Marine Corps Training for Success in Littoral Combat: What Does a Service-Level Training Exercise Look Like for a Marine Littoral Regiment?

Abstract

Since 1775 the United States Navy and Marine Corps team has worked together as a navalexpeditionary force to project military power to various regions around the globe. The strength of this force has been the cohesion built during training and the preparation conducted in garrison prior to peaceful deployments or into a conflict. The nature of war has not changed over the years; per Commandant of the Marine Corps, the nature of war is, and will continue to be, an escalation to conflict stemming from the opposing wills of two individual nation states or groups. However, the character of war changes as we continue to evolve and make advancements with technology. A key aspect of being competitive and having the ability to adapt, even with changes in the way we wage war, is having a properly organized, adequately equipped, and well-trained force. The latter is the main focus of this research. This research aims to provide an alternative way of training Marine Corps forces that will conduct operations in the United States Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility. Currently, the Marine Corps spends a significant amount of money annually training in the desert—an environment in which our senior leaders do not expect to fight in the near future.