MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. -- Fifty subject matter experts from the four services of the
U.S. Armed Forces, as well as representatives from the United Kingdom and
Australia, are scheduled to conduct the Operational Reach 2015
war game at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, from June 1-5.
During the war game, the Marine Corps and Navy will identify critical energy-based
capability gaps and risk mitigation options during Marine Expeditionary Brigade
forcible entry and lodgment operations in a 2030 operating environment. The
game will also enable the services to explore new operational concepts.
“Operational Reach 2015 is important due primarily to the
fact of the logistical challenges that the operational force has run into,” said
Col. James McGrath, Deputy Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 2, and the
cell lead for the game.
The war game will identify issues concerning new naval
concepts and weapons systems such as: fuel storage, load measurement, vehicle
travel, equipment distribution, follow-on operations and energy implications.
“We’ve continued to develop great new capabilities that have
greater fuel requirements,” said Arthur Corbett, Naval concepts analyst, Concepts
Branch, USMC Futures Directorate and facilitator of the game.
While exploring the concepts and scenarios, participants in
the war game will evaluate a wide variety of operational energy risks.
“I think a large part of the risk is going to push over to
logistics when you talk about forces being distributed over such a wide area,”
McGrath said.
Risk consideration is a high priority when examining any
operation. Risk is considered in forces used and in mission decisions.
The operation focuses on three different moves. The first
move, shaping, involves figuring out the best way to gain advantage over the
enemy and learn what activities are happening in the area, while also paying
attention to energy challenges.
Move two is forcible
entry, which considers the energy-based risk associated with forcible entry
operations and littoral warfare in an anti-access area denial threat
environment using a 2024 Naval equipment set. Although more lethal, future
combat systems will demand far more energy than yesterday’s systems. The implications
of this increased energy demand in the Naval Force will be studied in detail.
“We are
preparing for a wide variety of situations,” McGrath said. “The sheer movement
of the amount of equipment and supplies, once you get that bulk of supplies to
shore is crazy.
“Once ashore,
the supplies have to get to the individual Marine, to the individual vehicle, to
the individual unit and so forth.”
The last move
is force extension. This move examines the risks, decision space, and
capabilities related to MEB lodgment operations ashore as it extends its operational
reach from the seabase.
“Operational
Reach 2015 is a great way for us to explore new concepts and make sure they are
sustainable,” said Capt. Byron K. Johnson, an OPNAV N95 Future Amphibious
Integration Officer. By integrating operational energy challenges within the
context of operational impact, Operational Reach 2015 is focused on increasing
the effectiveness of Navy and Marine Corps team during combat operations.