Photo Information

Marines with Battalion Landing Team 3/5, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, prepare to board the amphibious assault ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18) after executing an amphibious raid rehearsal in the Philippine Sea, June 17, 2021. Marines with the 31st MEU conduct amphibious raid rehearsals in order to test maritime readiness, refine standard operating procedures, and sustain proficiency in small boat handling fundamentals. The 31st MEU is operating aboard ships of the America Amphibious Ready Group in the 7th fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with allies and partners, and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Photo by Lance Cpl. Grace Gerlach

Force Design 2030

2 Aug 2021 | Courtesy Story The Official United States Marine Corps Public Website

The strategic environment has changed. Great Power competitors are developing capabilities and postures that challenge the Joint Forces’ competitive advantage – the ability to deploy at a time and place of our choosing.  The Marine Corps is ideally suited to this challenge. We have a history of change; a history of being forward deployed, forward engaged, expeditionary, and integrated with the Navy. We practice maneuver warfare doctrine – we generate and gain advantages. We have adapted throughout our history to the threats our Nation faces. We are well-suited to do so again. 

Title 10, Section 5063 states we “provide Fleet Marine Forces… for service with the fleet… in the seizure or defense of advanced naval bases and for the conduct of such land operations as may be essential to the prosecution of a naval campaign.” 

Force Design 2030 is our latest effort to adapt, remain relevant, and out maneuver our adversaries. It is an extension of legal requirements suited to current and future operating environments. It continues the legacy and builds on the foundation cemented by generations of Marine before us. We are the nation’s naval expeditionary force; ready to fight in any clime or place at any time. 

“With an eye to the future, and an understanding of the increased potential of our peer competitors, we are rapidly pursuing new capabilities and concepts to ensure we REMAIN a capable naval expeditionary force in 2030 and beyond… that we REMAIN a Marine Corps that offers a significant contribution to the joint fight and imposes massive cost on the enemy.”

 

Adapting means keeping what works and changing what doesn’t. Organizations that don’t adapt, quickly become irrelevant. We have 245 years of proven adaptability and answering the Nation’s call. We must continue to modify our structure, training, and equipment to meet the demands of today and the anticipated demands of the future. 

 

Advantage at Sea Photo by Cpl. Elijah Abernathy
U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Jeramiah Meade, a section chief with 2nd Radio Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, uses a electronic warfare system during a joint-service training exercise on Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., March 26, 2021. The purpose of the week-long training was to increase interoperability with the U.S. Coast Guard and provide 2nd Marine Division reconnaissance battalions with the opportunity to become familiarized with quick reaction and counter electronic warfare concepts.

We are adapting in the following categories:

Lethality (the capacity to cause death or serious harm or damage)

Mobility (the ability to maneuver in every domain from cyberspace to undersea)

Resiliency (the ability to withstand an adversary’s attack in every domain from cyberspace to undersea, and to persist)

Joint Force Enablers (the ability to fill the gaps and enhance the capabilities of the other Services to be able to bring to bear the full brunt of American military power to achieve decisive action)

Talent Management (to have the right people with the right skills in the right place)