OPERATIONS

21st CENTURY MARINE

The 21st century Marine Corps must continue to serve the country, as its predecessors have, with laser-
like focus on the warfighting excellence of the individual Marine and combined arms MAGTFs. As we
continue to transform to a higher level of warfighting excellence, we will:
•Carefully preserve our ethos and core values.
•Combine the value we provide today with the promise of what we can achieve tomorrow to attain a
Marine Corps that is optimized to be expeditionary and respond to crises:
- Ready to deploy immediately and reinforce quickly
- Comfortable in the chaos and uncertainty of crisis
- Able to adapt rapidly to changing conditions
- Operates effectively in any clime and place
- Exploits the advantages of being fast, austere, and lethal

WARFIGHTING AND LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHIES

It is difficult to separate our warfighting philosophy from our leadership philosophy as they are
inextricably intertwined.
•Our leadership style is a unique blend of Service ethos and time-tested concepts that support Marine
leaders in peace and war.
•A primary goal of Marine Corps leadership is to instill in all Marines that we are warriors first. The
reason that the United States of America needs a Marine Corps is to fight and win wars.

WARFIGHTING PHILOSOPHY
The Marine Corps warfighting philosophy, maneuver warfare, is based on rapid, flexible, and
opportunistic maneuver capabilities.
•Maneuver warfare seeks to shatter the enemy's cohesion through a series of rapid, violent, and
unexpected actions which create a turbulent and rapidly deteriorating situation with which the enemy
cannot cope.
•Besides traits such as endurance and courage that all warfare demands, maneuver warfare puts a
premium on certain particular human skills and traits. It requires:
- The temperament to cope with uncertainty.
- Flexibility of mind to deal with fluid and disorderly situations.
- A willingness to act with initiative and boldness.
- The moral courage to accept responsibility for this type of
behavior.
LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY
Leading Marines describes a leadership philosophy that reflects the traditional strengths of the Marine
Corps as an institution and attempts to define the very ethos of being a Marine.
Marine leadership philosophy:
•Is about the inseparable relationship between the leader and the led, and is as much about the individual
Marine—the bedrock upon which our Corps is built—as it is about any leader
•Captures the undefinable spirit that forms the character of our Corps—being a Marine comes from the
Eagle, Globe, and Anchor that is tattooed on the soul of every one of us after earning the title United
States Marine
•Is based upon certain fundamental traits and principles of leading—Marines are not born knowing them,
but must learn what they are and what they represent

CORE VALUES
Core values are based on the firm belief that, as others have said in countless ways, our Corps embodies
the spirit and essence of those who have gone before.
It is about the belief, shared by all Marines, that there is no higher calling than that of a United States
Marine.
It is about the traditions of our Corps that we rely upon to help us stay the course and continue the march
when the going gets tough. It is about a "band of brothers"—men and women of every race and creed—
who epitomize the core values in their daily actions:
HONOR
A code of personal integrity, honor guides those who do the right thing when no one is looking. It is not
only a duty but also a distinction, as those who possess honor are held in honor. It is found in one's
beliefs but exhibited through one's actions. Marines are held to the highest of standards, ethically and
morally. Marines are expected to act responsibly in a manner befitting the title they have earned.

COURAGE
When other principles are tested, it is courage that prevents them from crumbling. It is not about ignoring
fear but being stronger than fear. Courage is the guardian of all other values. It is there when times are
toughest, when difficult decisions have to be made. It takes the form of mental, physical, and ethical
strength, and it is found in the backbone of every Marine.

COMMITMENT
Commitment is the spirit of determination found in every Marine. It is what compels Marines to serve our
nation and the Corps and to continue on when others quit. Commitment does not take breaks, and it
cannot be faked. It measures and proves one's desire, dedication, and faithfulness. Becoming a United
States Marine represents the highest level of commitment.
UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF WAR
A common view of war among Marines is a necessary base for the development of a cohesive warfighting
doctrine.
•As Marines, our approach to the conduct of war derives from our understanding of the nature of war and
its characteristics and demands.
•Each episode in war is a unique interaction of physical, moral, and mental forces.

WAR DEFINED
War is defined as a violent clash of interests between or among organized groups characterized by the use
of military force.

•These groups have traditionally been established nation-states, but they also include any non- state group
—such as an international coalition or a faction within or outside of an existing state—with its own
political interests and the ability to generate organized violence on a scale sufficient to have
significant political consequences.
•The essence of war is a violent struggle between two hostile, independent, and irreconcilable wills, each
trying to impose itself on the other. It is critical to keep in mind that the enemy is not an inanimate
object to be acted upon but an independent and animate force with its own objectives and plans.
•Appreciating this dynamic interplay between opposing human wills is essential to understanding the
fundamental nature of war.

OBJECTIVE OF WAR
The objective of war is to impose our will on our enemy.
•The means to this end is the organized application or threat of violence by military force.
•The target of that violence may be limited to hostile combatant forces or it may extend to the enemy
population at large.
•War may range from intense clashes between large military forces—sometimes backed by an official
declaration of war—to subtler, unconventional hostilities that barely reach the threshold of violence.

FRICTION
Countless factors make war difficult to conduct. Collectively, these factors are called friction.
Friction:
•Is the force that resists all action and saps energy. It makes the simple difficult and the difficult
seemingly impossible
•Can be mental or physical
•Can be external or self-imposed

Whatever form it takes war is a human enterprise; therefore, friction will always have a psychological as
well as a physical impact.

UNCERTAINTY
Another attribute of war is uncertainty. All actions in war take place in an atmosphere of uncertainty, or
in the “fog of war.”
•Uncertainty pervades battle in the form of unknowns about the enemy, the environment, and even the
friendly situation.
•The very nature of war makes certainty impossible; all actions in war will be based on incomplete,
inaccurate, or even contradictory information.
•Because we can never eliminate uncertainty, we must learn to fight effectively despite it. We can do this
by:
- Developing simple and flexible plans
- Planning for likely contingencies
- Developing standing operating procedures
- Fostering initiative among subordinates

FLUIDITY
Each episode in war is the temporary result of a unique combination of circumstances, presenting a
unique set of problems and requiring an original solution.

Since war is a fluid phenomenon, its conduct requires flexibility of thought.

•Success depends in large part on the ability to adapt—to proactively shape changing events to our
advantage as well as to react quickly to constantly changing conditions.
•The tempo of war will fluctuate from periods of intense combat to periods in which activity is limited to
information gathering, replenishment, or redeployment.
•A competitive rhythm will develop between the opposing wills with each belligerent trying to influence
and exploit tempo and the continuous flow of events to suit their purposes.

DISORDER
Disorder is an inherent characteristic of war; we can never eliminate it.
•In the heat of battle, plans will go awry, instructions and information will be unclear and misinterpreted,
communications will fail, and mistakes and unforeseen events will be commonplace.
•It is precisely this natural disorder which creates the conditions ripe for exploitation by an opportunistic
will.
•If we are to win, we must be able to operate in a disorderly environment. In fact, we must not only be
able to fight effectively in the face of disorder, we should seek to generate disorder and use it as a
weapon against our opponent.

COMPLEXITY
War is a complex phenomenon. We have described war as essentially a clash between opposed wills.
•A division is comprised of regiments, a regiment is comprised of battalions, and so on all the way down
to individual Marines. Similarly, a wing is compromised of groups, groups are comprised of
squadrons, down to the actions of individual Marines.
•Each element is part of a larger whole and must cooperate with other elements for the accomplishment of
the common goal. At the same time, each has its own mission; must adapt to its own situation; and
must deal with friction, uncertainty, and disorder.
•As a result, war is not governed by the actions or decisions of a single individual in any one place but
emerges from the collective behavior of all the individual parts in the system interacting locally in
response to local conditions and incomplete information.

Efforts to fully centralize military operations and to exert complete control by a single decision-maker are
inconsistent with the complex and distributed nature of war.

THE HUMAN DIMENSION

The human dimension is central in war. It is the human dimension which infuses war with its intangible
moral factors.

•War is shaped by human nature and is subject to the complexities, inconsistencies, and peculiarities that
characterize human behavior.
•War is an extreme trial of moral and physical strength and stamina.

Individuals and groups of people react differently to the stress of war; an act that may break the will of
one enemy may only serve to stiffen the resolve of another. Human will, instilled through leadership, is
the driving force of all action in war.

VIOLENCE AND DANGER

War is among the greatest horrors known to humanity.
•The means of war is force, applied in the form of organized violence. It is through the use of violence, or
the credible threat of violence, that we compel our enemy to do our will.
•Violence is an essential element of war, and its immediate result is bloodshed, destruction, and suffering.

