Major Rob Malcolm

Maneuver warfare is the doctrinal bedrock of the U.S. Marine Corps. Enshrined in Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 1 (MCDP-1), Warfighting, it conceptualizes the enemy as a system and seeks paths around enemy surfaces to attack critical vulnerabilities. It shuns formulaic approaches to warfare and stresses artistic, creative approaches to new problem sets. Why, then, does the service restrict how the Marine air-ground task force (MAGTF) fights? Infantry are always the main effort.

In summer 2017, our position in Syria came under fire from Islamic State rockets. The enemy was outside the range of our 120-mm mortars, and the nature of our mission meant I could not displace our reinforced platoon. The nearest air support was more than 20 minutes away, meaning there were few options to respond immediately. We were in luck, however.

By Major Rob Malcolm, U.S. Marine Corps Of the many concerns Commandant of the Marine Corps General David H. Berger outlines in his 38th Commandant’s Planning Guidance, one with immediate effects on current operational plans is the need to update and harden the Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF). MPF consists of two parts: the ships of the Maritime Prepositioning Squadrons (MPSRONs) and the gear and equipment loaded on them.