New in 2020: Marines move to greater naval integration, starting with training changes

The Marine Corps will strategically shift back to its naval roots, as outlined in the new commandant’s planning guidance, starting in 2020.

And a key piece of that initiative is naval integration.

Berger hasn’t pulled punches when speaking publicly about what the Marine Corps needs to do — the role he sees as part of that naval force is to support the fleet in sea denial and deter threats like China and Russia.

But naval integration goes beyond putting more Marines on ships.

Much of that will begin at the training level. Training and Education Command staff say that while most naval curricula at Marine schools is focused on traditional amphibious operations, new doctrine and standards will include skills Marines need to operate inside enemy sensor and weapons engagement zones at sea.

That means injecting emerging naval concepts into professional military education, likely changes to the commandant’s reading list, adding a Navy captain to education command staff and potentially increasing the number of naval officers attending Marine schools.

The command will also review and update service concepts and doctrine related to command and ­control in the Composite Warfare Construct.

“Years of fighting in the desert have atrophied many of the long standing Navy and Marine relationships,” Tom Hartshorne, with TECOM Policy, Standards and Doctrine Division, wrote in a statement.

“Today, we must ensure the Navy and Marine Corps visions of the future are synchronized and nested and ensure that our actions are complimentary to those of the Navy with respect to force design, doctrine, education and training, among other areas.”

All of these changes mean it’s likely that Marine training, schools and doctrine will see a lot more Navy in it than has been the case over the past two decades.

This is an excerpt from “17 Things Marines Need To Know For 2020,” in the 12-23 print edition of Marine Corps Times.

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