•While the magnitude of violence may vary with the object and means of war, the violent essence of war
will never change.
Since war is a violent enterprise, danger is ever present. The human reaction to danger—fear— has a
significant impact on the conduct of war.
•Everybody feels fear. Courage is not the absence of fear; rather, it is the strength to overcome fear.
•Leaders must foster the courage to overcome fear, both individually and within the unit.

PHYSICAL, MORAL, AND MENTAL FORCES

War is characterized by the interaction of physical, moral, and mental forces.
•Physical forces of war are easily recognized, such as men and materiel.
•Moral factors, such as a nation's resolve and a unit's morale, are harder to grasp. The term “moral” as
used here is not restricted to ethics, although ethics are certainly included, but pertains to those forces
of a psychological rather than tangible nature.
•Mental factors affect our ability to out-think our enemy.

Just because the moral and mental factors are difficult to quantify does not mean that they can be
neglected. The moral and mental forces exert a greater influence on the nature and outcome of war.
THE EVOLUTION OF WAR
While the nature of war is constant, the means and methods we use evolve continuously. The operating
environments, tactics, and techniques have changed as mankind and technology have become more
developed. Technology advancements are major catalysts of change.

Drastic changes in war have occurred due to developments that dramatically upset the equilibrium of war.
For example:
•Development and use of the rifled bore
•Conception and use of conscription to man armies
•Use of modern modes of transportation to support war

Marine leaders must continue to educate themselves and use this evolution process to their advantage. As
an NCO, you must remain proactive in your efforts to develop new skills and learn to apply them in the
execution of your daily duties.

THE SCIENCE, ART, AND DYNAMIC OF WAR

The conduct of war is fundamentally a dynamic process of human competition requiring both the
knowledge of science and the creativity of art; however, it is ultimately driven by the power of human
will.

Science of War
Various aspects of war fall within the realm of science, which is the methodical application of the
empirical laws of nature. The science of war includes those activities directly subject to the laws of
ballistics, mechanics, and similar disciplines. For example, the application of fires, the effects of
weapons, and the rates and methods of movement and resupply. However, science does not describe the
whole phenomenon.

Art of War
An even greater part of the conduct of war falls under the realm of art, which is the employment of
creative or intuitive skills. Art includes the creative, situational application of scientific knowledge
through judgment and experience, and so the art of war subsumes the science of war. The art of war
requires the intuitive ability to grasp the essence of a unique military situation and the creative ability to
devise a practical solution. It involves conceiving strategies and tactics and developing plans of action to
suit a given situation. This still does not describe the whole phenomenon.

Dynamic of War
There is far more to the conduct of war than can be explained by art and science. Art and science stop
short of explaining the fundamental dynamic of war. The essential dynamic of war is the dynamic of
competitive human interaction rather than the dynamic of art or science. Human beings interact with each
other in ways that are fundamentally different from the way a scientist works with chemicals or formulas
or the way an artist works with paints or musical notes. It is because of this dynamic of human
interaction that fortitude, perseverance, boldness, esprit, and other traits not explainable by art or science
are so essential in war.

WAR AS AN ACT OF POLICY

War is an extension of both policy and politics with the addition of military force. Policy and politics are
related but not synonymous.
•Politics refers to the distribution of power through dynamic interaction, both cooperative and
competitive.
•Policy refers to the objectives established within the political process.
•We should recognize that war is not an inanimate instrument, but an animate force which may likely
have unintended consequences that may change the political situation.

The single most important thought to understand about our theory of war is that war must serve policy.
LEVELS OF WAR
Activities in war take place at several interrelated levels which form a hierarchy.
The three levels of war are:

STRATEGIC
The strategic level involves national strategy and military strategy.
•National strategy sets policy objectives and mobilizes the nation's resources for attaining these goals.
•Military strategy focuses on the military means for attaining policy goals.
•At the strategic level, forces are distributed and theaters of war are established.

OPERATIONAL
The operational level of war links tactics and strategy.
•At the operational level, we decide where, when, and under what conditions we will meet the enemy.
•The operational level is focused on winning campaigns.

TACTICAL
The lowest level is the tactical level. Tactics refers to the techniques and methods for accomplishing a
particular mission.
•Tactics focus on defeating the enemy at a particular place and time.
•Tactics are focused on winning battles.
•Most Marines, from rifleman to MEF commander, operate at the tactical level, but many tactical
decisions have operational and even strategic implications.
The levels of war overlap and affect each other from the top down and from the bottom up.

STYLES OF WAR
The styles of warfare exist on a spectrum between attrition and maneuver.
•Attrition seeks to wear down an enemy's material resources.
•Maneuver warfare seeks to circumvent problems and attack them from a position of advantage.
Maneuver warfare seeks to paralyze the enemy system.
In maneuver warfare:
•Enemy strengths are avoided and weaknesses are exploited.
•Speed and surprise are used to create and exploit an advantage, which often involves greater risk.
•Firepower and attrition are necessary when our forces are focused upon particular elements of the
enemy's forces.

CREATING AND EXPLOITING OPPORTUNITY

Exploiting opportunity is the ability and willingness to ruthlessly exploit an opportunity to generate
decisive results. At times, it may be difficult to identify the enemy's critical vulnerabilities. We may
attack each vulnerability until an opportunity arises.
•NCOs that understand the theory and nature of war will be better equipped to anticipate, create,
recognize, and exploit fleeting opportunities.
•The ability to take advantage of opportunity is a function of:
- Speed - Boldness
- Flexibility - Initiative

A technically and tactically proficient NCO empowered to think critically and make decisions is critical to
creating and ruthlessly exploiting opportunities that generate decisive results.

FUTURE OPERATING ENVIRONMENT

The future operating environment will be one of constant and
accelerating change.
•Economic, demographic, resource, climate, and other trends
will engender competition locally, regionally, and globally.
•Global integration, intense nationalism, and religious
movements will likely exacerbate the tensions created by each
of these trends.
•Of particular concern are:
- Failed and failing states, which could lead to more
“ungoverned spaces” and become safe havens for
terrorists, criminals, and groups engaged in other
illicit activities
- Rogue states that use proxies, which allow the state
to distance itself from actions and achieve strategic
aims simultaneously

DEFINE TRADITIONAL WARFARE

Traditional warfare is defined as a form of warfare between the regulated militaries of states, or alliances
of states, in which the objective is to defeat an adversary's armed forces, destroy an adversary's war-
making capacity, or seize or retain territory to force a change in an adversary's government or policies.

World War II is generally considered a traditional conflict because it largely involved conventional
combat among the forces of nation-states, yet it also had irregular aspects. For example, it included
partisans in the Philippines, France, and Yugoslavia as well as non-state entities, such as the Chinese
Communists, fielding major forces to oppose both their own nationalist countrymen and the Japanese.

DEFINE IRREGULAR WARFARE

Joint Publication 1-02 defines irregular warfare as:
A violent struggle among state and non-state actors for legitimacy and influence over the relevant
population(s). Irregular warfare favors indirect and asymmetric approaches, though it may employ the
full range of military and other capacities, to erode an adversary's power, influence, and will.

DEFINE HYBRID WARFARE

Hybrid warfare is not an official DoD term and is not defined in Joint Pub 1-02, but the term has been
used in recent joint and Service documents.
•The term hybrid warfare has been used to describe the increasing complexity of conflict that will require
a highly adaptable and resilient response from U.S. forces; however, it is not considered a distinct
form of warfare.
• Hybrid warfare blends traditional and irregular warfare approaches across the full spectrum of conflict.

POLICY
DoDD 3000.07 policy on irregular warfare is:
•As strategically important as traditional warfare, and the DoD must be equally capable in both. Many of
the capabilities and skills required for IW are applicable to traditional warfare, but their role in IW
can be proportionally greater.
•The DoD will be proficient in irregular warfare.
•Conducted independently of, or in combination with, traditional warfare

IRREGULAR WARFARE ACTIVITIES

These are the preferred activities for addressing irregular threats because they are typically sustained
activities that focus on the population and are conducted with other partners. The five activities may be
undertaken in sequence, in parallel, or in partial or blended form as needed to address the specific
circumstances. This holistic application of the five activities characterizes the approach to irregular
threats, which have often proven impervious to the singular application of any one of the five.
Counterterrorism operations, for example, do not normally eradicate the threat or engender lasting
stability without complementary efforts to address drivers of conflict and build host-nation capacity.
These activities are:
COUNTERTERRORISM
Counterterrorism is defined as actions taken directly against terrorist networks and indirectly to influence
and render global and regional environments inhospitable to terrorist networks.
•The joint force will conduct lethal and non-lethal operations against terrorists and their networks to deter,
disrupt, and defeat terrorists and their enablers.
•The focus of effort in counterterrorism is to capture or kill terrorists to permanently remove them from a
position of damaging influence in the populace.

