Overview
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According to the Army’s Field Manual (FM) Operations (October 1, 2022)
Multi-Domain Operations are the combined arms employment of joint and Army capabilities to create and exploit relative advantages that achieve objectives, defeat enemy forces, and consolidate gains on behalf of joint force commanders. Employing Army and joint capabilities makes use of all available combat power from each domain to accomplish missions at least cost.
Whereas, Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication (MCDP) 1, Warfighting (1997), states,
"Combined arms is the full integration of arms in such a way that to counteract one, the enemy must become more vulnerable to another. We pose the enemy not just with a problem, but with a dilemma—a no-win situation.” These words from Warfighting capture why we conduct combined arms, and they remain as applicable today as in any previous century. In short, we follow the doctrine of combined arms to maximize combat power through the use of all available resources to best advantage. Through combined-arms tactics, we integrate fires, maneuver, and information by using complementary forces to put a competitor or enemy in a no-win situation."
A decade before the latter publication was published, as a Marine Corps Lance Corporal I participated in my first Combined Arms Exercise, or CAX Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) in 29 Palms, California. Which means the United States Marine Corps had adopted Combined Arms Operations long before that.
Discuss why the U.S. Army is adopting in 2022 the operational doctrine used by the U.S. Marine Corps for four decades? What are the similarities? What are the differences? What is the impetus behind this decision
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Derek Hamilton posted,
I believe the US Army is adopting the operational doctrine used by the US Marine Corps to maximize combat power through diverse capabilities. We see the technical advancements being made by China and Russia, among others, and it is imperative that we enhance our strategic military approach in its entirety. By combining the strengths of multiple functions, they remain effective, especially compared to competitors such as Russia and China, which continue to develop technologies that challenge US dominance in the future. Both are similar in many ways; for the most part, the goal for both is to prevent the enemy from achieving strategic success by attacking them from multiple domains. Both integrate weapons, tactics, and information to create blockages for the adversary forces.
The differences are in their focus. Army (MDO) focuses on sustained ground combat, uses land-based power, and employs brigade-sized task forces to integrate intelligence and cyber capabilities; Marine Combined Arms is expeditionary, focused on operations from the sea, and also integrates cyber, land, air, and space to support its mission. The impetus is to ensure that we are as effective, if not more than, our peers and adversaries, as traditional battlefield strategies cannot guarantee an advantage. MDO helps military effectiveness in a competitive and technical environment .