Combined Arms

Combined arms, the integration of complementary weapons and capabilities, increases their collective effectiveness and creates for the opponent a damned if you do, damned if you don t situation in which to defend against one attack, the enemy must become more vulnerable to another. ^[6]

At the Mitla Pass, the Israelis combined arms attack increased the effectiveness of the weapons they employed and systematically eliminated the options available for an Egyptian response. The steep slopes on either side of the passes denied the Egyptians lateral movement, and Yoffe s man-made channel of destroyed vehicles funneled their forward movement. Artillery fire and a wall of tanks at one end of the pass halted the Egyptian vehicles, and air strikes and withering direct fire finished off the stationary targets with devastating accuracy.

From 1964 to 1966, IBM successfully combined marketing, sales, hardware design, software design, and service to create the System 360 computer. The System 360 (as in 360 degrees, or full-circle coverage) was unique in that it was intended to be a single-computer architecture that would support data processing for small and large businesses as well as scientific and engineering applications. Some companies might have offered better scientific computing; others might have offered more powerful multitasking capabilities for business computing. But no one could match the 360 s all-embracing architecture. To increase its advantage further, IBM offered on-site services, unparalleled after-sales support, and a superior parts distribution system. One by one competitors exited the mainframe business, ceding the market to IBM for decades to follow.

The practices the Marines employ to combine arms can help you put your competitors on the horns of a dilemma, the worst of all damned if you do, damned if you don t situations. The Marines keep all critical functions ”air, artillery, infantry, armor , and communications ” in house. All Marines undergo rigorous initial infantry training to establish a common grounding . And extensive follow-up cross-training in other specialties fosters a better understanding among the different functional areas involved in the combined arms effort. Finally, the Marines make the human investment necessary to ensure the efficient functioning of the combined arms team: the collocation of dedicated full-time experts.

^[6] Warfighting , 94.