Maneuver Warfare: Afghanistan and the Combat Load

Abstract

The current Marine Corps policy on the wear of body armor and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as outlined in MARADMIN 262/07 is highly restrictive, lacks common sense, and stands in contrast to the Marine Corps' warfighting doctrine of Maneuver Warfare. In the current war in Afghanistan, the requirement to wear heavy, cumbersome, and highly restrictive PPE and the blind adherence to this policy is an impediment to progress against our highly mobile, heavily armed enemy forces. When taken in context with MCDP-1 Warfighting, our primary maneuver centric warfighting doctrine, commanders at the battalion level should be afforded the opportunity to determine what constitutes PPE, and the authority and autonomy to dictate their own prescribed PPE load based on a solid estimate of the situation, historical precedence, individual experience, and expertise.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 20, 2009
Accession Number
ADA510886

Entities

People

  • Matthew Kutilek

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Adhesion
  • Afghanistan
  • Armor
  • Battlefields
  • Body Armor
  • Combat Operations
  • Doctrine
  • Friction
  • High Altitude
  • Maneuvers
  • Marine Corps
  • Military Personnel
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Protective Equipment
  • Small Arms
  • Task Forces
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Economics
  • Materials Science
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.