This focus of joint force operations will be to first identify and understand the terrorist network's
leadership, affiliate groups, local organizations, radicalized individuals, and supporters and enablers, and
then undertake continuous action as part of a global counterterrorist network that uses a broad set of
interagency and multinational partner capabilities.
UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE
Unconventional warfare is defined as activities conducted to enable a resistance movement or insurgency
to coerce, disrupt, or overthrow a government or occupying power by operating through or with an
underground, auxiliary, and guerrilla force in a denied area.
The joint force may employ unconventional warfare to counter irregular threats, such as states that wage
irregular or proxy warfare. Pursuant to a national policy decision, the joint force may conduct
unconventional warfare to:
•Induce change in a foreign government’s behavior that is contrary to U.S. national interests.
•Isolate, destabilize, or undermine a hostile foreign government.
•Enable the overthrow of a hostile regime or a shadow government or force the withdrawal of an
occupying power by supporting an insurgency.
FOREIGN INTERNAL DEFENSE
Foreign internal defense, or FID, is defined as participation by civilian and military agencies of a
government in any of the action programs taken by another government or other designated organization
to free and protect its society from subversion, lawlessness, insurgency, terrorism, and other threats to its
security.

While the Department of State will generally lead efforts that support the sovereign host-nation
government's defense and development plan, the joint force will often focus on the military element of
FID to build the host-nation's security capacity, from the ministerial to tactical level. It may, if requested,
also support civilian-led efforts to improve the host-nation's governance and development capacity, for
example by providing advisory assistance outside of the security sector in support of interagency
requirements.
COUNTERINSURGENCY
Counterinsurgency is defined as comprehensive civilian and military efforts taken to defeat an insurgency
and to address any core grievances.
The joint force, in conjunction with civilian agencies, will conduct military, political, economic, and
information- related actions as well as civic actions to defeat an insurgency.
The joint force may lead COIN operations or it may support the host-nation's COIN operations.
•The primary focus of effort for the joint force is to establish security, counter subversion, and disrupt the
insurgency and its external support network.
•As it establishes security, the joint force will also help build the host-nation's ability to provide security
and support development and governance to gain or maintain its legitimacy.
STABILITY OPERATIONS
Stability operations is an overarching term encompassing various military missions, tasks, and activities
conducted outside the United States in coordination with other instruments of national power to maintain
or reestablish a safe and secure environment, provide essential governmental services, emergency
infrastructure reconstruction, and humanitarian relief.
•The Department of State (DoS) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will be the
lead U.S. agencies to support a host-nation's efforts to establish or improve key aspects of governance
to include rule of law and a variety of services.
•In a large-scale effort, a shortage of personnel from non- Department of Defense (DoD) agencies may
require the use of DoD personnel, including civilians and reservists, who possess critical non-military
skills in governance, rule of law, and development.

LEADERSHIP AND ETHICAL IMPERATIVES

These final rules will help to form your unit's character and must be engrained in each unit member and
every action.

The final rules of leadership and ethical imperatives are:

•No better friend, no worse enemy: There is no better friend to the populace and no worse enemy to the
insurgent.
•First, do no harm: Avoid and prevent the killing or wounding of innocents. This is inherent to our
mission.
•The people are not the enemy, but our enemy hides amongst them.
•Professionalism: Our actions and appearance demonstrate our professionalism at all times. We are
confident, alert, and proficient. We fully understand the nature of the fight, the rightness of our cause,
and are ready to show our courage to those friendly and enemy observers watching our every move.
•Consistent and continuous application of individual and small unit discipline and tactical skills: These
skills include use of micro- terrain, covering each other's back, understanding the value of cover and
local security in relation to the enemy's ability to gain an advantage, and understanding that urban
combat is all about angles. Complacency kills, and it only takes a moment of inattention for
complacency to take its toll. Teach your Marines to be hard to kill.

HISTORICAL APPROACH
Operational culture is not a new concept to Marines. As an expeditionary force, the Marine Corps has a
long history of success in fighting small wars and operating amongst the people. In fact, of all U.S.
forces, Marines are especially adapted to fighting irregular conflicts in foreign environments and
interacting with local populations.

The examples provided demonstrate the importance that the Marine Corps has placed on the application
of operational culture in military operations.
Banana Wars
During the Banana Wars in Latin America, many Marines became fluent in Spanish or Creole French to
gain assistance from the local population. These experiences in Haiti, Cuba, Panama, Honduras, the
Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua resulted in the publication of the Marine Corps Small Wars Manual.
Huk Rebellion
Marines successfully assisted the Philippine government by working alongside Filipino security forces to
end the Huk Rebellion (1946-1954), a communist-led insurgency. Their success was due in part to the
unconventional methods employed through the Filipino-American partnership. The counterinsurgency
used Marines and Filipino security forces to distribute relief goods and other forms of aid to outlying,
provincial communities. This fostered support against the insurgents.
Combined Action Program
Building on their early 20th century counterinsurgency experiences in Haiti, Nicaragua, and the
Dominican Republic, the Marine Corps implemented an innovative program in South Vietnam called the
Combined Action Program (CAP).
•The CAP paired teams of about 14 Marines and a single corpsman led by an NCO with approximately 20
host-nation security personnel.
•These CAP platoons earned the trust of villagers by living among them while helping villagers defend
themselves. Marines trained and led the local defense forces, and learned the villagers' customs and
languages.
Anbar Awakening
The Al-Anbar Awakening is an example of opportunity cultivated and seized by leaders that challenged
assumptions and sought a better alternative:
•Ultimately, Iraqis and Americans came to work together in an unlikely alliance of former adversaries, for
the stabilization and redevelopment of Al-Anbar province.
•Success demanded acute cultural awareness that allowed Marines to identify fissures within Anbari
society and use effective applications of population-centric counterinsurgency doctrine that aimed to
neutralize the enemy’s influence over the local inhabitants.
•Unfortunately, this awareness was only gained after years of exposure to the local population. Violence
in Al-Anbar escalated after the withdrawal of U.S. troops, resulting in violent conflict with the central
government and sectarian violence among Iraq's religious groups.
Lioness Program
The Lioness program was a team of female Marines initially used in Iraq to search female Iraqis for
concealed weapons and contraband items during a wide variety of missions. Cultural norms in Muslim
nations often restrict direct interaction of adult men and women, reducing the ability of coalition forces to
directly communicate with women and consequently focusing military interaction almost exclusively on
the male population.
•Lioness teams increased security measures by addressing the female population that was previously
unapproachable due to cultural sensitivities.
•These teams have evolved into Female Engagement Teams in Afghanistan which were used to interact
with the Afghan women to build relationships, collect information regarding village atmospherics.
Their efforts created an accepting environment between the Marines and the local Afghan
population.
Future
In the coming decades, Marines can expect to deploy to countries throughout the globe to conduct
missions across the military spectrum. These operations will demand continuous improvements in the
skills needed for dealing with foreign populations.
•Mission success will require Marines to be able to recognize and leverage the cultural factors in their
environment.
•Developing skills in applying operational culture—ranging from tactics, techniques, and procedures
(TTPs) to key leader engagements planning—is as essential to mission success as marksmanship.
DEFINE CULTURE
Culture is defined as the shared world view and social structure of a group of people that influence a
person's and a group's actions and choices.
•This definition emphasizes that cultural beliefs and social structures influence people's actions and
choices.
•By focusing on the outcome of cultural beliefs and structures—the actions that people take—this
definition provides Marines with an observable behavior, rather than an unobservable belief system,
that can be incorporated into operational planning.
The word “culture” not only refers to the meanings and beliefs that people hold, but sometimes to a
specific group of people. To distinguish this meaning, we need to define a culture group. A culture group
is a group of people whose common world view unites them in a system of social structures and shared
behaviors.

OPERATIONAL CULTURE
The Marine Corps defines operational culture as the aspects of culture that influence the outcome of a
military operation and conversely, the military actions that influence the culture within an area of
operations, or AO. Operational culture can be used by Marines to better understand an AO and to plan
and execute across the operational spectrum. Culture affects military operations regardless of where the
operation is located.

