Chase Essay Contest - Marine Corps Association

The Road to Hell

Training management skills versus policy

The goal of the PTP was not to reduce the role of the battalion commander in training his unit, but this has been the unintended outcome. Proper supervision should take the form of the senior commander and members of the staff visiting the subordinate unit, often unannounced, to see what is going

Warfighting: A leap of faith

This author believes that by adopting maneuver theory Marines have rejected not only combined arms warfare but also the lessons of the past.

In adopting the maneuver theory of warfare, the USMC is turning its back on combined arms warfare and the lessons of its own history. Current Marine warfighting strategy is discussed.

Revise FMFM 1, Warfighting

As FMFM 1 was written prior to Joint Pub 1 and " . . . From the Sea," has it become outdated?

To fulfill a mission responsibly, evidence of military judgment must be made tangible. Estimates are the means a priori to show the results of judgments, and a number of techniques have been developed to prove and improve estimates and resulting plans. We all can agree that comparison of objective

Dysfunctional Doctrine: The Marine Corps and FMFM 1, Warfighting

This author also believes that Marine doctrine as outlined in FMFM 1 is inadequate and needs to be revised.

If it is to maintain its battlefield edge into the next century, the Corps needs something it currently does not have. It needs a pragmatic warfighting doctrine-a doctrine written by a group of Marines of diverse operational backgrounds in close consultation with the operating forces and

The Theory of Maneuver in USMC Doctrine and Force Structure

1992 Chase Prize Essay Contest Honorable Mention

In the premaneuver Marine Corps, combat experience provided the institutional lens through which warfare requirements were evaluated, justified, and codified into doctrine and force structure. Today, the Corps has formally adopted the theory of maneuver. In contrast to our past, maneuver theory

Employing the Defense in Maneuver Warfare

Tactics

A full 22 centuries ago, Hannibal engaged in a military campaign in Italy lasting 15 years. Fighting both the weather and the Gauls, Hannibal crossed the Pyrenees and the Alps in 218 B.C., arriving virtually undetected in the Po Valley of northern Italy. There he engaged and defeated every Roman

Recon-Pull

A Marriage of 2s and 3s

The fog of war, present as always in combat, seems to have overcome the 1st Marines' ability to exploit the gap in the North Korean defenses. As the 1st Marines closed on Yongdungpo their momentum slowed. While the North Koreans sought to regroup and launched hasty counterattacks, [Lewis B. Puller]

Marine Air

Look to the battlefield then practice it in peace

The question then becomes what will Marine aviation have to do on this battlefield that is different from what they are doing today? First, Marine aviation must learn to think and act differently. Aviators must look past the cockpit. Aviators must not only know how to fly their aircraft tactically

The Art of MAGTF Warfare

First Place 1988 Chase Prize Essay Contest

To fully exercise the air-ground capabilities of the MAGTF, Marines must understand the importance of the MAGTF command element. For too long, Marines have regarded the MAGTF command element as little more than a collection of coordinators and referees, whose function centered on ensuring that the

The Legacy of J.C. Breckinridge

The Tentative Manual for Landing Operations has endured as the bible of amphibious warfare for nearly 50 years. Its publication was the direct result of the influence of James C. Breckinridge on the educational and intellectual climate at Marine Corps Schools, Quantico.

[James C. Breckinridge], who would redirect the focus of the Marine Schools during the final year of the Roaring Twenties and return to Quantico as a brigadier general 18 months later to ensure the completion of his educational revolution, brought a rare combination of operational experience and

The Defensive Naval Campaign

An Appropriate Mission

Restructuring the Marine Corps to defend naval bases does not necessarily mean that the Marine Corps must forsake the amphibious assault. It is possible that its day is not past and that the Marine Corps still needs to provide forward deployed amphibious units. Fortunately, the Marine Corps has the