The Marine Corps' recently released 36th Commandant's Planning Guidance is setting the tone for the future of Marine Corps operations, including growing emphasis on the cyber domain and tech-heavy training.
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford's guidance incorporates cyber, virtual training and simulation, and interoperability into the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF), folding technology and improved command and control into operations across the Marine Corps organization.
Released on Jan. 23, the guidance calls for a review of plans for live, virtual and constructive training across the MAGTF, as well as more focus on "better leveraging modern immersive training and simulation technologies." The commandant added that he expects extensive use of simulators when appropriate.
The new planning guidance boosts cyber as compared to the previous commandant's guidance, released in November 2010, noting that understanding, exploiting and increasing capacity and capability within the cyber domain is "increasingly critical to the MAGTF."
"We are now at a point in the development of the cyber force where MAGTFs need to be capable of planning, employing and leveraging offensive and defensive cyber capabilities for warfighting and crisis response," Dunford wrote. "This requires a plan to integrate cyber-MOS qualified Marines to support our MAGTF warfighting capabilities; defend our key cyber terrain; provide an operational, secure, effective and efficient Marine Corps Enterprise Network to the MAGTF; and enhance command and control and digital interoperability across all elements."
In the 2010 guidance from Gen. James Amos, the lone task focused on cyber called for leadership at the Marine Forces Cyber Command to recommend options for increasing Marine cyberwarfare capability and capacity through staffing, MOS development, offensive and defensive cyber operations, and joint cyber integration.
The new guidance additionally calls on Marines to build up enterprise and tactical digital interoperability to improve coalition operations. Under the measure, Marine Corps officials will conduct a senior leader assessment to determine a baseline in this area and to develop future requirements.
"These initiatives will enable MAGTF [command and control] via computer and voice networks while maintaining the required cybersecurity and integrity of Marine Corps data and systems," Dunford wrote. "Our end state will be to ensure we are organizing, training and equipping our MAGTFs for the ongoing changes in [command and control] systems and situational awareness tools including those systems on naval and aviation platforms."
