Here is more of CMC’s “Talent Management Plan.” There is that word “Management” again. Seems there are many more “things” attached to this plan than meets the eye. This one will surely shake up the retired community even more than Parts I-V. Read on and cry Marines.
Marine Corps plan calls for some future Marines to skip boot camp.
By Jeff Schogol from Task and Purpose
“We Make Marines,” proclaims a banner at Marine Corps Recruit of 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.
“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.
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.
Originally posted 2021-11-29 08:28:39.
Jim, JJ here. Yes sir, I was one of those Marines who passed the initial audition but ended up failing the School of Music. (Totally my fault) Lieutenant James Day was the CO at the time, great Officer! I failed him, but I still went on to be a outstanding Marine who continues to serve his community. Lt. Day later went on to the Citadel, he is now resting in peace. I found out here recently of his passing.
JJ, I did not know that about you. I would say you did right by failing out because you became one hell of a Marine, and you continue to serve with the Young Marines, Bravo Zulu my friend!!!
Take heart. Every thing swings from left to right like a clock pendulum. It will keep going left until it hits the wall and then it will go all the way back to the right with a vengeance. Thankfully there will always be young that want to be part of the toughest fighting machine in the world. Those that get political that felt cheated out of this due to wokeness will fight to right the ship. I only pray I’m right and not a Pollyanna.
Marines kill, that’s the mission…..isn’t that enough??
Good to hear from you Sam. No, I guess Marines who are trained to kill is not enough for the new Woke CMC, he is literally destroying the Corps as we knew it Sam. What a sad state of affairs.
I remember Mitchell Paige describing the night that earned him a Medal of Honor on Guadalcanal, saying that his position was regained by the Division Band charging with fixed bayonets. That story speaks volumes when compared to today’s “management” plans.
Yes and the division bands train to be riflemen. In RVN, during county fairs, the division band would helo in and play for the Vietnamese – they loved it. Now whether that made them love us, I doubt it. But division bands are deployed in harms way, but not the Marine Corps Band.
Oh good God, it actually can get dumber
I agree, without boot camp we are just another military service. Basic training makes us who we are, Marines. That training and learning Marine Corps history makes us different, a band of brothers. Keep our Corps standards!
Jerome 66-72
Amen Brother