Focus . . . the Marine Corps Way

The need to overcome equipment, personnel, and funding constraints has driven the Marines to develop a high degree of proficiency in focus ”both in peacetime and in combat. Understanding the practices they employ can help you uncover lucrative market opportunities in the business environment, shift resources more effectively, and manage the accompanying risk.

Recon, UAVs, and SigInt

Marine commanders rely on multiple sources to feed them information on the location and disposition of lucrative battlefield targets. From the front lines, artillery forward observers include with every target location a target description, such as platoon of tanks in the open , in an effort to provide a landscape of the battlefield for intelligence specialists at headquarters units in rear areas. Forward of the main fighting force, highly skilled reconnaissance Marines, mentioned in Chapter 4 and described more fully in Chapter 11, and scout snipers serve as the commander s eyes by sending back detailed reports of their observations. Beyond the range of human sight, the Marines deploy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), remotely piloted drone aircraft, deep into enemy territory to take high-resolution photographs and record enemy locations. And Marine Signals Intelligence (SigInt) units use sophisticated monitoring equipment to eavesdrop on enemy communications, pinpoint the locations from which enemy signals emanate, and estimate the volume of traffic coming from those locations.

Shuffling of Personnel

In peacetime the Marine Corps maintains a constant state of readiness around the world by rotating its limited personnel in and out of units sent overseas on 6-month tip of the spear deployments. Twenty-four hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year, there are three 2,000-member rapid reaction contingency forces, known as Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs), on station in the Mediterranean Sea, in the western Pacific, and on Okinawa, Japan. These units deploy at 100 percent strength but are drawn from undermanned active duty units that are normally staffed at only 60 to 80 percent strength. To reach full strength from seemingly depleted sources, the deploying units borrow personnel from sister units and quickly relinquish those personnel upon return. While this never-ending shell game presents challenges for unit cohesion and continuity, Marines accept it as a necessary means to project maximum combat power with a minimum footprint.

Main Effort

When the Marines commit to a focused attack, they designate a main effort , which can shift depending on the course of battle, and allocate resources accordingly . The main effort receives the highest priority in the allocation of air, artillery, and armor support, among other resources. For example, the commander may dedicate resources to a particular offensive or defensive effort: 1st Tank platoon is hereby attached to Alpha Company, the main effort, until further ordered. Alternatively, the commander may assign front-of-the-line privileges to the main effort for all requests for artillery fires and low-level aircraft bombing runs: Alpha Company is the main effort and has priority of fires from artillery and air, until further ordered.

Clear Communication of Intentions

The phrase until further ordered signals to the members of the fighting force that the commander reserves the right to shift the main effort at any time during the course of battle, depending on where the concentrated deployment of resources will have the biggest impact. In certain instances the commander may even alert his Marines to the likelihood of a future shift in the main effort: Alpha Company is the main effort during the first phase of the attack, but be prepared to shift priority of fires to Bravo Company during the second phase. The execution of the order to shift the main effort is a complex endeavor that requires considerable coordination. Consequently, during peacetime maneuvers and training, the Marines endlessly practice shifting the main effort so that the commander may be able to bring overwhelming force to bear on battlefield opportunities as they emerge.

Economy of Force

The Marines are well aware that concentrating resources in support of the main effort reduces combat power elsewhere, and they proactively take measures to mitigate the accompanying risk. Economy of force , the first means to mitigating this risk, refers to the deliberate reduction of resources in less critical areas. To prepare the leaders of units in those areas to do more with less, the commander communicates where and when he expects economy of force to be required. While all Marines pride themselves on their ability to react to rapidly changing situations, advance warning from the commander lessens the difficulty associated with the inherently difficult task of economy of force.

Another way in which the commander may mitigate the risks associated with focus is varying the degree to which he commits resources to the main effort, which has implications for the commander s ability to shift resources to protect exposed weaknesses, should the need arise. Consider the difference between dedicating a platoon of tanks to Alpha Company and assigning Alpha Company priority of fires. The first alternative is the greater commitment of the two ”Alpha Company effectively assumes control of the tank platoon ”but is also the less flexible. Moving the platoon of tanks to another unit is more difficult and time-consuming than altering the direction of low-level bombing approaches or shifting the direction in which artillery guns fire.