Modern Day Marine 2022: Day Three

12 May 2022 | Communication Directorate The Official United States Marine Corps Public Website

The final day of Modern Day Marine 2022 brought insights on the way ahead for human performance and talent management initiatives in the Marine Corps. Attendees listened in on two significant panel discussions and heard the latest updates on Talent Management 2030 and Training and Education 2030.

These presentations were closely linked to the topics addressed on the first two days of Modern Day Marine: Force Design 2030, and the supporting concept of Stand-In Forces. The Marine Corps needs smart, mature Marines in order to close kill chains faster than the nation's adversaries. This is why Gen. Berger has made his second and third priorities Talent Management 2030 – to recruit and retain smart, mature Marines - and Training and Education Command 2030 - to keep those Marines smart and mature.

U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. David Ottignon, Deputy Commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, led the first panel series of the day on Talent Management 2030. Ottignon delivered a situation report on the progress of the personnel management functions of the Marine Corps and emphasized how creating an enduring talent management system will strengthen the Corps' ability to retain the most qualified and talented Marines. Among the innovations envisioned is a talent management marketplace where Marines would be able to more readily view available billets and pursue specific opportunities.

"I want transparency for you, the Marine, the monitor, the mentor, the command - a place to meet in a marketplace that allows an individual to see opportunities, measure themselves against those opportunities, to see if they have those skills that we want for continued service." Lt. Gen. David Ottignon, deputy commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs

The Marine Corps has been and will always remain a people-centric organization. While the Corps continues to make significant investments in the modernization of equipment, structure, and concepts, it is the training and development of individual Marines that makes the organization successful.

"It's not the weapon the Marine carries, the plane the Marines flies, it's not a piece of equipment. The very essence of what makes the Marine Corps is the success of the individual Marine who, as a member of a team, has been invested in with skills, education, training, retraining, re-educating. That makes the Marine Corps so successful on the battlefield." Sgt. Maj. Troy E. Black, sergeant major of the Marine Corps

Marine Corps' Training and Education Command leaders came center stage of the main briefing room to discuss the upcoming release of Training & Education 2030. Moderated by Anthony J. Greco, executive deputy of Training and Education Command, the audience heard first-hand about the upcoming modernization of the Corps' training and education enterprise.

"We just need to consistently rethink how our training education pipeline works and how we need to refine it to get that proper balance between the art and science of what to think, versus developing critical thinking skills that will serve these Marines better in the fleet, and eventually in a combat situation." Col. Eric R. Quehl, director, Policy and Standards Division, Training and Education Command

In regard to the modernization and continuous enhancements of Marine Corps Recruit Training, Col. Joseph W. Jones, commanding officer of Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego Recruit Training Regiment, offered words on the importance of the human element of pipeline training.

"That human interaction is critical I think to the success of not only what we do in Making Marines, but critical to the success of our Corps," said Jones.

At the Marine Zone area of the expo, Eric Schaner, senior information strategy and policy analyst with Deputy Commandant for Information, provided an overview brief on Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 8: Information. This document, which is expected to be released in the coming weeks, describes the Marine Corps' philosophy for leveraging information as a warfighting function.

"Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 8, Information is our capstone service doctrine that describes the purpose and mechanism of the information warfighting function. Information is central to how our rivals compete and fight today, in the Information Age. Therefore information must be fundamental in how we execute 21st century combined arms and maneuver," said Schaner

A focus on human performance and the individual Marine was heard throughout the panels on the third and final day of the Modern Day Marine 2022 expo. The 42nd annual expo took place in Washington, D.C. and featured more than 350 exhibits from the Marine Corps and defense industry organizations. More than 10,000 attendees came to see how the Marine Corps is innovating today to win tomorrow's battles.

For additional coverage of Modern Day Marine, visit: www.marinemilitaryexpos.com 

For more information on Force Design 2030 and associated modernization efforts, visit: www.marines.mil/Force-Design-2030