Marine Corps University Press is young by most standards for academic publishers. With 15 years behind us, our history is but a flash in the grand scheme of American military history. MCUP’s mission—publish open-access, scholarly books and journals on military history/heritage and national security topics in order to support excellence in Marine Corps University’s professional military education, to inspire debate, and to advance knowledge for a diverse community of scholars, U.S. and allied military leaders, and policy makers—ensures that our efforts are not only focused on preparing Marines to prevail in combat today but to succeed on the battlefields of the future.
So, on the eve of the Marine Corps’ 250th anniversary, it should come as no surprise that this issue of the Journal of Advanced Military Studies (JAMS) honors the history of the Service with a discussion of amphibious operations and the evolution of military Services. The authors—including allies and partners of the United States—discuss amphibious operations from a variety of perspectives, including addressing rising and current threats such as China, the Houthis and their attacks from the Red Sea, historical analyses such as the Falkland Islands amphibious landings by the British, and Marine Corps concepts such as stand-in-forces and expeditionary advanced base operations (EABO). Allies such as Australia discuss their pivot to littoral operations to address current threats in the Indo-Pacific.
The upcoming 250th anniversary of the Marine Corps’ founding is a prescient time to reexamine amphibious operations and current threats facing the Marine Corps, the United States, and allies and partners around the world. The Marine Corps has adopted several concepts to approach future threats, many of them captured in the 2020 Force Design 2030.1 Force Design 2030 aptly describes why changes are needed in the Marine Corps priorities for the future:
In light of unrelenting increases in the range, accuracy, and lethality of modern weapons; the rise of revisionist powers with the technical acumen and economic heft to integrate those weapons and other technologies for direct or indirect confrontation with the U.S.; and the persistence of rogue regimes possessing enough of those attributes to threaten United States interests, I am convinced that the defining attributes of our current force design are no longer what the nation requires of the Marine Corps.2
The adoption of concepts such as EABO and stand-in-forces is encouraged to better prepare the Corps for future threats, in conjunction with increased partnerships with the Navy. Major Pat Hassett in his article “Bringing Clarity to Stand-in Forces” describes the interrelated concepts of EABO, stand-in-forces, and other concepts that are “required to operationalize these novel maritime concepts and to succeed in projecting maritime power in support of joint and coalition forces.”
Similarly, Major Shaun Callan in his article “Fires from the Shore” provides the Army’s perspective on needed changes and describes the Jointness required to implement changes necessary to adapt to current and emerging threats, particularly from the increasing threat of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). He states, “The struggle to obtain, maintain, and exploit sea control during a campaign is an inherently Joint endeavor requiring a multi-Service, cross-domain application of firepower and maneuver.” The PRC is a constant theme throughout this issue when addressing why changes are needed across the Department of Defense, and particularly the Marine Corps. Kerry K. Gershaneck—an expert in PRC political warfare—addresses how the PRC “has inextricably intertwined political warfare in its naval and maritime strategies to set the conditions for success in such a kinetic war.” Furthermore, he stresses that the PRC, in the event of a conflict, will likely “conduct political warfare against the U.S. Marine Corps in combat operations.”
Other adversaries are also discussed in this issue, such as the Houthis and North Korea. Alan Cunningham’s article “Oceans Are Now Battlefields” discusses the emerging threat of North Korea’s Navy against U.S. ally South Korea. He argues that “F[orce] D[esign] 2030 and FD 2045 . . . would serve to help the United States in countering North Korean aggression and serving as a beneficial deterrent to North Korean naval action against South Korea or other American allies in the region.” However, he cautions that the United States must remain adaptable and flexible enough to respond to a wide range of possible conflicts and scenarios. Jonah Carlson takes a different approach when analyzing the Houthis in his article “Houthi Motivations Driving the Red Sea Crisis,” using the “cultural topography method to analyze the culture of the movement and provide alternative motivations for the attacks, such as consolidating domestic support and crafting a strong national appearance.” He argues that understanding the group’s motivations will increase the chances of resolving the conflict:
[The Houthis] may desire to negotiate in the future to boost perceptions of its own legitimacy, which the movement seeks. Ansar Allah’s influence in Yemen is likely to continue to grow. Clever policy solutions to the Red Sea crisis will leverage a knowledge of Ansar Allah’s internal culture, aspirational identity, and popular narratives to craft engagement strategies that reduce the domestic rewards Ansar Allah is garnering from Red Sea attacks.
This issue of JAMS, which analyzes amphibious operations and the evolution of military Services, therefore, explores the current and future operating environment from a variety of perspectives: Jointness between the Services, using new Marine Corps concepts such as EABO and Force Design 2030, examining the motivations and culture that drives adversaries in order to better resolve conflict, and how allies and partners are also heavily invested in how the United States and its Services deal with emerging and ever-changing threats around the world.
The Fall 2024 issue of JAMS is but one element in the anniversary spotlight readers can anticipate seeing from MCUP, Marine Corps University, and the U.S. Marine Corps. From 10 November 2024 throughout 2025, we join the nation in celebrating the semiquincentennial of the U.S. Marine Corps. Do not miss out on a moment and join the conversation. We look forward to your future participation as an author, reviewer, or reader. Find us online on our LinkedIn page (https://tinyurl.com/y38oxnp5), at MC UPress on Facebook, MC_UPress on X, and MCUPress on Instagram or contact us via email at MCU_Press@usmcu.edu.
Endnotes
1. Gen David H. Berger, Force Design 2030 (Washington, DC: Headquarters Marine Corps, 2020).
2. Berger, Force Design 2030, 2.