Summary:  Like all power tools, new technology can hurt or help and organization — depending on how the leaders use it. Most especially, their goals. Ever since the dawn of third generation warfare, when the German army developed infiltration tactics to break through the trenches, the power of an army results from its speed as …
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 »
Summary: G.I. Wilson and H. Thomas Hayden explain why America needs a Marine Corps. As GW said before, “The USMC’s future lies its creative intellect, professionalism in the study and application of maneuver warfare, and delivering what the Nation needs most in a crisis be it humanitarian relief for disasters or launching forcible maritime operations from sea …
