INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE (ISR) IMPROVES EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE MARINE RIFLE SQUAD WHILE REDUCING RISK

Abstract

U.S. Marine Corps rifle squads are the tip of the spear in expeditionary warfare. However, they do not have organic intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) assets, potentially hindering effectiveness and efficiency. This thesis explores how the Marine Rifle Platoon (MRP) can be more effective and efficient while operating in unconventional and/or asymmetrical environments. These challenging environments require an analysis of doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership, education, personnel, and facilities in order to determine possible gaps in each of the elements. Characterizing the allocation of ISR assets at the battalion, platoon, and squad level will illustrate the impact to response time. The results show that as detection distance is increased, response time is increased. The increase in response time leads to more effective and efficient attacks and counterattacks. The author recommends that each squad require its own organic ISR asset with various sensor configurations. These ISR assets can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of each squad, the MRP, the company, and thus the battalion as a whole, especially in asymmetric warfare.