Vision, Education and Experimentation: Marine Corps Organizational Behavior and Innovation during the Interwar Period

Abstract

The Marine Corps' development of amphibious warfare doctrine during the Interwar Period provides an example of successful peacetime innovation. The development of amphibious capabilities provides a guide for future innovation. The senior leadership of the Marine Corps provided a centralized vision in the development of amphibious warfare doctrine, training, experimentation, and equipment procurement. In turn, the Marine Corps fostered an intellectualism that critically examined and integrated lessons from World War I, the Army formal school system, emerging educational models, and private industry to professionalize and develop an amphibious warfare capability. Closely related, the Marine Corps empowered relatively junior officers, to include students at the Marine Corps Schools, to solve the most complex problems facing the organization's preparation for WW II. Last, the Navy and Marine Corps conducted a series of experiments that tested the Tentative Landing Manual and examined a wide array of tactics and technological solutions.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 13, 2013
Accession Number
ADA589741

Entities

People

  • Gabriel L. Diana

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artillery
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Doctrine
  • Employment
  • Geography
  • Military Education
  • Military History
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • Naval Operations
  • Navy
  • Organizational Structure
  • Second World War
  • Students
  • Terrain
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Economics
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.