Marine Military Strategy

In contrast to another service, the Army, which is logistically oriented toward more protracted engagement through location fortification, security establishment, and sustained fire projection of their forces from that position (Navy 28). Without the Marines, the Army would need to provide a specially trained, ready force in their stead. This all ties back to the essential and different tasks of the multiples branches of the military.
It is important to note the United States naval maritime strategy and understand the USMC’s role in it. Maritime strategy involves six key elements: forward presence, deterrence, sea control, power projection, maritime security, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response (Navy 19). Maritime forces are the initial line of defense with their rapid ability to deploy anywhere. With over seventy percent of the Earth’s surface as water, over
eighty percent of the world population living on or near the coastline, and over ninety percent of our commerce sails across it, any disturbances caused by instability may have direct affect American quality of life (Navy 26). Since maritime forces are the nation’s first line of defense, the USMC provides a means to utilize power projection to deploy quickly and efficiently all over the globe – through amphibious assault for instance. Their principle organization, the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) consists of four elements: ground (infantry), aviation, logistics, and command – all of which provide commanders with the ability to respond to a variety of adversaries (Dantone 110). The USMC has a close operating relationship with the Navy. The latter providing the Marines with transport and other logistical support. In additional to providing the amphibious arm necessary to project the USMC forward, the Navy provides the Marine Corps medical and religious personnel and services by attaching Navy Corpsman, Naval Doctors, and chaplains to various Marine units (Navy 28). Meanwhile, The USMC possess their own specialized vehicles such as the sea stallion helicopter and assault amphibian vehicle (Dantone 121). It is common to hear of the Navy and USMC performing joint missions, from sea to land. While they may work together, their duties differ. This explains the initial inception of the Continental Marines as naval infantry, from ship to land to objective (Dantone 99).
Marines are a critical element to ensuring that the United States of America has a forward presence all over the world, which in turn serves as a deterrent to hostilities and establishes the favorable security conditions’ the nation desire.
Finally, Marines are capable of deploying to nations and providing humanitarian assistance and security to other nations in need. Through the use of preposition ships with Amphibious Ready Groups (ARG), and Marine Expeditionary Units (MEU’s), the Marine Corps can project power and sustain itself with the help of the Navy (Dantone 111). Each MEU is configured as a self-contained military with air, land, and sea elements -- which is why there are Marine aviators and armored units, as well as the amphibious equipment (Dantone 111). Recently, the Marine Corps and the Navy have used their amphibious capabilities through the means of humanitarian aid in Haiti and Japan (“Global Impact,” 2016). In 2006 during the Israeli-Lebanon conflict, Marines aboard amphibious ships were able to conduct an amphibious withdrawal of U.S. citizens from Lebanon (White
1).

There is a saying that runs similar to this: “you can take a person out the military, but you can’t take the military out of the person.” This rings true in the sense that the training, work ethic, and professionalism received from day one can carry on throughout the life of a former member. Marines seeking employment in a field similar or requiring the skills that they obtained through their military occupational specialty may have a competitive edge over their civilian competition. For those with a security clearance, or permission to access classified information (“All About Clearances”), employers will be seeking them out because the process of obtaining clearances is long and costly. As stated before, the Marine Corps is a branch under the DOD. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that while the DOD is one of the largest employers, the Marine Corps makes up a sizeable part of it with 162,795 active duty service members.
The Marine Corps is multifunction capable military organization. It comprises of members whom have been well indoctrinated into the regimented and disciplined lifestyle of the military, each serving as an expertise in their field. Their combined efforts are to achieve the overall goal of force readiness – to be the nation’s 911 when called. While they make up the smallest part of the four services, they serve as a vital middleweight force sufficient enough to deploy anywhere and to prevail against the nation’s adversaries. In addition, Marines have aided in relief efforts in humanitarian operations in Haiti. This demonstrates their ability to serve multiple functions. Their role complements the other services as the nation’s indispensable rapid response, expeditionary force through its rigorous training of recruits and candidates, its role as branch and in maritime strategy, and rewarding career pathway and as such absolutely serves a necessary and unique role in the U.S. military force.