MCWP 6-11
Leading Marines
U.S. Marine Corps
PCN 139 000001 00
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
Headquarters United States Marine Corps
Washington, D.C. 20380-1775
3 January 1995
FOREWORD
The most important responsibility in our Corps is leading
Marines. If we expect Marines to lead and if we expect
Marines to follow, we must provide the education of the
heart and of the mind to win on the battlefield and in the
barracks, in war and in peace. Traditionally, that education
has taken many forms, often handed down from Marine to
Marine, by word of mouth and by example.
Our actions as Marines every day must embody the
legacy of those who went before us. Their memorial to
us—their teaching, compassion, courage, sacrifices,
optimism, humor, humility, commitment, perseverance,
love, guts, and glory—is the pattern for our daily lives.
This manual attempts to capture those heritages of the
Marine Corps' approach to leading. It is not prescriptive
because there is no formula for leadership. It is not
all-inclusive because to capture all that it is to be a Marine
or to lead Marines defies pen and paper. Instead, it is
intended to provide those charged with leading Marines a
sense of the legacy they have inherited, and to help them
come to terms with their own personal leadership style.
The indispensable condition of Marine Corps leadership is
action and attitude, not words. As one Marine leader said,
"Don't tell me how good you are. Show me!"
Marines have been leading for over 200 years and today
continue leading around the globe. Whether in the field or
in garrison, at the front or in the rear, Marines, adapting the
time-honored values, traditions, customs, and history of our
Corps to their generation, will continue to lead—and
continue to win.
This manual comes to life through the voices,
writings, and examples of not one person, but many. Thousands of
Americans who have borne, and still bear, the title
"Marine" are testimony that "Once a Marine, Always a
Marine" and "Semper Fidelis" are phrases that define our
essence. It is to those who know, and to those who will
come to know, this extraordinary way of life that this book
is dedicated.
C. E. MUNDY, Jr.
General, U.S. Marine Corps
Commandant of the Marine
Corps
DISTRIBUTION: 139 000001 00
Leading Marines
Introduction
Chapter 1.
Our Ethos
The U. S. Marine — Every Marine a Rifleman — Soldiers
of the Sea — The Marine Tradition
Chapter 2.
Foundations
The Unique Obligations of Marine Corps Service —
Establishing and Maintaining Standards — Setting the
Example — Individual Courage — Unit Esprit — Being
Ready
Chapter 3.
Challenges
Friction — Moral Challenge — Physical Challenge —
Overcoming Challenges: Adaptability, Innovation,
Decentralization, and Will — Fighting Power and
Winning
Epilogue
Appendices
Marine Corps Manual, Paragraph 1100 — Core Values —
Leadership Traits — Leadership Principles — The Oaths
— Trust
Notes
FMFM 1-0
Introduction
Leading Marines describes a leadership philosophy that
reflects our traditional strengths as an institution and
attempts to define the very ethos of being a Marine. It is
about the inseparable relationship between the leader and
the led, and is as much about the individual Marine—the
bedrock upon which our Corps is built—as it is about any
leader. There is less a line between the leader and the led
than a bond. It is also about the Corps; about that unspoken
feeling among Marines that is more than tradition or the cut
of the uniform. It flows from the common but unique forge
from which Marines come, and it is about the undefinable
spirit that forms the character of our Corps. It draws from
the shared experiences of danger, violence, the adrenaline
of combat, and the proximity to death. All of this is based
upon certain fundamental traits and principles of leading.
Marines are not born knowing them, but must learn what
they are and what they represent.
When teaching Marines, we have always drawn from a
wealth of material that lies in our heritage and in our
traditions. To capture some of that legacy, this manual
Leading Marines FMFM 1-0
begins with a chapter on our ethos, a chapter that attempts
to iden- tify just what it is that makes Marines. Being a
Marine, after all, is different, and, therefore, leading
Marines is differ- ent from leading in any other walk of
life. It must be different because of who and what we are
and what we do. It is different because of the character of
our Corps—a char- acter that lies at the very foundation of
individual cama- raderie, unit cohesion, and combat
effectiveness. It is this character—our ethos—that gives
Marines the pride, con- fidence, and hardness necessary to
win.
Winning means victory in daily life as well as in combat.
If a Marine fails to uphold our standards and dishonors
oneself or our Corps in peacetime by failing to support
fellow Marines, by failing to do his or her best to
accomplish the task at hand, or by failing to follow ethical
standards in daily life, how can we expect that same Marine
to uphold these critical foundations of our Corps in the
searing cauldron of combat?
Thus, the most fundamental element of leading Marines
is to understand what it is to be a Marine, and it is on this
understanding that we begin.