Operational culture consists of:

•Operationally relevant behavior, relationships and perceptions of indigenous security forces who Marines
operate against or with, civilian populations Marines operate among, indigenous communities or
groups Marines wish to influence, and international partners in coalition operations
•Dimensions that influence operationally relevant behavior, conduct, and attitudes
•Historical trends that influence the interaction among cultural dimensions
•The capability to successfully plan and execute humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, pre-hostility,
shaping operations, successive campaign phases, and post hostilities which include reconstruction,
stabilization, and peace-making or -keeping

CROSS-CULTURE COMPETENCE
Cross-cultural competence refers to your ability to understand people from different cultures and
effectively engage with them.
•Being able to communicate and work with people across cultures is a common combat skill required of
all Marines.
•Cross-cultural competence helps you develop the mutual understanding and human relationships that are
necessary for accomplishing your mission.

The Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning (CAOCL) has identified a set of four useful skills
to improve cross-culture competence in operational environments.

Be Culturally Self-aware
Remain aware of the fact that you see the world in a particular way because of your own background,
personal history, and culture.
•People see, interpret, and evaluate situations in different ways. What is considered an appropriate
behavior in one culture is frequently inappropriate in another. Misunderstandings arise when people
use their own reality to make sense of someone else's reality.
•Misinterpretations can occur when people lack awareness of their own behavioral rules and project them
upon others. In the absence of basic cultural knowledge, people tend to assume instead of learning
what a behavior means to the person involved. For example, a straight look into a person's face is
disrespectful in Japan.
•For this reason, the first step of cross-cultural communication is to assess yourself.

Manage Your Cultural Attitudes

You don’t have to like another culture. However, you do have to remain aware of your reactions to values
and customs that are different from your own.
•Being culturally self-aware and attempting to perceive things from the point of view of other cultures can
help you manage your attitudes.
•By suspending judgements, you are able to collect as much information as possible to accurately
understand the situation before evaluating it.

Reflect and Seek Feedback

Continue to reflect upon and learn from your interactions and experiences after they occur.
•After an interaction, consider whether you conveyed the intended message. Consider why you were or
were not successful.
•If available, ask a local or a member of the host-nation security force

FIVE DIMENSIONS OF OPERATIONAL CULTURE

While cultures are diverse and complex, each is organized according to a predictable set of dimensions.
Marines should be familiar with the cultural dimensions of their operational environment. Each culture
has unique features; to better understand these features, the Marine Corps organizes them into a model
called the Five Dimensions of Operational Culture. This five dimension model:
•Can be used to learn and organize knowledge about any culture
•Focuses on the people of the AO and their interactions and relationship with each dimension

These five dimensions are:

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
All cultures have developed a unique interdependent relationship with their physical environment.
Marines should consider the way a cultural group determines the use of the physical environment.
•Who has access to operationally relevant features of the physical environment?
•How does the culture view these resources? For example, land may be privately owned or free to
everyone.

Important features of the physical environment include:

•Water
•Land
•Food
•Materials for shelter
•Climate and seasons
•Fuel and power
•Transportation and Communication
Water
Perhaps no other physical resource is more precious than water. Clearly, water is a major
source of conflict around the world.
•Conflict over water often has a technical or access-related aspect to it, particularly to external
observers.
•Beyond the technical aspects, however, cultural and political elements are often at play. This
could involve notions of access, control, and use as related to ideas of sovereignty,
historical rights, and past feuds.
•Questions for consideration about water:
- What are the cultural rules about water’s use?
- What is the scarcity of water in relation to intensity
of use?
- What roles are expected of Marines with respect to
the use of water and provisions?
- Who in the AO has customarily controlled access to
water, and how have they used that for power,
influence, etc.?
Land
Land, from a cultural perspective, is much more than physical geography.
•For many cultural groups, certain places hold a symbolic meaning that is significantly greater
than the simple physical features of terrain.
•Land may not only have symbolic meanings that outsiders do not recognize, but the use and
ownership of land may differ between cultures.
•For certain groups around the world, the idea of landownership is foreign to their cultural
world view. Therefore, understandings of ownership, use, and legal status of land are
culturally coded, with potential operational ramifications.
•Questions for consideration about land:
- What are the symbolic meanings of certain sub-districts in the AO, and
how do groups within the AO view this symbolism differently?
- What are particular land formations that are visually striking, with local
significance?
Food
People can limit access to food, particularly in the context of conflict. Food is therefore
explicitly significant to Marine operations.
•Control of food during times of scarcity is a central lever of influence in counterinsurgency
and other hybrid war conditions.
•Food scarcity can be real or created to control people and their loyalties.
•Questions for consideration about food:
- What are the local staples, and what is the required labor to grow,
prepare, and serve them?
- Which kinds of locally accepted foods are considered strange,
dangerous, or not food to Marines?
- Which foods have ritual significance?
Materials for Shelter
Around the world, people build their homes to fit their environment.
•Builders prefer to use local materials that are easily obtainable and suited to the climate.
•Building styles and locations reflect experience on living in the region.
•In constructing buildings in an area of operations, Marines should observe local building
techniques to avoid unanticipated disasters, such as setting up a base in a traditional flood
zone.
•Questions for consideration about materials for shelters:
- How do structures fit the geographic, climatic, and physical aspects of
the environment?
- What materials for building, repair, and maintenance are local to the
 AO?
- What are the central tactical implications of building styles,
neighborhood layouts, etc.?
Climate and Seasons
Climate and the changing seasons may affect more than local building styles, such as cultural
lifestyles and activities.
•In hot climates, such as Mexico and Greece, the social pattern of the noon-day “siesta” sets a
daily rhythm that keeps people out of the sun during the middle of the day.
•Seasons often have a major effect on cultural rhythms. In cultural groups closely tied to the
land, spring, and fall may bring planting and harvesting.
•Marines need to understand seasonal variations to plan operations. Otherwise, they may
suddenly discover that all the able-bodied men have disappeared for the harvest as a major
Marine construction project is about to begin.
•Questions for consideration about climate and seasons:
- How does the climate influence local attitudes toward—and capabilities for
—work, business, and combat?
- What is the relationship between climate and season with regard to battle
rhythm and operational tempo?
Fuel and Power
All societies need fuel to cook, to heat, and to provide light. Today, every country is expected
to supply electricity and gasoline to its inhabitants, at least in urban areas.
•Electric and gasoline supplies are frequently unpredictable in developing countries—and even
occasionally in highly developed countries.
•Inadequate and unequal provision of power are frequently a cause of frustration in many
countries.
•Recognizing the symbolic importance of power in providing legitimacy to the local
government, insurgent groups may target power plants to disrupt service and discredit U.S.
operations in the region.
•Questions for consideration about fuel/power:
- What are the locally found, or produced, sources of power and fuel?
- What is the relationship between local elites and access to/provision of
fuel and power?
- How does the larger government authority control access to power?
Transportation, Communication, and Infrastructure
All cultural groups have devised specific methods for transferring goods, people, and
information. The particular means of conveyance—by traditional means or by modern
technology—is intimately related to the way local people interact with and use their physical
environment.
•Methods of transportation are linked to trade routes and communication networks in a region.
Understanding these networks can significantly help Marines to make sense of patterns of
activity in their region.
•While it is important for Marines to look for local means of transmitting information, they
should also avoid underestimating the technological expertise and capacity of foreign
populations to use modern media to promote their agenda.
•Questions for consideration about transportation and communication:
- What infrastructure exists to enable people to move about (footpaths,
roads, harbors, etc.)?
- Are there any major centers (markets, churches, mosques) where people
gather to hear and exchange information?

ECONOMY
All cultural groups have a specific system for obtaining, producing, and distributing items (food, clothing,
cars, houses, etc.) and services (medical care, education, etc.) that people need or want to survive in their
society. This system is called the economy of a culture.

