An innovative approach for the development of future Marine Corps amphibious capability

Abstract

The United States Marine Corps will bring toughness, vision, and refined tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) from a 13-year desert fight into the next major combat operation or small contingency. This Marine Corps proclivity for action is reflected in driven Marines, doctrine and the personnel carriers or vehicles used by Marines to execute maneuver warfare from the sea. The first responder for the next contingency will likely be the Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), which is the smallest seabased configuration of a Marine Air Ground Task Force. The MEU provides rapid crisis response from U.S. Navy ships and is likely to be the principal component of the future force at sea. This research informs the top procurement priorities for the United States Navy by evaluating the MEU’s expeditionary amphibious assault capability and the use of ship-to-shore connectors. In hundreds of thousands of simulated assaults, it identifies TTPs and mission profiles that achieve increased operational effectiveness, while employing less operational energy. The major results quantify the benefits of debarking amphibious forces at closer distances, show that a self-deployer presents a significant advantage to the landing force, and reveal the diminishing returns of high water speed.