The second chapter focuses on the foundations of Marine
Corps leadership—our core values, and the leadership traits
and principles that are taught to every Marine. These are
FMFM 1-0 Introduction
the ethical standards by which all Marines are judged.
They are, ultimately, why Marines fight.
The third chapter helps Marines understand some of the
challenges to leading and discusses how Marines can
overcome them. It relies on the stories of Marine
heroes—some well known, others not so well known—to
serve as anchors that show Marine character and vividly
depict, through action, what is required to lead Marines.
Our leadership style is a unique blend of service ethos
and time-tested concepts that support Marine leaders in
peace and war. The epilogue summarizes our discussion of
leading Marines and asks Marines to spend time in
reflection, looking closely at their legacy, at who and what
we are, and at who and what they are.
Inescapably, this manual is based on the firm belief that,
as others have said in countless ways, our Corps embodies
the spirit and essence of those who have gone before. It is
about the belief, shared by all Marines, that there is no
higher calling than that of a United States Marine. It is
about the traditions of our Corps that we rely upon to help
us stay the course and continue the march when the going
gets tough. It is about a "band of brothers"—men and
women of every race and creed—who epitomize in their
daily actions the core values of our Corps: honor, courage,
commitment.
It is about Marines.
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Chapter 1
Our Ethos
"Marine human material was not one whit better than that of
the human society from which it came. But it had been hammered
into form in a different forge, hardened with a different
fire. The Marines were the closest thing to legions the nation
had. They would follow their colors from the shores of home
to the seacoast of Bohemia, and fight well at either place."
"A Marine Corps officer was still an officer, and a sergeant
behaved the way good sergeants had behaved since the
time of Caesar, expecting no nonsense, allowing none. And
Marine leaders had never lost sight of their primary—their
only—mission, which was to fight." 1
— T. R. Fehrenbach
eing a Marine is a state
of mind. It is an experience
some have likened more
to a calling than a profession.
Being a Marine is not a
job—not a pay check; it is not
an occupational specialty. It
is not male or female, majority
or minority; nor is it a rank insignia.
Stars, bars, or chevrons
are only indicators of the
responsibility or authority we
hold at a given time. Rather, being a Marine comes from the
eagle, globe, and anchor that is tattooed on the soul of every
one of us who wears the Marine Corps uniform. It is a searing
mark in our innermost being which comes after the rite of passage
through boot camp or Officer Candidates School when a
young man or woman is allowed for the first time to say, "I'm a
United States Marine." And unlike physical or psychological
scars, which, over time, tend to heal and fade in intensity, the
eagle, globe, and anchor only grow more defined—more intense—
the longer you are a Marine. "Once a Marine, always a
Marine."
"Among Marines there is a fierce loyalty to the Corps that
persists long after the uniform is in mothballs. . . . Woven
through that sense of belonging, like a steel thread, is an elitist
spirit. Marines are convinced that, being few in number, they
are selective, better, and, above all, different." 2
FMFM 1-0 Our Ethos
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B
This matter of being different lies at the heart of our leadership
philosophy and has been nourished over the years by combining
the characteristics of soldiers, sailors, and airmen. The
result is a sea soldier—an odd conglomeration that talks like
one, dresses like another, and fights like them all. The determination
to be different, and remain different, has manifested itself
in many ways over the years—from military appearance,
to strict obedience to orders, to disciplined behavior, to adherence
to traditional standards, and most of all, to an unyielding
conviction that we exist to fight. Marines have
been distinguished by these characteristics from the beginning.
A sense of elitism has grown "from the fact that every Marine,
whether enlisted or officer, goes through the same training experience.
Both the training of recruits and the basic education
of officers—going back to 1805—have endowed the Corps
with a sense of cohesiveness enjoyed by no other American
service." 3
This matter of being different is at the very heart of leading
Marines. It defines who and what we are by reflecting the
mystical cords of the mind that bind all Marines. What we
are, what we have been, what Marines will always be, is
enduring.
There is yet another element of being different that defines
Marines, and that is selflessness: a spirit that places the selfinterest
of the individual second to that of the institution we
know as the Corps. That selflessness is stronger nowhere in
American society than among Marines.
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Our ethos has been shaped by ordinary men and
women—heroes who showed extraordinary leadership and
courage, both physical and moral, as they shaped the special
character that is the essence of our Corps. They are heroes and
leaders who are remembered not by their names, or rank, or because
they received a decoration for valor. They are remembered
because they were Marines.
The story is told that in
June 1918, during the First
World War, an American lady
visited one of the field hospitals
behind the French Army.
"It happened that occasional
casualties of the Marine Brigade
. . . were picked up by
French stretcher-bearers and
evacuated to French hospitals.
And this lady, looking down
a long, crowded ward, saw
on a pillow a face unlike the
fiercely whiskered Gallic
heads there displayed in rows.