There are three important models of economic systems that are significant for a Marine working in a
foreign AO:
•Formal and informal economic systems
•Economy as a network of exchange
•Economy as a way of structuring social relationships
Formal and Informal Economic Systems
In every AO you will find two economies:
•The first is a formal economy that is regulated, taxed, and
measured by the government. Most official government
economic statistics are based on the formal economy.
•The second is the informal economy that is not regulated,
taxed, or controlled by the government.
- The informal economy often mixes semi-legal and illegal activities.
Semi-legal activities include selling food at a market without a
license. Illegal activities include drug smuggling and bribery.
- It is important to recognize that most insurgent activities are funded
through the informal economy.
Economy as a Network of Exchange
At the center of cultural analyses of economic systems is the concept of exchange.
•People trade what they have (goods and services) for what they need (goods and services).
•This network of exchange or trade creates a set of social relationships between people. These
relationships in turn form an economic system where goods and services flow.
•Ultimately, the pattern of exchanges determines who has control of important economic resources or
wealth.
Economy as a Way of Structuring Social Relationships
Another approach to examining economic behavior is a
structural approach that examines the ways that economies are
related to the environment in which a group lives, and how these
economies structure social relationships between people.
•Unsurprisingly, the economy of a cultural group (the way that
people obtain and distribute goods for survival) is intimately
related to its physical environment.
•Experts have identified four main economic systems of people
based on the environments in which they live:
- Hunter-gatherer: based upon foraging (collecting wild plants and
pursuing wild animals)
- Pastoralism: based upon the herding of domestic animals
- Agriculturalism: based upon the growing of crops
- Industrial production: based upon manufacturing, mining, and utilities

SOCIAL STRUCTURE
All cultures assign people different roles, status, and power within the group. The way that roles,
relationships, power, and status are reflected within a group is called the social structure.
•In the U.S., people ideally earn their status or position on the basis of their skills and abilities, but in
many parts of the world this is not necessarily the case.
•In many culture groups, a person’s role, status, and power are frequently determined by his or her
biological characteristics or social interactions. The following factors often determine social
structure:
- Age
- Gender
- Kinship
- Tribal membership
- Class
- Ethnic membership
- Religious membership
Age
Virtually every cultural group around the world assigns a different role, status, and task to people on the
basis of their age. However, not all cultural groups define age and age-appropriate roles in the same way.
•In many parts of the world, not only do children work at a young age, but they may participate in
military and insurgent activities at ages that most Americans would consider completely
unacceptable.
•Marines must also evaluate the cultural roles of adults and the elderly. In contrast to many Western
cultures that value youth and newness as possessing the potential for innovation and progress, many
societies revere the elderly. This is particularly true in Asian countries

Gender
With very few exceptions, every culture assigns different roles and work to men and women. Although
this distinction would seem to be a natural biological one, the roles that men and women are assigned
around the world vastly vary.
•Gender differentiation has implications for the dress, work, and social activities of men and women in a
culture and may also influence the spaces that each sex may occupy.
•The critical gender issue becomes not what men do or what women do—because so much of that is
region, personality, and context specific—but understanding the gendered, complementary, and
symbiotic relationship between them.
•To plan for operations in a region, Marines need to assume that both genders will play meaningful roles
that affect operations. To be successful (particularly in Muslim and Latin American cultures),
Marines may find that including both males and females in their operational teams will allow them
access to critical domains and activities that single gender teams cannot enter.

Kinship
Virtually every cultural group around the world identifies members as belonging to a family or kin group.
In the United States, when we refer to family, most Americans mean the nuclear family. However, even
in the U.S., most people would consider their family to include extended relatives: grandparents, aunts
and uncles, cousins, in-laws, and so on.
•In many non-western culture groups, the concept of family is extended even further. Not only may other
culture groups hold a wider definition of who is in one's family, but the way that people are
considered "related" is culturally based.
•In many countries, kinship is a major factor in a person's ability to find a job, get a promotion, rise to a
position of power or authority, or even to gain access to essential goods and services such as water or
medical care.
•Specific kin groups may control access to important physical resources such as land, water holes,
mountain passes, farmland or grazing areas, and even the right to raise certain crops or harvest trees,
such as coconut or date palms.

Tribal Membership
Tribal membership is a particular type of kinship. Tribes have a number of critical features that separate
them from other large kinship groups:
•First, tribes must have a corporate identity; they must not only recognize that they share a common real
(or fictive) ancestor, but also consider that their common lineage bonds them together as a functioning
group.
•Second, people must use this corporate identity as a structuring principle for their group. Individuals
must be given a position and role within the tribal structure according to their place within the
lineage, some lines of the tribe being considered of lower or higher status than other lines.
•Third, the group will have a formal leader or set of leaders, designated to speak for the group, who are
selected, at least in part, on the basis of their inherited position within the tribe.

Marines should realize that marriage affects kin groups, in any specific community a person may belong
to more than one tribe or kin group. Hence "tribal affiliation" is not a fixed status but a fluid and
changing concept.

Class
Class is a way of stratifying groups of people according to their economic status and power in a society.
Certain social characteristics such as the accumulation of goods or other forms of wealth, education,
occupation, region of origin, lineage, and social behavior may all be indicators of class. However, since
these indicators are culturally coded, class will be based on different characteristics in different societies.
•Some class systems offer upward mobility to the lower members through education, hard work, or other
incentives. Other class systems are rigid (for example, the aristocracies of Europe) and do not permit
movement or marriage between classes.
•Generally, societies whose members feel they can attain upward mobility from working within the
 system are more stable than societies with rigid class systems, whose members may perceive no
opportunities for in- system mobility.
•The perception of disadvantaged sectors regarding the possibility of in- system—as opposed to system-
breaking—upward mobility is important in determining stability of a society.

Ethnic Membership
Ethnicity is the identification of an individual with a unique subgroup in a society. It is distinguished by
specific behaviors, characteristics, and social symbols that can include, but do not require, a language
specific to the group; symbols reflecting group membership or carrying hidden meaning for group
members; unique traditions, rituals, and holidays; clothing or dress unique to the group; a shared sense or
memory of history—often enshrined in mythical stories or folk tales; and attachment to a place or region
that holds symbolic meaning.
•In theory, a person is born into a specific ethnic group and remains a part of that group for life. But in
reality, people have options for the degree to which they affiliate with a specific ethnic group. Due to
intermarriage, for instance, a person may belong to more than one ethnic group.
•Humans move, and national lines also move over time. Although the world is divided according to
countries with official borders, ethnic groups may be split across these borders. As a result, in many
states people are loyal to groups across the border: citizenship is no obstacle to loyalty to ethnically
similar groups in other countries.

Religious Membership
In many ways, religious membership can be considered a special form of ethnicity—in fact, often those
who affiliate with religions as social communities may have difficulty in distinguishing their religious
membership from something akin to ethnicity.
•Religious membership should be distinguished from religious belief systems. It is entirely possible for
someone to hold a specific religious belief system and never belong to a religious community.
•There are many people who belong to a religious community, attend church, or other formal religious
activities and have little personal faith or connection to the belief system.
•Therefore, we define religious membership as being part of a group of people that considers itself united
by religious faith.

POLITICAL STRUCTURE
Political structure is defined as the way power and leadership are apportioned to people and exercised
according to the social structure of the society.

Politics works differently for each individual culture. For example, the way that a culture group
determines who has power and control and how that power is legitimized and exerted can vary between
cultures.

To understand the political structures and relations in an AO, Marines need to distinguish between the
concepts of power and authority:
•Power is the ability to control or influence the behavior of individuals or groups of people.
•Authority is the legal or popularly granted permission to exercise power. It is legitimacy in the exercise
of power.

Formal vs Informal Leadership

Many societies around the world do not have centralized leadership systems. Indeed, they may not have
an obvious leader at all. Furthermore, even if a formal leader is designated, he or she may not be the
actual effective leader—in the sense of the person who gets things done or issues directions for people to
follow. Marines must be aware that there is often a distinct difference between the person who is
designated to lead versus the person who actually leads.
•Formal Leaders: These leaders receive official recognition by the political structure and community.
Often, formal leaders have titles such as “mayor,” “colonel,” or “police chief,” and may wear
symbols such as badges or special clothing, indicating their status within the community. Typically,
formal leaders have special offices or places to receive guests and receive various legitimate financial
and other regularized benefits from their position.
•Informal Leaders: These leaders may not carry titles and symbols indicating their status, and their offices
and spaces may not obviously indicate a person of power to an outsider. They may hold a formal
position or status that is significantly lower or different from their actual authority and power.
However, despite their lack of official trappings, informal leaders may carry more power and have
more influence over the community than formal leaders.

Conceptions of Law and Justice

In the U.S., we are familiar with a Western legal system of justice. In this system, we have a set of formal
laws that are written down and voted upon by our government. We have a justice system composed of
police who apprehend supposed criminals, and courts, lawyers, and judges that decide whether or not a
person has broken the law and what their punishment will be.

