Anthony Zinni
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Articles by Anthony Zinni
The Marines Must Think Bigger Than Small Units
An oft-cited military maxim holds that strategy without tactics is the slowest path to victory, while tactics without strategy is the noise before a defeat. This concept is discussed in the writings of respected commentators from Thucydides to Sun Tzu and Clausewitz and is presented as an enduring principle to students in our War Colleges to this day. Unfortunately, the Marine Corps has allowed tactical thinking to cloud its strategic imperative.
The Marines Must Think Bigger Than Small Units
An oft-cited military maxim holds that strategy without tactics is the slowest path to victory, while tactics without strategy is the noise before a defeat. This concept is discussed in the writings of respected commentators from Thucydides to Sun Tzu and Clausewitz and is presented as an enduring principle to students in our War Colleges to this day. Unfortunately, the Marine Corps has allowed tactical thinking to cloud its strategic imperative.
The Marines Must Think Bigger Than Small Units
The Marines Must Think Bigger Than Small Units An oft-cited military maxim holds that strategy without tactics is the slowest path to victory, while tactics without strategy is the noise before a defeat. Read Full Article »
More Funding for the Wrong Programs Won’t Fix the Marine Corps
More Funding for the Wrong Programs Won’t Fix the Marine Corps
Military power alone is not enough — international aid is vital to US security
Before he served as President Trump’s first secretary of defense, Gen. James Mattis, as head of U.S. Central Command, testified before Congress in 2013 that “If you don’t fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition.” He was right then, and he is right now. Mattis recognized that a “peace through strength” foreign policy centered on deterrence demands the most lethal and formidable military in the world.
Opinion - Military power alone is not enough - international aid is vital to US security
Before he served as President Trump’s first secretary of defense, Gen. James Mattis, as head of U.S. Central Command, testified before Congress in 2013 that “If you don’t fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition.” He was right then, and he is right now. Mattis recognized that a “peace through strength” foreign policy centered on deterrence demands the most lethal and formidable military in the world.
Marines Must Adapt to a Changing World
As remarkable as it sounds, the United States Marine Corps is currently organized and equipped for the wrong mission. The Service, once renowned for its offensive mantra as “first to fight”, has become too focused on defending against the highly unlikely scenario in which the Chinese navy projects from the South China Sea to engage U.S. forces and seize control of the Pacific and beyond.
Marine Corps Global Response in the Age of Precision Munitions
Editors Note: The graphic represents the Marine Corps 9-1-1 force, a capability quickly eroding under Force Design 2030. Photo; A graphic created as a banner for 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit social media platforms to highlight the 13th MEU’s warfighting readiness at Camp Pendleton, California, June 11, 2024.
Marine Corps Global Response in the Age of Precision Munitions
Four years ago, the United States Marine Corps embraced Force Design 2030 as its capstone operating concept. This unproven and unsolicited concept transitioned the Marine Corps from a global force in readiness to a regional force in waiting and was not vetted with most of the Geographic Combatant Commands or managed at Quantico by the Marine Corps Combat Development Command’s highly regarded and effective combat development process.
How the Marines have gone from premier expeditionary force to 'irrelevance'
[Editor’s note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire.] By Anthony Zinni & Jerry McAbee Real Clear Wire How did the United States Marine Corps transform itself from the world’s premier expeditionary force-in-readiness to a poor parody of the French Maginot Line in just four years?
Marine Corps Stand-In Forces: A house of cards
By Anthony Zinni & Jerry McAbee Real Clear Wire How did the United States Marine Corps transform itself from the world’s premier expeditionary force-in-readiness to a poor parody of the French Maginot Line in just four years?
Marine Corps Stand-In Forces: A House of Cards
How did the United States Marine Corps transform itself from the world’s premier expeditionary force-in-readiness to a poor parody of the French Maginot Line in just four years? In his Force Design 2030 plan, the 38th Commandant of the Marine Corps radically redesigned and restructured the Marine Corps to operate as a defensively oriented, narrowly specialized regional force under Navy command to attack and sink Chinese warships in the South China Sea.
Marine Corps Stand-In Forces: A House of Cards
Marine Corps Stand-In Forces: A House of Cards How did the United States Marine Corps transform itself from the world’s premier expeditionary force-in-readiness to a poor parody of the French Maginot Line in just four years? Read Full Article »
Marine Corps Stand-In Forces: A House of Cards
How did the United States Marine Corps transform itself from the world’s premier expeditionary force-in-readiness to a poor parody of the French Maginot Line in just four years? In his Force Design 2030 plan, the 38th Commandant of the Marine Corps radically redesigned and restructured the Marine Corps to operate as a defensively oriented, narrowly specialized regional force under Navy command to attack and sink Chinese warships in the South China Sea.
Marine Corps Stand-In Forces: A House of Cards
How did the United States Marine Corps transform itself from the world’s premier expeditionary force-in-readiness to a poor parody of the French Maginot Line in just four years? In his Force Design 2030 plan, the 38th Commandant of the Marine Corps radically redesigned and restructured the Marine Corps to operate as a defensively oriented, narrowly specialized regional force under Navy command to attack and sink Chinese warships in the South China Sea.
Four retired Marine generals on how to rebuild America’s crisis response force Original
The U.S. national security establishment has identified China as America’s “pacing threat” and has reoriented military capabilities toward that threat. So be it. But identifying a primary threat does not mean the United States does not also need a “911” force to deal with fast-developing crises. Thoughtfully designed, such a force would also be able to contribute to a major war effort. If asked to design the ideal “911” force for our nation, we would build it with six distinct capabilities.
