Marines on the hunt for gear to combat tomorrow's threat

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. — Post-Afghanistan missions will likely be dispersed and unpredictable, creating unique challenges for leaders who develop the gear Marines need to defeat the enemy.

Framing those efforts is Expeditionary Force 21, the Corps' 10-year road map that predicts Marines will be conducting crisis response missions that could leave small teams of Marines deployed independently for weeks at a time, said Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, who recently took the helm of Marine Corps Combat Development Command here.

Technology is what allows squads to operate independently over large swaths of land, he said, giving radio communications in Afghanistan as an example.

"If those small units had not had the ability to call for fires, support and [medical evacuations], we would not have put them out there," he said.

But for squads to operate that way over even greater distances, they will need better command and control and a host of new gear that officials with MCCDC, Combat Development and Integration and the Futures Directorate are working to develop.

Further complicating that mission are looming "hybrid" threats, which Walsh described as nation states employing conventional and non-conventional tactics on a single battlefield. That would mean Marines could face an Iraq-style insurgency and a well-funded conventional military at the same time, he said.

It's the sort of emerging threats seen in the Asia-Pacific region, where China is jockeying for influence, or in Europe where Russia is meddling. Similar threats exist in places like Iraq, Libya and Syria, along with other cities around the globe.

Gear for all those contingencies must be purchased and fielded carefully in this constrained budget environment.

"There is not enough money going around," Walsh said. "It is a pretty austere time. Making sure we get it right and spend the money the right way so we can get the most combat capability is a real critical part of this."

Here is a look at some top priorities for Walsh's command.

Near-term threats

The service is about to field about 1,000 recently purchased PRC-117G Tactical Radios, with one going out to every infantry squad. The radio, which can transmit and receive ultra and very high frequencies, or link to a tactical satellite, was previously reserved for platoon commanders, said Brig. Gen. (sel.) Roger Turner, the director of the Capabilities Development Directorate.

Giving one to each squad means they can remain connected while spread out. The radios will begin hitting the fleet in about four months.

The radios could also be synchronized with tablets and other smart devices to provide intelligence to Marines on long MV-22 Osprey flights.

The service is also trying to buy portable communications networks that fit on Humvees, called "networks on the move," Turner said. The system has been used by I Marine Expeditionary Force with great success, he said, so enough have been purchased to field across II and III MEFs by the end of 2017.

KC-130J Super Hercules and MV-22 Osprey aircraft could eventually receive the same system to provide command and control capabilities in transit.

The Marine Corps' vehicle portfolio is also getting a face-lift. The anti-tank variant of the Light Armored Vehicle will receive a significant upgrade by 2017. The vehicle will have an advanced anti-tank missile and targeting suite that allows on-the-move target identification. The upgrade also fixes reliability issues with the weapon system, which sometimes jams when it's raised.

The service is in the process of upgrading its Amphibious Assault Vehicle with better, lighter armor that doesn't affect how well it operates in water; blast mitigating seats; and other safety changes set for completion in 2019. The Corps also plans to soon field the Block 2 Ground/Task Oriented Radar, a towed system that can determine the origin of hostile fire for counter-strikes.

Officials are also continuing work on non-lethal weapons, including a mortar that can spray an area with a cluster of flash-bang-like devices to disperse crowds in an urban setting.

Future contingencies

Brig. Gen. Julian Alford is leading the charge to meet tomorrow's threats at the Futures Directorate. He envisions a future in which Marines could be called on to fight in chaotic, urban settings along coastlines with formidable defenses, including missiles.

That could force ships to remain far out at sea and Marines to punch inland as shock troops.

"The Third World is moving to cities," Alford said. "The cities are on the coast line. People are going to run out of food, water and energy and then they are going to fight over it."

Marines will need the gear and doctrine to meet those threats, said Alford, who is working to update EF-21, which was rolled out as a working document.

In the urban littorals, Marines will be fighting on "four floors" he said, citing Marine Corps studies predicting the future security environment 15 to 30 years out. That means Marines could be required to carry out complex missions — like evacuating friendly forces off rooftops — at the same time they're detaining targets a floor below, engaging in unbridled combat on a floor lower, all while pursuing insurgents through urban streets and tunnels.

Also vital on future battlefields will be tools that help Marines meet the "golden-hour" medical challenge. Marine Corps Special Operations Command has successfully deployed small vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aerial systems that can be used in congested urban settings that could deliver medical supplies to Marines.

What keeps Alford up at night is ensuring young Marines who deploy have what they need for the mission at hand.

Marines don't say "no" when they're called to respond to a crisis, he said, and it's his job to make deploying troops have what they need.

"What we do is we figure it out on the backs of unbelievable young Americans," Alford said. "...That is our job as senior leaders — to reduce that kid's risk of dying."