USS BONHOMME RICHARD, At Sea -- Whether engaging insurgents in mountainous Afghanistan or conducting amphibious operations in the Pacific Ocean, Marines play an important role in today’s rapidly evolving world climate.
To develop the Corps’ current and future warfighting capabilities, the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab is working together with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force 3 on company-level amphibious operations during the biannual Exercise Rim of the Pacific 2010.
“Enhanced company operations is a concept the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab is currently experimenting with,” said Maj. Mark W. Gilday, logistics officer, Field Testing Branch, MCWL. “MCWL is always looking ahead at future concepts and the next step ahead, pushing some of the concepts, equipment and capabilities we experiment with into today’s fight. This helps us identify capability gaps and further the capabilities of the future Marine Corps.”
Established at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., in 1995, MCWL utilizes concept-based experimentation to develop and evaluate tactics, techniques, procedures and technologies.
In support of Marine Corps Vision and Strategy 2025, MCWL has taken traditional company operations through multiple phases. From 2004 to 2006, MCWL conducted Distributed Operations Experiments focused on enabling individual Marines and small units to thrive on complex, distributed battlefields.
Between 2007 and the present, the experiments focused on Enhanced Company Operations, working to better the warfighting capabilities of infantry companies.
This enhanced company will perform the command and control responsibilities of a battalion, said Lt. Col. Christopher Woodburn, capabilities integration officer, Maneuver Branch, Marine Corps Combat Development Command.
“Experimentation [through MCWL] comes across to the Marine Corps Combat Development Command and we take the steps necessary to bring those concepts into reality across the Marine Corps, in conjunction with the Marine Corps Systems Command and Training and Education Command,” said Woodburn, of Woodbridge, Va.
As the world’s largest multi-lateral maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides an opportunity for the Corps to re-establish and rehearse as a crisis response force as part of a forward-deployed naval force. At the same time, it enables MCWL to focus on the ECOs.
“The current Limited Objective Experiment is a perfect example of how the Marine Corps is refocusing on its amphibious roots,” said Gilday, a Duncannon, Penn., native.
Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James T. Conway recognized enhanced company operations as a vital part of Corps’ capabilities, labeling it, “An approach to the operational art that maximizes the tactical flexibility offered by true decentralized mission accomplishment, consistent with commander’s intent and facilitated by improved command and control, intelligence, logistics and fire capabilities.”
During the LOE, Marines and coalition partners assigned to SPMAGTF-3 will have the opportunity to experiment with some of MCWL’s equipment of the present and future.
The highly anticipated Ground Unmanned Support Surrogate (GUSS) serves as a multi-purpose support vehicle designed to lighten unit’s load carrying duties, perform resupply, and aid in casualty evacuations, Woodburn said, in addition to being able to be operated semi-autonomously.
While conducting operations at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, Hawaii, as part of RIMPAC operations, Marines with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, temporarily assigned to SPMAGTF-3, will utilize the Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System (MAARS), an unmanned, tele-operated M240G machine gun system.
“We’ve been playing with armed robots for a while so it’s good we’re able to use one that’s more mature in this experiment,” Woodburn said. “This will allow us to examine its utility, determine if tactics, techniques and procedures are viable for it, and see if it really fits in with the infantry unit.”
One of two new communications systems, the Distributed Tactical Communications System (DTCS) achieves netted tactical communications, providing push-to-talk voice and data communications with a range of up to 280 miles and extending the communications voice across the battlefield and out to the ships at sea, Gilday said.
In addition, the tactical handheld Trellisware TW-220 radio creates mobile, self-forming and self-healing multi-channel communications networks, Gilday said. The radio transmits position location information, enabling an infantry company commander to locate his radio-bound Marines through the TIGR system, a position location system being utilized by troops in Afghanistan.
Located close to a company’s combat operations center, the Mobile Expeditionary Tactical Network – Company Level Operations Center Enabler (METN-CE) acts as a mobile command post communications platform, providing an infantry company with capabilities previously available solely in a fixed infrastructure, Woodburn said.
Upon the completion of enhanced company operations, MCWL will begin working to better future capabilities in ground, aviation and logistics elements of a SPMAGTF in different environments.
“MCWL is working with a company landing team,” Gilday said, “And as it is worked into the SPMAGTF, we’ll expand to the MEU, where our current expertise for amphibious operations lies.”