Navy-Marine Corps Operational Command Relationships and the Joint Force Commander: Unfinished Business

摘要

The Navy-Marine Corps team continues to demonstrate readiness, relevance and capability to meet the challenges of today's national security environment in the wake of post 'Cold War' Department of Defense reevaluation of roles and missions and the attendant force restructuring. Less impressive have been the naval services efforts to develop mutually acceptable doctrine to govern naval expeditionary force employment in joint operations. Internal debates among the naval Services seek answers to essentially tactical, not operational, questions. The more important question is: How should the Navy-Marine Corps team be organized to best facilitate integration into a joint force organization. Revision of Joint Pub 3-02, Joint Doctrine for Amphibious Operations, provides the naval services a perfect opportunity to answer the larger operational question while settling tactical as well. Existing joint doctrine, in the form of Joint Pub 0-2, Unified Action Armed Forces (UNAAF) and Joint Pub 3-0, Doctrine for Joint Operations, already provides answers.