Posted on 11/26/2021 1:04:37 AM PST by Enlightened1
We Make Marines,” proclaims a banner at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, summarizing the service’s ethos that recruits have to prove they have the mental and physical toughness to serve in the Corps by surviving boot camp. By the time men and women receive their Eagle, Globe, and Anchor, they have proven that they have the physical and mental toughness to earn the coveted title of “Marine.”
But Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger wants “exceptionally talented Americans” to be able to bypass the Corps’ traditional rites of passage and begin serving “at a rank appropriate to their education, experience, and ability.”
Berger’s radical new Talent Management plan calls for allowing civilians with critical skills to be able to join the Marine Corps “laterally” as opposed to starting at the very bottom as new recruits.
“As a result of the significant lead time necessary to build expertise, we are unable to respond quickly to changes in the security environment that demand urgent course corrections,” Berger wrote in his plan, which was first made public on Nov. 3. “The rapid rise in importance of the cyber domain, for instance, has challenged us to find creative ways to quickly build critical skills at mid-career and senior levels. Unless we find a means to quickly infuse expertise into the force – at the right ranks – I am concerned that advances in artificial intelligence and robotics, among other fields where the speed of technological change is exponential, will force us into a reactive posture.”
Berger made clear that this option would be limited to certain military occupational specialties, adding it would be “difficult to imagine a scenario” in which a civilian could skip boot camp in order to join a combat arms field like infantry or artillery.
He also wrote that Marines no longer on active duty who now have “critical career experience” should be able to return to service at a higher rank.
“For example, I can envision a Marine who left active duty as a captain or corporal rejoining our ranks as a lieutenant colonel or gunnery sergeant, respectively, after spending 5-7 years working in a cyber or IT field where the service currently lacks capacity,” Berger wrote. “With the right education and experience, that same corporal might also be eligible to return as a mid-grade or senior officer.”
The new talent management plan could involve a “cultural shift” in how the Marine Corps attracts the best possible people, said Lt. Gen. David Ottignon, deputy commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.
For example, how will Marines who have gone through The Crucible at Parris Island or San Diego respond to the idea of allowing civilians to bypass boot camp to become Marine Corps cyber experts? Ottignon pondered with reporters on Monday.
A Drill instructor directs new recruits to enter their barracks March 25, 2014, on Parris Island, S.C. (Photo by Cpl. Octavia Davis)
“How does that line up to a culture of a Marine Corps at roughly 180,000 Marines that go through this exacting training that makes us all one in the same – uniformity in what we do?” Ottignon said. “That’s a cultural thing that we’re going to have to work through.”
The Marine Corps has been here before. Former Commandant Gen. Robert Neller initially considered allowing civilians with cyber skills to become Marines without going through boot camp in 2017.
But Neller faced a conundrum: He did not want to bring in people who did not meet Marine Corps grooming standards.
Then-Marine Brig. Gen Loretta Reynolds, who led Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command at the time, recalled in 2016 that Neller once asked her: “Do I have to start letting guys with purple hair and earrings in?”
Ultimately, the Marine Corps decided to establish a Cyber Auxiliary division of civilian volunteers, not Marines. “You can have purple hair, too, but no EGA [Eagle, Globe, and Anchor],” Neller said in 2019.
The question of whether cyber experts who bypass boot camp can hold the title of Marine has not gone away.
“That’s clearly what the commandant has laid out as something to discover and analyze,” Ottignon said on Monday. “And I don’t know the answer to it yet. I don’t think the commandant knows the answer to it yet – other than we know there’s exquisite talent out there.”
That’s why Ottignon’s team is coming up with various options for exactly how the Marine Corps can attract people with the skills that the Corps needs most, he said.
“We think – we could be wrong – you could take a young man or woman, let’s say out of George Mason University that works in cybersecurity and sees opportunities in government; and we show them: Look, no kidding, you’re going to be on an offensive/defensive team and get skill sets; that might be attractive to them. His [Berger’s] point is: How do you do that; and that’s the cultural piece that I offered to you.”
Hire them if you need. But don’t give them a uniform you low life. The USMC senior officers are deeply infected with woke.
jhfc
Dice are tumblin. Are we good, or are we evil.
““How does that line up to a culture of a Marine Corps at roughly 180,000 Marines that go through this exacting training that makes us all one in the same – uniformity in what we do?” Ottignon said. “That’s a cultural thing that we’re going to have to work through.”“
Translation: We are going to shove it down your throats and call it “working through” the cultural thing. Traitors.
I’m not sure I’d consider someone who didn’t go through boot camp to be a real Marine.
There’s no way this could go wrong ever!
Honest!
Now where did they place the issue manicure kits...?
General Pete Alden didn't screw around with this shizz.
I’m sure my post would be yanked if I said what I really think.
They’ve been doing it in government schools, now their after the Marines?
Just damn!
Why not call them Navy Codemen? The new Navy has a fine tradition of highly intelligent techies.
What the hell? Yeah and see how well they take orders. They’ll end up with a bunch of Bradley Mannings, fagatroids flying into bitch snits “Don’t tell me what to do nyaaaah!”
The problem is that “every” Marine needs to be a combat killing machine first and then his/her MOS second. Every Marine is expected to be able to take up command of a squad, platoon etc. on a minutes notice. That requires being trained and tested in leadership in the combat arms and the ability to pick up the weapon and perform in combat.
Having worked with Marines over the years I was always impressed with the maturity of the Marines I dealt with. The junior Marines were just as impressive because they were trained to take the lead when the situation presented and to follow orders to the letter.
Take away boot camp and you lose the leadership part for the Marine “recruit” who has skipped the advancement route. The other Marines will not willingly take orders from those that did not earn the insignia, and if these new “Marines” are not sent into the field or deployed the others will resent them.
Still More #Communist/Democrap_Insanity!
Not a Marine, but just answer this question about this stupid idea number 12,3345 cubed. What makes this idiot think some Marine in civilian life making $90-150K, at the minimum, would come back into the Corp for half or less pay?
Would these boot camp skippers be known as “Transmarines”?
VERY well said!
Probably some Pentagon civilian suggesting eight hours of drill and marching practice...hand them the uniform, then ship them off to the ‘front’.
Agree. That kind of “talent” is contracted/hired.
Military rank implies the right to command and the understanding of the responsibility to exercise that right judiciously. That, in turn, implies experience.
Speaking as a long retired Marine, do we really need some “talent” whose ego can somehow only be assuaged by allowing him or her to claim to be a Marine and hold a certain rank without going through the process of actually earning it?
The Commandant needs to just put on a skirt and move on.
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