She went to it. 'Oh,' she said, 'surely, you are an American!'
'No, ma'am,' the casualty answered, 'I'm a Marine.' " 4
FMFM 1-0 Our Ethos
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Sixty-five years later, a veteran of the terrorist bombing in
Beirut stood amidst the rubble, carnage, and despair surrounding
his fallen comrades, barraged by questions from news reporters.
"Should you be here? Should anyone be here?
Should the United States pull out?" The young lance corporal's
answer was straightforward: "Where else should I be? I'm a
United States Marine. If anyone must be here, it should be
Marines."
Another Beirut veteran, wounded and evacuated to a hospital
in Germany, unable to talk or see, was visited by the Commandant.
As the general stooped beside the Marine to say a
few words of comfort into his ear, the lance corporal reached
up to feel the stars to make sure that the man talking to him
was who he claimed to be. Unable to see or speak, weak from
a concussion and other injuries, the young Marine motioned for
something with which to write. He could have written anything;
he could have asked for anything. Instead, he wrote,
"Semper Fi"—Always Faithful. He was concerned more about
his Corps and his fellow Marines than himself. 5
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THE U. S. MARINE
"Success in battle is not a function of how many show up, but
who they are." 6
Individual Marines—like those described above—are the bedrock
upon which our Corps' spirit is built. From the first day
of recruit training, to their first assignments, to their first celebration
of the Marine Corps birthday, each Marine is infused
with an understanding of the deeds of his or her predecessors.
"Recruit training, both officer and enlisted, has long been 'the
genesis of the enduring sense of brotherhood that characterizes
the Corps.' New recruits are told the day they enter training
that, as one Marine leader put it, 'A Marine believes in his
God, in his Country, in his Corps, in his buddies, and in himself.'
" 7 What happens on the parade decks of Parris Island
and San Diego or in the woods of Quantico is what makes
Marines—it is the instillation of "an intangible esprit along
with the complicated, specific knowledge of soldiering." 8
Marines undergo a personal transformation at recruit training.
There, they receive more than just superb training; they
are ingrained with a sense of service, honor, and discipline. It
is there, as a former recruit depot Commanding General said,
that Marines develop a "sense of brotherhood, interdependence,
and determination to triumph." The Corps' history is
full of tales of individual triumphs—Daly, Butler, Puller, Basilone,
Streeter, Huff, Vargas, Petersen, Wilson, Barrow, and
FMFM 1-0 Our Ethos
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countless others—that exhibit the indomitable spirit of Marines
in combat and in surmounting day-to-day challenges. Sustaining
that spirit are "old battles, long forgotten, that secured
our nation . . . scores of skirmishes, far off, such as Marines
have nearly every year . . . traditions of things endured and
things accomplished, such as regiments hand down forever." 9
This spirit was clearly evident in the dark, opening days of
the Korean War. In July 1950, the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade
was rushed to Korea to assist the Army in stemming the
North Korean tide. In August, a British military observer of
the desperate fighting in and around Miryang sent the following
dispatch: "The situation is critical and Miryang may be lost.
The enemy has driven a division-sized salient across the Naktong.
More will cross the river tonight. If Miryang is lost . . .
we will be faced with a withdrawal from Korea. I am heartened
that the Marine Brigade will move against the Naktong
Salient tomorrow. They are faced with impossible odds,
and I have no valid reason to substantiate it, but I have the
feeling they will halt the enemy. . . . These Marines have [a]
swagger, confidence, and hardness. . . . Upon this thin line of
reasoning, I cling to the hope of victory." 10
The following morning, the Marines attacked under the close
air support of Marine gull-winged Corsairs. Two of the lead
battalion's undermanned "thin rifle companies pushed
Leading Marines FMFM 1-0
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across the open rice fields" and "up the steep ridge. Three
times the Marines reached the top; three times they" were
thrown back. The fourth time, they stayed. 11
The Marines faced a night of repeated infiltrations and a series
of hard attacks. As dawn approached, it became evident
that the Marines were there to stay, and by daylight, the Communist
retreat became a rout. "When night descended again . .
. the only North Koreans left in the Naktong Bulge were dead
ones amid the flotsam of a wrecked division. Thirty-four
large-caliber artillery pieces were taken by the brigade. . . . Enemy
casualties exceeded 4,000." 12 The "thin line" carried the
day not because they had the strength of numbers or firepower;
they carried the day because they were Marines.
The spirit of the past continues today as new heroes step
forward to take their place in the pantheon. It lives on in
such phrases as "semper fidelis," "uncommon valor," "every
Marine a rifleman," and "first to fight." Esprit, aggressiveness,
and courage are the essence of our Corps.
