of the American presence on Okinawa. There are approximately 10,000 Marines, and 25,000 U.S. forces in total, currently based on Okinawa. A strategic review recently concluded by the Defense Department has suggested a move of 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to U.S. facilities on the island of Guam. The United States and Japan are still working out the details and ramifications of the planned move.

Amid these developments, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to take a toll on the Corps’ men and women and their equipment. Marine Corps leaders have acknowledged an increase in battle stress-related health problems, including a rising trend in the rate of suicide among Marines returning from the combat zones. In the service’s depots, vehicles and aircraft are wearing out. Congress already has appropriated $12 billion to help “reset” the force, but the Navy Department is asking for more.

Conway told senators that though the readiness of Marine deployed ground forces is “above 90 percent,” there are challenges with the service’s supply rates for units at home, as their equipment helps keep those on the front lines at top efficiency. In the aviation community, the service has maintained a “74.5 percent aviation mission-capable rate” for all Marine aircraft, he said.

That level of readiness comes at a cost measured against the fatigue life of the Marines’ older aircraft. The Navy Department is eager to bring new platforms online, such as the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor and the F-35 Lightning II strike fighter. The Osprey already has operated in Iraq and Afghanistan, while the Marines expect to field their first squadron of F-35s around 2012.

Legacy

The Marine Corps originated in 1775, when the Second Continental Congress authorized the raising of two battalions of Marine infantry for service aboard the ships of the Continental Navy during the American War of Independence. In 1798, the Fifth U.S. Congress formally established the Corps by law. In their 235-year history, Marines have distinguished themselves fighting for the United States from Belleau Wood, to Iwo Jima, the Chosin Reservoir, to Khe Sanh, to Fallujah. Because traditionally they have been organized, trained and equipped expressly for deployment far from their nation’s shores, the Marines have long been regarded as the United States’ crisis reaction force.

The Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James T. Conway is the 34th commandant of the Marine Corps. Conway is a veteran infantry officer who previously led both 1st and 2d Marine Divisions, including combat experience during Operation Desert Storm and two tours during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The commandant is the Marine Corps’ highest ranking uniformed official, and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff alongside the chief of naval operations. The commandant is responsible for the plans, policy, programs and resources that support the Marine Corps’ deployed forces and garrison commands.

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 Marine Expeditionary Forces (MEFs), each of which includes 20,000-90,000 Marines, with 60 days’ supply. The MEFs’ fighting strength is comprised of the ground and air elements from the three active and one Reserve Marine divisions.

On deployment, the divisions’ fighting forces are organized into Marine Expeditionary Brigades (MEBs), 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. For example, 2,800 Marines of the 13th MEU currently are deployed to operations outside of Afghanistan and Iraq.

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 howitzers, 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 Hornet strike fighters, AV-8B Harrier II short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) strike fighters, MV-22s, CH-53E heavy-lift helicopters, UH-1 utility and AH-1 attack helicopters. The MAGTF’s air combat element also includes support from joint Marine-Navy EA-6B or EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft and Marine KC-130 tanker/transport planes. Jointly with the Navy, the Air Force and a host of partner nations, the Marines are developing the F-35, which will replace older model Hornets in some Marine squadrons, as well as a STOVL variant that will replace the Harrier IIs.

Major Commands

■ Marine Corps Forces Command (MARFORCOM); U.S. Marine Corps Forces Atlantic

Headquartered at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., under Lt. Gen. Richard F. Natonski, MARFORCOM is one of three major commands in the Marine Corps, along with 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 operations as well as those of other U.S. combatant commands. MARFORCOM includes approximately 45,000 personnel of II MEF, led by Lt. Gen. Dennis J. Hejlik and headquartered at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Elements of the 2d Marine Division, led by Maj. Gen. Richard T. Tryon, are deployed to Afghanistan.

■ U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific (MARFORPAC)

Headquartered at Camp Smith, Hawaii, MARFORPAC, under Lt. Gen. Keith J. Stalder, is the largest field command in the Marine Corps. MARFORPAC, which is the Marine component of U.S. Central Command, manages approximately 84,000 Marines and Sailors. The command includes I MEF, led by Lt. Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., and headquartered at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Elements of 1st Marine Division, led by Maj. Gen. Richard P. Mills, are deployed to Al Anbar Province, Iraq, and Afghanistan. MARFORPAC also includes III MEF, led by Lt. Gen. Terry G. Robling and headquartered at Okinawa, Japan. Elements of the 3d Marine Division, led by Brig. Gen James B. Laster, are deployed to Afghanistan.

■ U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve (MARFORRES); Marine Forces North

Headquartered in New Orleans, MARFORRES is led by Lt. Gen. John F. Kelly. The Reserves comprise approximately 39,600 Marines and Sailors, including those of the 4th Marine Division, led by Maj. Gen. James L. Williams, the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing and the 4th Service Support Group. MARFORRES is responsible for augmenting and reinforcing active-duty Marine units, including multiple tours to combat and other operations overseas. The Reserves also are a major force provider to the U.S. Northern Command.

■ Marine Corps Combat Development Command (MCCDC)

Headquartered at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., under Lt. Gen. George J. Flynn, MCCDC is the Marine Corps’ center for operational analysis, doctrine and capabilities development. MCCDC includes the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, led by Brig. Gen. Robert F. Hedelund, who also serves as vice chief of the Navy Department’s Office of Naval Research. The warfighting laboratory’s role is to explore advanced concepts and technologies, as well as to “war game” future concepts of operations. Another of MCCDC’s divisions is the Center for Irregular Warfare (CIW), which develops the doctrine and tactics Marines use to accomplish counterinsurgency operations and conduct humanitarian aid, security missions and other activities. The CIW also studies sea basing, distributed operations and other naval war fighting concepts that will shape Navy and Marine Corps doctrine.

■ Marine Corps Systems Command (MARCORSYSCOM)

Headquartered at Quantico, MARCORSYSCOM, under Brig. Gen. Michael M. Brogan, manages and executes the contracts of Marine investment programs. Augmenting the acquisition capabilities of the Navy, MARCORSYSCOM’s programs acquire and deliver platforms and weapon systems specific to Marine operations, including command-and-control electronics, infantry equipment and weapons, armored fighting vehicles and indirect fire weapons such as artillery. The command’s engineering, contracting and logistics capabilities help Marines meet emergent threats, including the joint Army-Navy-Marine Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle project, which delivers vehicles designed to withstand improvised explosive devices.

■ U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC)

Headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, under new commander Maj. Gen. Paul E. Lefebvre, MARSOC comprises 2,600 Marines and Sailors trained to accomplish special operations. The command includes two Marine special operations battalions, one each at Camp Lejeune and Camp Pendleton, Calif. These battalions comprise four Marine special operations companies, which chiefly perform intelligence and fire-support missions. MARSOC also has a Marine special operations advisor group, which provides combat skills training for foreign forces. In this role, MARSOC has taken over some of the allied engagement duties traditionally held by U.S. Army Special Forces. Additionally, MARSOC includes the special operations logistics support group, as well as the Marine Special Operations School, which recruits and trains candidates for special warfare.