1stLt Blaine Mainz
In his 2019 Commandant’s Planning Guidance, General Berger stated, “The Marine Corps is not manned, organized, trained, or equipped to compete against near-peer adversaries in the current and future operating environment.” If the USMC were to engage in close combat with one of the forces fighting today’s wars, we would quickly be out cycled and overwhelmed by their use of a crucial technology: small unmanned aerial system (sUAS). We talk about flooding the battlespace with sUAS to observe and orient on the enemy, yet most infantry companies have only a couple of certified and currently qualified sUAS operators. We discuss how sUAS Video Downlink (VDL) can enhance decentralized command and control, but most members inside the company COC are not trained to utilize this capability. We are witnessing the profound impact of platoon-level (and lower) organic precision fires and mesh networking in Ukraine and Gaza, yet we struggle to keep up, even with the groundwork laid for us.
Still, battalions across the Marine Corps struggle to source sUAS platforms to employ these concepts. Despite being aware of the vital roles sUAS will play in future conflicts for over a decade, we have consistently failed to train an adequate number of operators, educate tactical commanders on the employment of sUAS, and acquire enough drones. We empower our small unit leaders to make decisions that can create operational and strategic opportunities, but we are failing to provide them the tools necessary to do so. Six years later, General Berger’s comments continue to ring true, we are not currently manned, equipped, or trained to provide our Marines the undeniable advantage of sUAS on the battlefield.
No comments:
Post a Comment