Marines, as they always have, carry on that tradition as a
force in readiness, able and willing to go anywhere and do anything.
"Trained men who will stand and fight are never obsolete.
It was not the bowman, but the long bow, not the
cavalryman, but the horse, which vanished from the scene.
FMFM 1-0 Our Ethos
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Men—the man, the individual who is the Marine Corps symbol
and stock-in-trade—constitute the one element which never
changes." 13
EVERY MARINE A RIFLEMAN
There is both a practical and moral dimension to the credo
"every Marine a rifleman." 14 The force structure of the Corps
reflects its central purpose: an expeditionary force in readiness.
And because it is expeditionary, it is also austere. Austerity
places a premium on the role of every Marine. There are
no "rear area" Marines, and no one is very far from the fighting
during expeditionary operations. The success of each of these
operations depends on the speed and flexibility with which Marines
build combat power. Marines fighting with maneuver
elements are backed up by fellow Marines who labor unceasingly
to support the mission by building logistic bases, running
truck convoys, distributing supplies, and fighting when needed
to.
This is nothing new. The first Marine aviator to earn the
Medal of Honor in World War II, Captain Henry "Hank"
Elrod, was a fighter pilot on Wake Island. His aircraft destroyed
after 15 days of heroic defense of the island, he died
leading a platoon of Marines. Actions of Marines like Captain
Elrod, and others, continue to demonstrate that every
Leading Marines FMFM 1-0
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Marine is a rifleman. These actions occur with such regularity,
that non-Marines often show surprise on learning that there
are any specialties in the Corps other than the infantry. This
perception on the part of others is part of what makes the
Corps the Corps and transcends the issue of occupational
specialties.
There is almost nothing more precious to a Marine than a
fellow Marine. This traditional bond flows from the combat
training which all Marines receive, officer and enlisted, and the
shared danger and adversity inherent in expeditionary
operations.
"Those men on the line were my family, my home. They
were closer to me than I can say, closer than any friends had
been or ever would be. They had never let me down, and I
couldn't do it to them. I had to be with them, rath- er
than let them die and me live with the knowledge that I
might have saved them. Men, I now knew, do not fight for
flag or country, for the Marine Corps or glory or any other
abstraction. They fight for one another. Any man in combat
who lacks comrades who will die for him, or for whom
he is willing to die, is not a man at all. He is truly damned."
15
This cohesion between Marines is not a function of a particular
unit within the Corps. It is a function of the Corps itself.
When a Marine reports to a unit, he or she may be
unknown personally, but is a known quantity professionally.
FMFM 1-0 Our Ethos
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Regardless of anything else known about them, their leaders
know that they have been trained as Marines and that they
bear, consequently, that indelible stamp of "rifleman."
Nowhere is the effect of this more evident than when
Marines are exposed to danger or to war. Fellow Marines, remote
from the action, are usually uneasy. Marines are going in
harm's way, and there is an unnatural feeling of being "left out"
among those not able to go. This attitude is born of the confidence
that every Marine can fight, that every Marine can contribute
to the mission, and that every Marine is duty bound to
share in the danger and the risk of every other Marine in
the Corps. One Marine father sending his son into the Corps
summed it up this way: "May our Corps not have to go in
harm's way on your watch; but if it does, may you never be the
second Marine there."
This "spirit of confidence comes from training and tradition;
. . . each individual Marine, because of the fighting tradition of
the Corps and the toughness of the training, is confident of his
own ability and that of his buddies. That is why Marines fight
with discipline and steadfastness in the toughest situations,
when victory or survival becomes doubtful, why they turn to
their belief in themselves, their buddies, and their units, fighting
for one another, their unit, and the Marine Corps. This
confidence in themselves and one another very often spells the
difference between victory and survival and defeat and annihilation.
Service with the Marine Corps means service with a
team. Everything that the Marine Corps does is a team effort.
Leading Marines FMFM 1-0
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Every unit from the Marine expeditionary force down to the
fire team is organized into a team—a group of highly select,
well-trained Marines all pointed to one objective. During the
fight out from the frozen Chosin in 1950, a military observer
watched with astonishment as gunners from a Marine Artillery
gun crew integrated with cooks, bakers, and clerks to form a
rifle platoon under the command of a lieutenant from motor
transport, functioned perfectly as part of a rifle company.
Many times . . . the success of the entire movement depended
on the fighting ability of a single platoon or company. In many
cases these units were made up of Marines and subordinate
units that the day before were in another command. The success
of the whole operation was possible only through the local
successes of the small units. The small units were successful
because individual Marines are team players, trained to handle
themselves in any situation and to subordinate their own desires
to the objectives of the team." 16
The sense that every Marine is a rifleman, demonstrated at
the Chosin Reservoir and in a hundred other places, is at the
heart of the ethos of the Corps. This unspoken feeling among
Marines is more than tradition, or the cut of the uniform. It is
the reality and adrenaline of a shared experience of danger and
violence, the proximity to death, that which Oliver Wendell
Holmes, a famous American Supreme Court Justice and
Civil War veteran, called the "touch of fire."
