A new clime and place: Future battlefield at the forefront of new Marine School of Infantry pilot program March 8 In addition to extending the standard SOI course and adding new skills to the curriculum, the course will start training Marines for the new geographic focus and strategy. (Sgt. Tyler L. Main/Marine Corps) After nearly two decades of fighting wars all over the Middle East, the Corps is looking to fight in a new clime and place, using new tactics to take on near-peer enemies. The Corps’ shift to the Pacific and emphasis on expeditionary advanced base operations comes with a cultural shift and shift in the actual assets and capabilities it demands.
Chess during downtime: How the Corps wants to increase ‘thinking’ in Marine infantry January 25 Marines show Japan Ground Self-Defense Force service members room-clearing techniques during Exercise Forest Light Western Army at Kirishima Maneuver Field, Kumamoto, Japan, Jan. 27, 2020. (Sgt. Audrey M. C. Rampton/Marine Corps) Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger has a vision for the Corps’ future fights that sees Marines fighting a near-peer enemy in small dispersed units, raiding islands, sinking ships and attacking the enemy’s cyber capabilities. The plan ultimately will push increased responsibility further down the Marine Corps chain of command, with infantry platoons potentially taking on the responsibilities that currently reside at the company or even battalion level.