The DoD’s Innovation Race
It was 12:58 p.m. in Washington D.C when Moscow confirmed the launch of the Sputnik satellite on 4 October 1957. The Soviets had beaten the United States to space. Ripples of concern spread across defense and political communities. This event kickstarted a wave of research and development activities that, at peak, accounted for a full 36 percent of global research and development outlays and culminated in a technological advantage that was enjoyed by the United States well into the 2000s.
5/28/24 National Security News and Commentary
Quotes of the Day: "Another voice, Mercy Otis Warren, a philosopher and historian during our revolution put it this way, "The study of the human character at once opens a beautiful and a deformed picture of the soul. We there find a noble principle implanted in the nature of people, but when the checks of conscience are thrown aside, humanity is obscured." I have had the privilege for nearly half a century of making films about the US, but I have also made films about us.
How capable is today’s Marine Corps to answer a 9-1-1 call? Not very Original
The American people and a growing number of elected representatives are beginning to suspect something some Marine Corps leaders have been unwilling to admit: United States Marines are no longer capable of responding to global crises and contingencies quickly and effectively, and in some cases, at all.
Boston Breach's Methodz announces CDL retirement
--Field Level Media Read This Next Ukraine war pushes Shell Oil profits to record $40 billion in 2022 Honda says it will develop hydrogen fuel cells for cars, trucks US EV manufacturer Rivian to cut 6 percent of workforce Intel announces cuts to executive salaries as demand for chips fall Biden announces proposal to cut US credit card fees, app charges Big News Network ASSOCIATES Big News Network News Agency Midwest Radio Network Mainstream Media BIG NEWS NETWORK.COM About us Contact &...
Vision 2035: Global Response in the Age of Precision Munitions
In the rush to restructure the Marine Corps from a global force focused on uncertainties to a regional force focused on the certainty of a single threat (China’s Navy), the Marine Corps jettisoned many capabilities needed to fight and win today and in the future. The magnitude of these divestments is reflected in the accompanying graphic.
How to Rebalance the Navy’s Strategic Culture
To be most effective, the U.S. Navy’s culture must equally leverage three pillars: operational, technocentric, and strategy-centric influences. With these in balance, the Navy translates its assigned ends into the ways and means needed to produce and wield sea power effectively. Most notably, the interwar years (1920–1940) and the late Cold War era (1970–1989) saw sound strategy driving force structure and doctrinal decisions with extraordinary success.
Intellectual Readiness Is Vital to Sea Power
is an authority on the U.S. Navy of the early 20th century and a leader in the application of complexity science to organizational design. He is a consultant to a variety of organizations on processes and techniques and writes and speaks about leadership, sensemaking, organizational learning, and complexity. He is the author of (Naval Institute Press, 2018) and (Naval Institute Press, 2022).
Innovation: People Are More Important than Technology Original
Today’s strategic environment features rapid technological change coupled with the increasing accessibility of cutting-edge technologies to more and more actors. These changes, and the threats they pose to U.S. national security, span presidential administrations and cross party lines.
War is a dirty business. Will the Marine Corps be ready for the next one?
Placeholder while article actions load Charles Krulak Sign up for a weekly roundup of thought-provoking ideas and debates ArrowRight served as the 31st commandant of the Marine Corps; Jack Sheehan served as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic; and Anthony Zinni is a former combatant commander of U.S. Central Command. All are retired Marine generals. It is a proven lesson of history that militaries must play a never-ending chess game of modernization and technological improvement.
Opinion | What is the role of the Marine Corps in today’s global security environment?
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a four-part series challenging a major multi-year reorganization of the Marine Corps known as Force Design 2030. In this article, retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni outlines what role the Corps has traditionally played among the military services and throughout the world.
Gen. Zinni & Adm. Stavridis: Global coronavirus fight - US leadership, investment the keys to victory
Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here. Every hour across the country, an invisible army is claiming the lives of our fellow citizens – all taken far too soon and at a pace close to another 9/11 every 36 hours. As a nation, we are relearning the hard lesson that 21st-century threats are often immune to borders and bullets.
Who made these bizarre tweets: Kevin Durant or Call of Duty Pro “Methodz”?
When it comes to must-follows on Twitter, Kevin Durant is a guy who’s been known to craft some golden content. Especially for some of the random, off-the-cuff comments that he made early in his NBA career. In the Call of Duty pro scene, there’s someone whose twitter game is very similar to KD’s. Anthony “Methodz” Zinni is one of the star players for the Toronto Ultra, the only Canadian team to be taking part in the inaugural season of the Call of Duty League.
Anthony Zinni and Jake Harriman: Fighting terrorism requires this new weapon
The United States has the most well-equipped and capable fighting force in the world. The brave men and women who defend our nation's freedom and our way of life form a completely volunteer force that projects American power with unparalleled efficacy. However, despite sustained efforts in a multi-front war, the United States has been unable to neutralize one of the most dangerous threats to national security. That's the rise of violent extremism.
Gen. Zinni, Adm. Stavridis: What Pompeo must do first if confirmed as secretary of state
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a confirmation hearing Thursday on President Trump’s nomination of CIA Director Mike Pompeo to become secretary of state. If confirmed as America’s next chief diplomat, Pompeo will immediately face a world of growing crises that demand U.S. diplomatic leadership and a renewal and strengthening of all of the tools of American power. A West Point graduate, Pompeo says he intends to restore the State Department’s central role in national security.
Don't shortchange foreign aid
Never before have we seen the complex convergence of global crises that our nation is facing today. From Russian aggression to the rise of ISIS to new pandemics, our nation cannot afford to shrink back from the challenges we face abroad. Yet we fear that Congress may do just that in the coming days. As a retired general and admiral, we are the first to say that the military alone cannot keep our nation safe, and that strategic investments in development and diplomacy are equally critical.
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