FMFM 1-0 Our Ethos
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To visit the Marine monument
deep in Belleau Wood is
to come to grips with the timeless
importance of this unspoken
feeling for the Marine
Corps. As the shadows
lengthen in that quiet glade,
the image of the Marine on
the monument seems to come
to life, to move resolutely forward
into the face of withering
German fire, forever frozen in
that bright June morning of
1918. In one sense, he embodies
the spirit of the thousands
of Marines, past and
present, who have given their
all for Country and Corps.
But he also stands for the
thousands of Marines yet to
come, on whom this nation
will depend for its security
and to carry its flag in every clime and place. And in him, and
them, there is the certainty that their sense of duty and honor
will be strengthened by the assurance that every Marine is, first
and foremost, a rifleman.
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SOLDIERS OF THE SEA
"Unique among soldiers of the world, Marines are accustomed
to service both ashore and afloat. The Marine Corps' 'maritime
character' has shaped the Corps since its inception. In
1775, Congress resolved that two battalions of Marines be
raised '. . . such as are good seamen, or so acquainted with
maritime affairs as to be able to serve to advantage at sea,
when required.' " 17 The Congress went on to commission the
first naval officer in our nation's history—the senior Marine officer
of the Revolution.
FMFM 1-0 Our Ethos
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The historic partnership between the Navy and the Marine
Corps is a heritage that continues today. The anchor in our
emblem symbolizes that the individual Marine remains a maritime
soldier—a "soldier of the sea." Marine officers are "naval"
officers. Our aviators are "naval" aviators. As early as
1798, the Secretary of the Navy noted that the Corps' missions
were of an "amphibious nature" and we have been members of
the Department of the Navy since 1834. The partnership was a
close one initially and grew closer over time—so close that
sometimes one forgets that the Navy and Marine Corps are
separate Services under the authority of a single Secretary.
Though early Marines served primarily on board ships as
part of the ship's company, they always had a secondary role to
serve as expeditionary forces, whenever or wherever needed.
Marine Captain Samuel Nicholas' amphibious expedition to
New Providence Island in the Bahamas in 1776 and Marine
Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon's 1804 landing in Tripoli were
the first deployments of American forces from home soil. They
were the precursors to the role Marines played in World War
II, Korea, Lebanon in 1958, in the Dominican Republic in
1965, in Vietnam, Lebanon again in 1982, Grenada, in Southwest
Asia, and scores of other places since.
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The nation was a maritime one in 1775 when Marines first
crossed the quarterdecks of the Continental fleet, and it is no
less today. Three quarters of the world's population lives near
a coastline, and four out of five world capitals are within 300
miles of the sea. The vital relationship between the United
States Navy and Marine Corps brings unique and powerful naval
capabilities that are key to meeting our nation's security
interests.
Ours is a world ideally suited for the employment of warriors
who come from the sea, whose past and potential future
battlegrounds are mainly in the "watery maze," green water,
and coastal regions that comprise the littorals of the world.
Operations along these littorals require special "training and
FMFM 1-0 Our Ethos
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preparation . . . along Marine Corps lines. It is not enough that
the troops be skilled infantry men and jungle men or artillery
men . . . they must be skilled water men and jungle men who
know it can be done—Marines with Marine training." 18
THE MARINE TRADITION
"Such as regiments hand down forever."
The individual Marine, recruit and officer candidate training,
"every Marine a rifleman," and our maritime character contribute
to our heritage. Separately and collectively, they set us
apart from other fighting forces and are the cement that glues
the Marine Corps together and gives Marines a common outlook
that transcends their grade, unit, or billet. Self-image is at
the heart of the Marine Corps—a complex set of ideals, beliefs,
and standards that define our Corps. Our selfless dedication to
and elevation of the institution over self is uncommon
elsewhere.
Ultimately undefinable, this self-image sets Marines apart
from others and requires a special approach to leading. Consequently,
Marine leaders must be forged in the same crucible
and steeled with the same standards and traditions as those
placed in their charge—standards and traditions as old as our
nation itself.
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Those who know Marines give many reasons why America
needs a Marine Corps, but first and foremost, Marines exist to
fight and win.19 From this duty, from this reason for being,
everything else flows. If it doesn't, it is meaningless. This
spirit is the character of our Corps. It is the foundation of our
cohesion and combat effectiveness, and it gives Marines that
"swagger, confidence, and hardness" necessary for victory—
qualities seen in the hills of Korea and in hundreds of other
engagements before and since.