In many parts of the world, however, people have other forms of law that may not use written codes,
courts, or lawyers.
•For example, tribal law is usually not written down. Decisions may be made by a council of community
members, and punishments may not result in a prison sentence, but may require the guilty person to
pay money to the injured party.
•There may be competing systems of justice within your AO. Often, the local people may consider the
formal court legal system to be corrupt, and prefer to hand out punishment through traditional
methods. These methods may seem harsh or even contradict international law.

Military and Police

An important issue to remember when working with military and police in foreign cultures is that their
ideas of appropriate roles for leadership may be significantly different than Marine concepts of
leadership. While the Marine Corps puts a premium on initiative, flexibility, and adaptability throughout
the Corps, this is not expected in many military and police organizations in other cultures. The military
and police forces of many cultures:
•Train leaders to follow a carefully planned sequence of steps in the execution of missions. Deviation
from these steps is not allowed or appreciated.
•Expect leaders to have very little interaction with their subordinates in terms of mentoring, addressing
their physical and psychological needs, and sharing hardship and stress with them.
•Do not rely on senior staff NCOs, as this is seen as surrendering power and authority.

Recognizing and successfully working with the different cultural norms, leadership, and authority
structures are critical to success.

Belief System
All culture groups have a shared set of beliefs that unite individual members. Beliefs are learned and
originate from many sources: family, traditions, education, religion, ideologies, and even personal
experience.

Although some beliefs may vary among individuals, shared belief systems can be very powerful, affecting
behavior and influencing the way people perceive their world.

Belief systems have a variety of features such as:

•History, collective memory, and folklore
•Traditions and rituals
•Norms, mores, and taboos
•Religion

Collective Memory and Folklore

Most basically, history is what happened in the past. The history of an AO is important to Marines.
However, in context with operational culture, history is less important than understanding collective
memory.
•Collective memory consists of the selective memories and beliefs that groups have about their past and
the meanings they assign to those memories. It is reflected in narratives, stories, and folklore.
Historical stories (and quasi-historical tales such as myths, legends, and folklore) are important keys
to revealing underlying cultural themes and beliefs.
•Folklore is a group’s collection of stories, sayings, and narratives of history passed down through the
generations. Each generation receives this inheritance, imbues it with new meaning, and adds new
narratives based on new collective experiences. Folklore and myths serve to reinforce, transmit, and
even change cultural values from generation to generation

Traditions and Rituals

Traditions are ways of doing things that are handed down from generation to generation. Rituals are
essentially a specific kind of tradition based on the notion that the actions in the ritual must be performed
in a special way to be valid. Rituals, and other traditions, are particularly obvious at special times of
celebration.

For Marines, rituals and ceremonies are not just quaint local traditions; they offer a window into cultural
values and ideals.

Norms, Mores, and Taboos

All cultural groups have written or implicit rules about what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior.
Marines should have a basic cultural understanding of an AO's social norms, mores, and taboos.
•Social norms are cultural expectations about how one should behave in a given situation. Norms can be
 seen as social guidelines that most people usually follow. However, norms are not rigid, and people
may accidentally or deliberately ignore the norms with minor repercussions.
•Mores (pronounced mor-ay) are an implicit or explicit rule regarding permissible or forbidden behavior.
In contrast to norms, violations of a cultural mores usually provoke serious repercussions. Social
ostracism, physical attacks, or even death may result from challenging mores.
•Taboos are activities or the use of physical objects that are explicitly forbidden. Taboos are generally
based on religious notions of permissible and impermissible objects and activities. In contrast to
mores, taboos are rarely about "what you should/must do," but are about "what you should/must not
do."

Religion
It is common for most people to assume that cultural beliefs are the result and reflection of religious
beliefs—religion determines the culture. Yet frequently, the reverse is true: cultural beliefs and practices
influence the manifestation of religion.
•Formal interpretations of religion are typically characterized by the following features: written texts or
complex oral traditions, religious schools or apprenticeships that teach scholars about the texts, and
an official interpretation of these texts or narratives.
•Informal religious practices are predominantly folk interpretations mixed with local cultural practices
and superstitions. Particularly in areas where people are illiterate, informal religious practices are
usually a synthesis of local beliefs and traditions.

OPERATIONAL CULTURE IN MISSION PLANNING

It is not the purpose of operational culture to provide specific steps that Marines are expected to follow in
applying culture to military operations. To the contrary, Marines must use principles of culture in a
flexible and creative manner to achieve operational success.
•There is no single formula or checklist that can serve Marine purposes across the spectrum of military
activities around the world. "One size fits all" does not suit the application of culture to the spectrum
of Marine involvement in foreign AOs.
•Just as operational and strategic planning requires an intuitive understanding of the process,
incorporating culture into operations is equally an intellectually informed "art" as it is a "science."
•Cultural knowledge can help produce courses of action that generate less friction with the local populace
or foreign counterpart. This should help facilitate the accomplishment of your mission. When
planning operations, remember that influencing one dimension will often affect other dimensions.

DEFINE NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

Nonverbal communication is the process of sending and receiving wordless messages based on a person’s
actions or mannerisms. It is an important component of delivering meaning in most cultures.
Nonverbal communication:
•Includes facial expressions, the tone and pitch of the voice, gestures displayed through body language,
and the physical distance between communicators
•Conveys status, desire, and mood and is usually based upon symbols, values, ideals, and images accepted
among a particular culture group

Natives of a given culture can generally recognize when someone is not from their culture by the gestures
or body language they use. Marines' use of nonverbal communication to convey meaning across cultures
will be limited by their knowledge of common nonverbal cues of that culture.

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

In addition to the physical and verbal symbols of communication, people around the world have
developed unique nonverbal behavioral symbols that convey important meaning in social contexts.
•Some of these nonverbal symbols such as smiling, laughing, and crying appear to be shared across
virtually all societies around the world.
•Other nonverbal symbols, however, vary from culture to culture. Indeed, some symbols have
exceedingly different meanings in different cultural contexts.

For example, the practice of forming an "O" by joining the thumb and index finger is a positive sign
indicating "OK" in American society. In some parts of Asia, however, it is an obscene gesture.

INTENTIONAL vs. UNINTENTIONAL COMMUNICATION

A majority of nonverbal communication occurs unintentionally. The value of intentional vs.
unintentional communication lies in consciousness.
•When a Marine is conscious of all levels of communication and acts according to the intended message,
that Marine can become a highly effective communicator.
•Marines should intentionally use body language to help communicate their message.
•A simple example is a squad leader on an urban patrol. The squad leader will use nonverbal
communication to portray different messages to different audiences.
- When attempting to provide presence in an area, the
 squad leader will remain stern, keep ballistic glasses on,
and maintain a steady pace of patrol.
- When attempting to build host-nation capability in an
area, that same squad leader will likely stop to engage
locals, remove ballistic glasses when speaking with local
civilians, and may even smile.
- In both instances, the leader is alert and ready to take
action, but uses nonverbal cues to convey the intended
message.

SYMBOLS
Symbols are used by individuals and groups to communicate their identity.
•Think of something as obvious as the red stripe on the dress blue uniform. Who wears it, how thick the
stripe is, and its meaning are all well known to Marines. However, someone unfamiliar with the
Marine Corps may not understand its significance. Some people who see the red stripe might not
even think to ask what it means.
•Symbolism is prevalent in Marine Corps culture, as it is in other culture groups. However, it takes
observational skills to interpret.

When you are in a foreign AO, you may notice symbols related to the different culture groups with whom
you are interacting.
•For example, a tattoo or piece of jewelry might identify an individual as belonging to a specific group,
such as an ethnicity or profession.
•A particular marking on a house may indicate allegiance to a specific religion.

Symbols may sometimes reveal cultural change. If you notice symbols changing or more people using a
particular symbol, this may be an indication that something is changing in the operating environment.

OBSERVATION AND ORIENTATION OF NONVERBAL CUES

Decision-making follows a cycle: observe, orient, decide, and act (OODA). The human mind constantly
follows this cycle when dealing with simple to complicated tasks. The OODA loop applies to friendly
forces, enemy forces, and noncombatants. It explains how the mind deals with the outside environment
and translates it into action. Proper application of this cycle allows Marines to make appropriate
decisions quicker than their enemies. Good decisions rely on the accurate assessment of what you have
observed.

OBSERVE
Observation is the first step in the decision cycle. It is a search for information that is relative to the
tactical situation.
•Observation begins with the gathering and processing of information obtained through the senses. The
sensory systems (i.e., sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste) collect information from the environment
and translate it into observations.
•Perception is the process that the mind uses to organize the sensory information into an understandable
interpretation of the environment. Our brains interpret sensory information based upon experience
and a variety of other factors; therefore, our perceptions are not always a true representation of the
environment.
•It must be emphasized that this is not a passive step and requires an active effort to seek all of the
available information by whatever means possible.

