USMC Concepts & Programs 2013 - Defense Innovation Marketplace

chapter 3: programs
Courses and Facilities
A broadly capable middleweight force will meet
future requirements through the integration of newly
acquired and traditional operational competencies. To
remain America’s Expeditionary Force in Readiness, the
Marine Corps requires balanced, high-quality training
and education at all levels. As history has repeatedly
shown, wars are won by the better-trained force, not
necessarily the larger one. In the midst of ongoing combat
operations, the Marine Corps is realigning education
and training efforts to enable Marines and Sailors
to succeed in conducting distributed operations in increasingly
complex environments against any threat.
To meet these challenges, the Marine Corps Training
and Education Command (TECOM) will provide the
training courses and facilities that are responsive and
relevant for preparing individual Marines and Marine
Corps units via targeted, progressive training and continuous
assessment.
Our current training is focused on preparing Marine
units for combat, counterinsurgency and stability
operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom
(OEF) . The past 10 years of combat have demonstrated
that there is a positive correlation between quality
training and education and individual/unit readiness;
both directly translate to operational success. Therefore,
as we draw-down from Afghanistan, our training
and education will rebalance to support the execution
of a wider range of operational capabilities. We
will achieve this balance by leveraging competencies
in entry-level and skills progression training and by
re-emphasizing core competencies in combined arms
and amphibious operations, irregular warfare, humanitarian
assistance, and inter-agency coordination. In
addition, we are making the investments necessary to
implement the recommendations of the 2006 Officer
Professional Military Education Study (The Wilhelm
Report) to transform the Marine Corps University
(MCU) into a “world class institution.” These efforts
will ensure that Marines are prepared to meet the challenges
of post-OEF operational environments.
Our training and education programs will culminate
with the MAGTF Training Program. Through a
standardized training approach, the MAGTF Training
Program will develop the essential unit capabilities
necessary to conduct integrated MAGTF operations.
Building on lessons learned over the past 10 years, this
approach includes focused battle staff training and a
service assessment exercise modeled on the current
exercise, Enhanced Mojave Viper. Additionally, we will
continue conducting large scale exercises that integrate
training and assessment of the MAGTF as a whole. The
MAGTF Training Program facilitates the Marine Corps
ability to provide multi-capable MAGTFs prepared for
operations in complex, joint and multi-national environments
against hybrid threats.
In order to fully realize these training and education
enhancements, we will continue investing in the
resources, technologies and innovations that enable
them. These investments include modernizing our
training ranges, training devices, and infrastructure to
ensure quality resources are available to support the
training of Marines, individual to MAGTF. We will
also leverage advanced technologies and simulation
systems to create realistic, fully immersive training
environments.
TRAINING
MAGTF TRAINING
PRE-DEPLOYMENT TRAINING
PROGRAM (PTP)
MARINE AIR GROUND TASK FORCE (MAGTF)
TRAINING
The Marine Corps has developed an extensive PTP,
based on the Pre-Deployment Training Continuum, to
prepare Marines for today’s operational environments.
The PTP establishes a coherent progression of skill level
training conducted by commanders and evaluated at
PTP Mission Rehearsal Exercises (MRXs). Training is
conducted in four nested “blocks” in ascending com-
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