Marines believe that to be a Marine is special; that those
good enough to become Marines are special; and that the institution
in which they are bonded is special. That is why the legion
analogy is so appropriate for the Corps. Marines, far
flung, performing dangerous—sometimes apparently meaningless
and often overlooked missions—find strength and sense of
purpose simply knowing that they are Marines in that mystical
grouping they know as the Corps.
Among the five Armed Services of our nation, four have
Service songs; only the Marine Corps has its Hymn. For
scores of years before it became recently fashionable to stand
for all Service songs, Marines always stood when our Hymn
was played. And to this day, while others stand with cheers
and applause to their Service song, Marines stand quietly, unwaveringly
at attention, as the Hymn of their Corps is played.
Marines are different.
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"The 1st Marine Division, fighting its way back from the
Chosin Reservoir in December 1950, was embattled amid the
snows from the moment the column struck its camp at Hagaru.
By midnight, after heavy loss through the day, it had bivouacked
at Kotori, still surrounded, still far from the sea." The
commanding general was alone in his tent. It was his worst
moment. "The task ahead seemed hopeless. Suddenly he heard
music." Outside, some Marines, on their way to a warming
tent, were softly singing the Marines' Hymn. " 'All doubt left
me,' " said the general. " 'I knew then we had it made.' " 20
For more than 200 years, the steady performance of the Marine
Corps has elevated it to the epitome of military excellence.
It is an elite fighting force renowned for its success in combat,
esprit de corps, and readiness always to be "first to fight."
"More than anything else, Marines have fought and . . . won
because of a commitment—to a leader and to a small brotherhood
where the ties that bind are mutual respect and confidence,
shared privation, shared hazard, shared triumph, a
willingness to obey, and determination to follow." 21
"The man who will go where his colors go, without asking,
who will fight a phantom foe in jungle and mountain
range, without counting, and who will suffer and die in the
midst of incredible hardship, without complaint, is still what
he has always been, from Imperial Rome to sceptered Britain
to democratic America. He is the stuff of which legions
are made.
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"His pride is in his colors and his regiment, his training
hard and thorough and coldly realistic, to fit him for what
he must face, and his obedience is to his orders. As a legionary,
he held the gates of civilization for the classical
world; . . . he has been called United States Marine." 22
The Marine Corps' vision of leading is less concerned with
rank, self-identity, recognition, or privilege than the essence of
our Corps: the individual Marine and the unyielding determination
to persevere because Marines and the Corps do not fail.
Our vision of leading is linked directly to our common vision of
warfighting, which needs leaders devoted to leading, capable of
independent and bold action, who are willing and eager to assume
new and sometimes daunting responsibilities, willing to
take risks—not because they may succeed, but because the
Corps must succeed.
This always has been, and always will be, what leading Marines
is all about.
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1
Leading Marines FMFM 1-0
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Chapter 2
Foundations
"A spirit of comradeship and brotherhood in arms came into
being in the training camps and on the battlefields. This spirit
is too fine a thing to be allowed to die. It must be fostered and
kept alive and made the moving force in all Marine Corps organizations."
1
—Major General John A. Lejeune
"Leaders must have a strong sense of the great responsibility
of their office; the resources they will expend in war are human
lives." 2
—FMFM 1
magine you are a rifleman in a company ready to assault a
line of enemy machine gun bunkers. You are lying flat on
the ground protected for the moment by a slight rise between
you and the enemy. But just above your head, the enemy's
guns "are throwing a visible and audible curtain of lead, which
thuds into the trees around you, causing you to wonder if it
makes the same sound when it hits flesh. You tell yourself it is
impossible . . . to penetrate that curtain of fire alive." Yet, in a
moment, a sergeant's voice will boom, "Let's go! You can't live
forever!" "But all you hear now is the clatter of the machine
guns. The vision of the dead and wounded you saw on the way
up to the front rises to plague you; your belly deflates and lies
flat against your backbone, and all the gallant thoughts you
had hoped to have at this moment are gone. You are naked and
alone with the instinct of self-preservation." 3
Why do individuals rush forward against their most basic
instincts? Why do Marines take their lives in their hands and
lead a charge straight into enemy guns? In World War II, what
was it that made Marines clamber out of their landing craft
into water of unknown depth, and charge into a hail of
machine-gun and artillery fire, not knowing whether they
would ever make it to the beach? In Vietnam, what was it that
made a Marine "take the point" and start down the dark and
misty jungle trail? In Desert Storm, what was it that made
helicopter pilots fly in the smoke and oil clouds when they
could not see the ground below or the sky above?