ORIENT
During orientation, the Marine uses information to form an awareness of the circumstances. As more
information is received, perceptions are updated as needed.
•Training and experience allows you to quickly and accurately perceive a situation since you require less
detail to make a relationship between observations.
•Orientation emphasizes the context in which events occur so you may facilitate your decisions and
actions.
•Orientation helps convert information into understanding.
- Understanding leads to good decisions.
Context
Context is the background, environment, framework, setting, or situation surrounding an event or
occurrence. As you orient your observations, consider the wider context.
•Place: What are your surroundings? Think small to large—your immediate vicinity in respect to the
extent of the world (e.g., an open air bazaar on the outskirts of Khor Angar, a town in the northern
Obock Region of Djibouti, situated on the west coast of the Bab el Mandeb Strait, on the northeastern
African coast across from Yemen).
•Time: What time, day, or season is it? Consider time of day, day of week, month, season, and any
 culturally significant times (e.g., religious or national holiday).
•Purpose: Why are you there? Why is the communication taking place?
Inference
An inference is a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning. Given that you are in a
particular place at a specific time with a precise set of details you are observing, can you conclude or
make sense of what you are seeing?
•What do my observations, in context, suggest?
•Do you have enough experience to identify a typical pattern of behavior and conduct to establish a
baseline?
•Do you recognize any deviations from typical behavior?
Validation
Validation is an attempt to ensure that your inference is founded on truth or fact. It is an attempt to
confirm your understanding of what you see. Ask someone to interpret what you are observing.
•Ask the question, "Have you seen the same thing in a similar context several times? Can you identify a
pattern?"
•Over time, you may be able to distinguish the baseline activities and patterns of the culture from what is
out of the ordinary.

TEMPER AND INTENT

Marines must understand and possess the knowledge and skills required to handle a myriad of situations
appropriately without unnecessarily escalating the violence.
•Marines need to quickly assess the temper and intent of a person to judge the person's aim or objective.
•This assessment must be constantly reevaluated and your actions should be adjusted accordingly.

Temper
Temper refers to a person's emotional state.
A person's emotional state can be inferred from nonverbal communication such as:
•Yelling
•Crying
•Pacing
•Smiling
•Relaxing
•Swearing

Different cultures will assign various meaning to the behaviors above. Marines should familiarize
themselves with the meanings the local population projects with their behavior.
Intent
Intent refers to a person's planned actions and the purpose for those actions. Intent can be inferred from:
•Physical behavior that is more action-oriented such as running, hitting, carrying or drawing a weapon,
and reaching for a purse, etc.
•An individual's equipment or clothing (Consider if the person's clothing and belongings conform with
their reason for being there?)

Strategies to Employ Nonverbal Cues

Ideally, Marines should try to emulate the local nonverbal communication techniques of the AO.
•However, you may have difficulty adopting these nonverbal communication techniques and
inadvertently send nonverbal cues to your counterparts that could damage rapport.
•By understanding the cultural nonverbal cues, Marines can adopt certain strategies that will allow you to
work near your limitations of comfort, maintain rapport, and convey your meaning.
•For example, in a society where there is very little personal space during verbal communication, Marines
may find that turning towards their counterpart at a slight angle can give them a sense of increased
personal space without alienating the counterpart (i.e., making him think you are moving away from
him).

NATIONAL COMMAND AUTHORITY

National Command Authority, or NCA, is a term used by the Department of Defense to refer to the
ultimate lawful source of military orders.
•The NCA consists of the President of the United States, as commander-in-chief, and the Secretary of
Defense.
•Constitutionally, the ultimate authority and responsibility for the national defense rests with the
President. The Secretary of Defense is the President's principal assistant in all matters relating to the
Department of Defense.
•The President and the Secretary of Defense translate policy into national strategic military objectives.

ORIGIN AND MISSION OF DOD

The DoD was created by the National Security Act of 1947 and was established as an executive
department of the government by the National Security Act amendments of 1949. The DoD is headed by
the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF).

Origin of the Department of Defense

The intent of the National Security Act and its amendments were to:
•Increase civilian control of the armed forces to be consistent with Constitutional requirements.
•Eliminate unnecessary duplication between the services.
•Provide more efficient inter-service cooperation.
•Provide a unified strategic direction of the armed forces

Mission of the Department of Defense

The mission of the DoD is to:
•Provide the military forces needed to deter war.
•Protect the security of our country.

OPERATIONAL AND SERVICE CHAINS OF COMMAND

There are two parallel chains of command within the Department of Defense.
•The operational chain of command runs from the President, through the Secretary of Defense, directly to
commanders of combatant commands. The operational chain of command is the hierarchy by which
the President directs military activities.
•The Service chain of command begins with the President, through the Secretary of Defense, to the three
secretaries of the military departments—Army, Navy, and Air Force—to the four service leaders—
Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. The Service chain of command is tasked with the
manning, training, and equipping of forces to be employed by the combatant commanders.

COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS

The Commandant of the Marine Corps, or the CMC, is responsible for the readiness of the Marine Corps
including our administration, discipline, internal organization, training, requirements, and efficiency.

The CMC:
•Answers directly to the Secretary of the Navy in the performance, operation, and readiness of the Marine
Corps
•Provides ready, expeditionary forces to meet the operational requirements of the combatant commanders

MARINE CORPS MISSION

Historically, Marine Corps preparedness has been characterized by the phrase, “first to fight.” The
official mission of the U.S. Marine Corps was established in the National Security Act of 1947, amended
in 1952.
Marines are trained, organized, and equipped for:
•Offensive amphibious employment
•Employment as a general purpose, “force in readiness,” to support national needs

FUNCTIONS OF THE MARINE CORPS

The Marine Corps, within the Department of the Navy, shall serve as an expeditionary force in readiness
and perform the following specific functions:
•Seize and defend advanced naval bases or lodgments (areas) to facilitate subsequent joint operations.
•Provide close air support for ground forces.
•Conduct land and air operations essential to the prosecution of a naval campaign or as directed.
•Conduct complex expeditionary operations in the urban littorals (on or near shores) and other
challenging environments.
•Conduct amphibious operations, including engagement, crisis response, and power projection operations
to assure access. The Marine Corps has primary responsibility for the development of amphibious
doctrine, tactics, techniques, and equipment.
•Conduct security and stability operations and assist with the initial establishment of a military
government pending transfer of this responsibility to other authority.
•Provide security detachments and units for service on armed vessels of the Navy, provide protection of
naval property at naval stations and bases, provide security at designated U.S. embassies and
consulates, and perform other such duties as the President or the Secretary of Defense may direct.
These additional duties may not detract from or interfere with the operations for which the Marine
Corps is primarily organized.
•Organize Marine Corps aviation, as a collateral function, to participate as an integral component of naval
aviation.
•Provide Marines in support of the Department of State security program overseas.

KEY MARINE CORPS TASKS

Twenty-first century security challenges demand a ready force that fills the void between special
operations forces and heavy ground formations—a force that can leverage its expeditionary character to
respond not only to crises, but also to proactively influence regional conditions. To fulfill its role as the
nation's expeditionary force in readiness, Marine Corps forces must be able to perform these key tasks.

Conduct Military Engagement

The ability of the Marine Corps to conduct military engagement is essential to building partner capability
and capacity, forging relationships across cultural barriers, and promoting diplomatic access.
•Sea-based military engagement facilitates interaction while treading lightly on the sovereignty of the
partner-nations.
•Forward posture is critical to providing effective engagement and ensuring rapid response to crises.

Respond Rapidly to Crisis

Whether a crisis is natural or manmade, crisis response operations alleviate or mitigate the impact of an
incident or situation. The ability to rapidly project additional Marine Corps capabilities in response to a
crisis requires:
•Forward-postured forces
•A high state of expeditionary readiness

Project Power
The Marine Corps forces leverage and contribute to a larger, “whole-of-government” system of projecting
“smart” power across the range of military operations. Smart power is the ability to selectively apply soft
and hard power in combinations appropriate to a given situation to achieve national objectives.
•Soft power is the use of persuasive means, such as cultural affinity, diplomacy, economic interaction, and
foreign assistance, to establish legitimacy and influence or attract others to align their policies,
interests, or objectives with one’s own.
•Hard power is the use of military or economic coercion to influence the behavior of others. Power
projection includes joint assured access operations from the sea, as enabled by littoral maneuver

Conduct Littoral Maneuver

Naval forces are uniquely capable of conducting littoral maneuver, the ability to transition ready-to-fight
combat forces from the sea to the shore to achieve a position of advantage over the enemy. Littoral
maneuver may be used to deny adversaries sanctuary, destroy critical enemy capabilities, recover
personnel or sensitive equipment, safeguard weapons of mass destruction or associated materials, seize
lodgments for the introduction of additional joint or multinational forces, or cause an adversary to
disperse his forces.

