Summary: Here we see the USMC version of The Empire Strikes Back. After becoming one of the most modern land forces in the world, in a tactical sense, elements of the USMC’s senior leadership attempt a counter-revolution, dragging the Corps back to its WWI (second generation warfare) roots. That would make the Corps ill-suited for …
Attritionist Letter #3: Do as you are told (moving the USMC into the past) Read More »
Summary: With US forces engaged around the world in six conflicts (and many small ones), each the day our media paint a picture of the armed services. News, articles, books, movies — seldom have we been so well informed about our mechanized high-tech defense professionals — the very model of a 21st century military. Unfortunately the …
Attritionist Letter #2 – our military seeks to retreat from the future into the past Read More »
Summary: With US military forces engaged around the world in the long war, with three conflicts burning at once (on very different scales), the doctrines we choose may have a large effect on American history. This, the first of the Attritionist Letters, describes the issues and the stakes. See the introduction to this series if you’re not familiar with the subject; see …
Attritionist Letter #1: the tides turn, turning the USMC back from the future? Read More »
Key points of military history are marked by debates among soldiers, invisible to the public but affecting the course of nations. Like that underway now.
Summary: The outline for today’s post comes from the youngest member of the FM website’s staff, a Marine Corporal. He’s completed one tour in Afghanistan and will deploy again in early 2011. Here he describes a dark side to one of the most popular science fiction books of the past 20 years, widely read by members of the US …
Generals read “Ender’s Game” and see their vision of the future Marine Corps Read More »