At the heart of why Marines are able to put mission accomplishment
over concern for their own safety is
FMFM 1-0 Foundations
29
I
leadership—leadership that is the combination of the intangible
elements of our ethos and the more tangible elements of our
leadership philosophy. These tangible elements include the
Marine Corps Manual and our core values, leadership traits
and principles, the oath all Marines take when assuming office
or enlisting, and special trust and confidence. These elements
are reproduced in the appendices, and it is important that Marines
understand not only the concepts behind each of them, but
also how they fit together so they can be used effectively by
Marine leaders.
FMFM 1 describes our profession as one where leaders "are
expected to be students of the art and science of war at all levels
. . . with a solid foundation in military theory and a knowledge
of military history and the timeless lessons to be gained
from it." 4 Part of that foundation lies not only in our ethos, but
is also based on the elements that help form our leadership
philosophy.
These elements contain the concepts that help give direction
and guidance to Marine leaders. Like blocks in an arch, each
depends on others to provide support. With our core values
serving as the keystone, they all serve to buttress the structure
which Marines leaders may draw upon. Just as builders must
use every block in the arch to support it, so too must Marine
leaders use every element of our leadership foundation at their
disposal. But, just as every arch is different, requiring different
sizes and shapes of building blocks, every leadership
Leading Marines FMFM 1-0
30
challenge is different, requiring a different use and blend of the
leadership foundations.
To meet these challenges, leaders must have the respect of
their followers. If followers do not believe their leader is operating
from a foundation of values, then words become hollow
and lack credibility and the leader will be ineffective. Whether
a squad leader, first sergeant, battalion commander, or force
commander, a leader must embrace both the intangible and the
tangible elements of our philosophy. They are the guiding beliefs
and principles that give us strength, influence our attitudes,
and guide our behavior. They bond the family of
Marines into a force able to overcome every challenge.
All Marines pass through the crucible of our entry level
training. In that harsh and uncompromising forge, their steel is
tempered to withstand the stresses of future challenges even
more severe and testing. It is here that we begin to lay the
foundation. At the very center of this process is understanding
and applying all the elements of our leadership philosophy—including
our ethos. Marine leadership, wherever it is exercised,
is firmly grounded in these values and must meet the demands
of our unique service.
THE UNIQUE OBLIGATIONS OF MARINE CORPS
SERVICE
FMFM 1-0 Foundations
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"Military service is a difficult profession and it makes unique
demands on each individual. Unless the Corps' leaders recognize
and dedicate themselves to meeting those demands in a
professional manner, the Corps will not stand ready to assist
with the important role of the military—keeping the nation secure."
5
Our obligations as Marines to society are different. Marines
adhere to a moral philosophy based on these special obligations
that is also separate and more demanding than those of the
larger society we serve. Our military life—the profession of
arms—has been described as "the ordered application of force
under an unlimited liability." 6 That means Marines must subordinate
their own self-interest to the overall interest of the
group. This special military obligation sets Marines apart
from society as a whole. And it is this unique obligation of
Marine Corps service that places special demands on Marine
leaders.
From the earliest landings of the Corps, Marines have
fought from the sea, with the water to their backs, and nowhere
to go but forward. At places such as Guadalcanal, Tarawa,
and Inchon the fighting, often desperate, usually bloody, demanded
that every Marine fight and every Marine
Leading Marines FMFM 1-0
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lead; there could be no other way. The bond which grows
among warriors who, together, experience great danger in the
crucible of war is difficult to describe. It is the steel cable that
binds every Marine, one to another, and all Marines to the
Corps. That every Marine is a warrior and a leader is more
than a capability: it is an attitude and a standard of
excellence.
ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING STANDARDS
Maintaining this attitude and standard of excellence is a responsibility
not limited to officers, staff noncommissioned officers,
or noncommissioned officers. It is the responsibility of
all Marines. In fact, one of the basic tenets of Marine Corps
leadership is that whenever two Marines are together, of whatever
grade, one is in charge.
Paragraph 1100 of the Marine Corps Manual, contained in
the appendices, requires leaders to maintain leadership standards
and identifies qualities that every leader should possess.
It emphasizes that these qualities can be developed within the
individual Marine, and that Marine leaders have the responsibility
for developing those qualities. Concepts such as comradeship
and brotherhood, teacher and scholar, and love of
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Corps and country are reproduced just as Major General Commandant
John Lejeune first articulated them nearly 75 years
ago.
These standards, and the others contained in the appendices,
are learned by all Marines in entry-level training. They
provide points of departure and a yardstick from which
Marines can determine their own leadership abilities and assist
their subordinates. They are generally self-explanatory, and
are always best discussed through the use of action-centered
examples. Because they are simple concepts, they can be used
to build a "short list" of actions and techniques that will assist
leaders everywhere. They are straightforward and very basic,
and that is their value. Although they do not guarantee success,
just as the principles of war are used to help us think
about warfighting, these tangible elements help us think about
leadership.