Counter Irregular Threats

These operations involve military force, usually in combination with the other elements of power, in the
affairs of another state whose government is unstable, inadequate, or unsatisfactory.
•Military measures may not, by themselves, restore peace and order because the fundamental causes of
unrest may be economic, political, or social.
•Often these operations occur in response to crises under austere conditions. They are the modern
manifestation of our small wars legacy.

ORGANIZATION
The organization of the Marine Corps consists of Headquarters, Marine Corps, the Marine Corps
operating forces, and the supporting establishment

HEADQUARTERS, U.S. MARINE CORPS

The Commandant presides over the daily activities of Headquarters, Marine Corps, which provides staff
assistance to the Commandant by:
•Preparing the Marine Corps for employment through recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping,
training, servicing, mobilizing, administering, and maintaining the Marine Corps
•Investigating and reporting on the efficiency of the Marine Corps and its preparation to support military
operations by combatant commanders
•Preparing detailed instructions for the execution of approved plans and supervising the execution of
those plans and instructions
•Coordinating the actions of organizations of the Marine Corps
•Performing other duties, not otherwise assigned by law, as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the
Navy or the Commandant

MARINE CORPS OPERATING FORCES

The operating forces consist of:
Marine Corps Forces
These forces consist of combat, combat support, and combat service support units that are normally task-
organized as MAGTFs assigned to combatant commanders. Whether assigned to a combatant
commander or retained under Service control, Marine Corps forces are apportioned to the geographic
combatant commanders to plan for contingencies and are provided to these unified combatant commands
when directed by the Secretary of Defense.
Marine Corps Reserves
The Marine Corps Reserves consists of the:
•Ready Reserve: The Selected Marine Corps Reserve (SMCR) and the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR)
•Retired Reserve: Reservists who are retired under various laws and regulations. Retired Reserves may
be mobilized under conditions similar to those for Standby Reserve mobilization.
•Standby Reserve: The Standby Reserve is comprised of Marines not in the Ready or Retired Reserve
who are subject to recall to active duty in time of war or a national emergency as declared by
Congress.
Security Forces
The Marine Corps Security Force Regiment provides armed antiterrorism and physical security trained
forces to designated naval installations, vessels, or units.

Fleet antiterrorism security team (FAST) companies provide fleet commanders with forward-deployed
FAST platoons for responsive, short-term security augmentation of installations, ships, or vital naval and
national assets when force protection conditions exceed the capabilities of the permanent security forces.
Special Activity Forces
Special activity forces provide security and services or perform other special duties for agencies other
than the Department of the Navy. Assignment of the missions of these forces and the personnel to them
are specified by the supported agency and approved by the Commandant. For example, detachments
from the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group guard foreign service posts throughout the world.
Marines belonging to these security guard detachments provide internal security services to selected
Department of State embassies and consulates.

SUPPORTING ESTABLISHMENT
The supporting establishment assists in the training, sustainment, equipping, and embarkation of
deploying forces. The supporting establishment includes:
•Marine Corps bases
•Marine Corps air stations
•Individual training installations
•Special supporting activities
TASK ORGANIZED
Marine Corps forces are typically organized for operations by forming MAGTFs—balanced, air-
ground, combined arms formations under a single commander.
•The operational flexibility inherent in the MAGTF's design is the principal organization for all
Marine Corps missions across the range of military operations.
•Expeditionary by nature, MAGTFs vary in size and capability according to their assigned or
likely missions and are specifically equipped for rapid deployment by air or sea.

ELEMENTS OF A MAGTF:
COMMAND ELEMENT
The command element is the MAGTF headquarters. As with all other MAGTF elements, the
command element task- organizes to provide the command and control capabilities necessary for
effective planning, execution, and assessment of operations.

Additionally, the command element can:

•Exercise command and control within a joint force from the sea or ashore and act as a joint task
force headquarters core element.
•Include additional command and control and intelligence capabilities from national and theater
assets, force reconnaissance assets, signals intelligence capabilities from the radio battalion,
and a force fires coordination center.
•Employ additional major subordinate commands, such as the force artillery headquarters, naval
construction regiments, or Army maneuver or engineering units

ELEMENTS OF A MAGTF:
GROUND COMBAT ELEMENT (GCE)
The GCE task-organizes to conduct ground operations in support of the MAGTF’s mission. The
GCE:
•Usually forms around an infantry organization reinforced with artillery, reconnaissance, light
 armored reconnaissance, assault amphibian, tank, and combat engineer forces
•Can vary in size and composition—from a rifle platoon to one or more divisions
•Is the only MAGTF element that can seize and occupy terrain

ELEMENTS OF A MAGTF:
AVIATION COMBAT ELEMENT (ACE)
The ACE task-organizes to conduct air operations, project combat power, and contribute to
battlespace dominance in support of the MAGTF’s mission by performing some or all of the
following six functions of Marine aviation:
•Antiair warfare
•Assault support
•Electronic warfare
•Offensive air support
•Air reconnaissance
•Control of aircraft and missiles

The ACE:
•Consists of an aviation headquarters with air control agencies, aircraft squadrons or groups, and
logistic units
•Can vary in size and composition from a small aviation detachment of specifically required
aircraft to one or more Marine aircraft wings

ELEMENTS OF A MAGTF:
LOGISTICS COMBAT ELEMENT (LCE)
The LCE task-organizes to provide all functions of tactical logistics necessary to support the
continued readiness and sustainability of the MAGTF. The LCE performs some or all six
functions of tactical logistics:
•Supply
•Maintenance
•Transportation
•Health services
•General engineering
•Other services which include legal, exchange, food, disbursing, postal, billeting, religious,
mortuary, and morale and recreation services

The LCE:
•May vary in size and composition from a support detachment up to one or more logistic groups
•Operates from sea bases or from expeditionary bases established ashore

TYPES OF MAGTF
Specifically designed for swift deployment of Marine forces by air, land, or sea, the MAGTF
provides our nation with a broad spectrum of response options when our nation's interests are
threatened.
There are four types of MAGTFs:
MARINE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE (MEF)
The MEFs provide the structure and capabilities that comprise the largest groupings of Marine
Corps operating forces.
•MEFs are capable of conducting and sustaining expeditionary operations in any geographic
environment.
•In addition to their warfighting role, MEFs routinely task-organize subordinate units into
smaller MAGTFs or other formations to support the geographic combatant commander’s
 ongoing engagement and episodic crisis response requirements.

MARINE EXPEDITIONARY BRIGADE (MEB)

The MEB is the centerpiece of our expeditionary force-in-readiness, prepared for immediate,
effective employment in any type of crisis or conflict. The MEB can:
•Respond to a full range of crises and contingencies
•Serve as an enabler for joint and combined forces
•Deploy via:
- Amphibious task force
- Maritime prepositioning squadron
- Strategic air lift

MARINE EXPEDITIONARY UNIT (MEU)

MEUs are forward-deployed, embarked aboard Navy amphibious ready groups. The
ARG/MEUs provide continuous, forward naval presence in key regions to conduct steady-state
security cooperation, military engagement, and deterrence, as well as immediate response to
episodic crises and contingencies.
MEUs are on-scene, on-call, immediately employable and are capable of conducting
conventional and select maritime special purpose missions:
•Over the horizon
•By surface and air
•From the sea
•Under adverse weather conditions

SPECIAL PURPOSE MARINE-AIR GROUND TASK FORCE (SP-MAGTF)

Typically formed to support combatant commander requirements. These organizations are
tailored appropriately to conduct security cooperation activities with partner nations to develop
interoperability, facilitate access, build defense and security relationships, gain regional
understanding, and position for immediate response to episodic crises.

Recent SP-MAGTFs include:

•SP-MAGTF Katrina (2005)
•SP-MAGTF Unified Assistance (2005)
•SP-MAGTF Haiti (2010)
•SP-MAGTF Tomodachi (2011)
•SP-MAGTF Africa (2011-present)
•SP-MAGTF Crisis Response (2013-present)