Steve you have something thereOriginally Posted by Steve Blair
Yes, and one of the interesting thing about the Marines is that they have been able to strike that balance. I'm not sure what it is about the Army as an institution that has made them unable (or unwilling) to do so with any great regularity. It's not so much a question of size (as this is something I've seen going back to when the Army's main business was more or less constabulary in nature) as it may be the culture and learned behaviors within the organization.
This isn't a dig at the Army as much as it is me musing out loud (or at the keyboard) about something that has come to interest and puzzle me more and more of late. I'll stop now before I ramble out of control...
The discussions of COIN or NO-COIN aren't an issue in the Marines nor is the concept of doctrinal documents. I think the difference in this case between the Marines and the Army is that in the Marines they think/train (any Marine, any mission, any location), whereas the Army specializes in silos of missions or skills. I know that there are contrary examples but I think it is part of the Army culture.
Look at how people identify themselves here on SWC. They are Armor, they are Intel, they are logistics, and they may have been other things but their current skill set is denoted by their occupation.
It is a fundamental part of the Marine psyche that every Marine is a rifleman, and every other job after that is dessert. The only place I've ever seen strife bent around mission was with an Air Wing (El Toro to be exact), and my Battalion Commander reminded a pilot flying CAS that when he lands he's a rifleman too (it was really a joke more than a censure).
Perhaps that is why Gian P. Gentile sees the conflict with COIN encumbering his Army rather than expanding his role (no disrespect meant Col. Gentile). I'd defer to people much more aware of the roles and culture, but institutionalized silos of concern would create the inter disciplinary strife we see exhibited. MarcT could discuss the organizational issues much better than I.
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