Marines


News

Base Logo
Official U.S. Marine Corps Website
Crossroads of the Marine Corps
Photo Information

Guests at the Marine Corps Association Foundation Fall Combat Development Dinner, held Oct. 1 at The Clubs at Quantico.

Photo by Photo by Adele Uphaus-Conner

Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh speaks at the Fall Combat Development dinner

8 Oct 2015 | Adele Uphaus-Conner Marine Corps Base Quantico


Active duty Marines, officers, and industry partners packed The Clubs at Quantico on Friday for the annual Combat Development Dinner hosted by the Marine Corps Association and Foundation and Marine Corps Combat Development Command.

Speaker Lt. Gen. Robert S. Walsh, deputy commandant for combat development and integration, motivated the assembled guests by calling them “Team Quantico” and saying that “no other service has the tools we have right here aboard Quantico.”

“What we do at Quantico is the future of the Corps,” Walsh said. “Quantico is an ‘Engine of Change’ that can lead combat development across the Corps.”

After welcoming remarks by retired Maj. Gen. Ed Usher, President and CEO of MCA&F, Lt. Gen. Walsh spoke about how happy he is to be back at Quantico.

“It’s a great place to be, and not just because it isn’t the Pentagon!” Walsh said.

Walsh explained that his goal is to better integrate Marine Air Ground Task Force combat development across the Marine Corps, a challenge that comes directly from the new commandant, Gen. Robert Neller.

Walsh reiterated the role of the Marine Corps.

“Our ability to move quickly and on the fly is what sets us apart,” Walsh said. “America loves her Marines, and there will always be a Corps unless we fail to answer the call. We justify ourselves by our performance.”

He said that combatant commanders are demanding forces that are capable of operating in smaller formations, but stressed that the Corps must also be capable of fighting a major operation as a cohesive element. Integration is crucial to accomplishing both of these tasks.

Walsh said that the Marine Corps Futures Directorate, working closely with the Army, will identify a list of no more than 20 warfighting challenges for the 21st century. These challenges include developing situational understanding, improving leader-to-led, team performance, enhancing training, and conducting combined arms maneuvering. Each of these challenges will be assigned a supporting organization.

“The warfighting challenges will drive the agenda of a broad spectrum of venues such as seminars, wargames, experiments, and exercises to answer the questions,” said Walsh.

He called this a “Campaign of Learning” that will include both intellectual and physical activities.

Quarterly forums will give the supporting organizations a chance to update Walsh and his team on findings from the “Campaign of Learning.”

“We will complete the process with updates to the commandant on our warfighting challenges and the Campaign of Learning recommendations,” Walsh explained.

He stressed that the Marine Corps will maintain close ties with the Navy and with its industry partners to come up with affordable solutions to problems.

“Everything has to link to a functional concept,” he said.

Walsh closed his remarks by telling the room, “Your fellow Marines and the American people are looking to you to design and build the Marine Corps of the future. I hope you never lose sight of the fact that our business is about sending young men and women into the world’s most stressful and threatening environments and that they deserve the best training and equipment available.”

— Writer: auphausconner@quanticosentryonline.com
Marine Corps Base Quantico