These standards and ideals—from ethos to traits and principles
to our core values—are recognized as essentials of good
leadership. But they are only so many words unless Marine
leaders breathe life into them. They do that through personal
example.
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SETTING THE EXAMPLE
"Leadership is a heritage which has passed from Marine to
Marine since the founding of the Corps. . . . mainly acquired
by observation, experience, and emulation. Working with
other Marines is the Marine leader's school." 7
The tradition of leadership education in our Corps since its earliest
days has often been described as "leading by example."
In fact, leadership, in the long run, depends upon the example
set by the leader, not only as a warfighter, but also as a citizen
and human being. Being in the Corps does not change this
simple rule. On the contrary, because we are Marines, the
effect of our example is emphasized and magnified a hundredfold.
Leaders setting the example is far more important in the
Marine Corps than in any other activity—military or civilian. 8
A few years ago, the Commandant received a letter from a
friend of the Corps. It describes as well as anyone could the
importance Marine leaders put on setting the example:
"Recently I was in an air terminal. Most military people
there presented a pretty sloppy appearance—coats unbuttoned,
ties loosened, etc. There was a Marine corporal in uniform
who was just the opposite. I spoke to the Marine and pointed
out the difference to him. I asked him why it was so? His answer
was: 'The Marines don't do that.' " 9
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35
Setting a personal example requires "high moral standards
reflecting virtue, honor, patriotism, and subordination in personal
behavior and in performance." 10 These are inner qualities
that mark leaders. Rather than outward marks of
greatness, they are often deeply buried, and, in many cases, one
must look closely to see an individual's inner strengths.
For example, consider how the 13th Commandant, Major
General John A. Lejeune, described Medal of Honor recipient
Sergeant Major John H. Quick:
"Perhaps of all the Marines I ever knew, Quick approached
more nearly the perfect type of noncommissioned officer. A
calm, forceful, intelligent, loyal and courageous man he was. I
never knew him to raise his voice, lose his temper, or use profane
language, and yet he exacted and obtained prompt and explicit
obedience from all persons subject to his or- ders." 11
In another example, Major General Alexander Vandegrift
was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1942 for his "tenacity,
courage, and resourcefulness" against a strong and determined
enemy in the battle for Guadalcanal. In later years, "a character
sketch of him . . . included this: 'He is so polite and so softspoken
that he is continually disappointing the people whom he
meets. They find him lacking in the fire-eating traits they like
to expect of all Marines, and they find it difficult to believe that
such a mild-mannered man could really have led and won the
bloody fight.' When another officer spoke warmly of
Leading Marines FMFM 1-0
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Vandegrift's coolness under fire, his 'grace under pressure,' . . .
he replied: 'I shouldn't be given any credit, I'm built that way.'
" 12
It is not enough that Marine leaders themselves set the example.
Their followers must be equally aware of the importance
of following established standards. Followership is just
as important as leadership. Followers are the backbone of any
effective organization because without loyal, dedicated followers
there can be no effective leaders. As one leader put it,
"Every Marine, from the Commandant down, is a follower.
The good followers, those who may be depended on to carry
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37
out their instructions precisely, without regard to difficulty,
hazard or personal risk, are the substance of the Corps. And
where combat circumstance, as it often does, suddenly thrusts
upon the follower the responsibilities of a leader, those who are
properly indoctrinated seize the opportunity and suc- ceed." 13
Corporal James Barrett's actions demonstrate clearly how
the followers' and the leader's responsibilities merge.
While he served as a squad leader with Company I, 3d Battalion,
26th Marines, in the Republic of Vietnam, his "company
came under heavy mortar, rocket, and artillery fire followed
by a supported infantry assault by a numerically
superior North Vietnamese Army force. In the initial attack,
numerous casualties were taken and the company was forced to
withdraw to a more advantageous position. Undaunted, Corporal
Barrett courageously maintained his squad's position and
directed accurate counter fire against the hordes of assaulting
enemy. Assuming control of the platoon when his platoon
commander became a casualty, he rallied his men, reorganized
the platoon and led them in an effective counterattack against
the enemy. With complete disregard for his own safety, he
moved from position to position, encouraging his men and resupplying
them with ammunition. Unhesitatingly, he aided the
wounded and directed their evacuation. During the six hour
ordeal, he repositioned his men five times to thwart the enemy
advance and inflicted numerous casualties on the enemy force."
14
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In the Marine Corps, we are trained to endure combat, violence,
and death—along with other less arduous situations, in
both peace and war. Like Corporal Barrett, we are trained to
make life or death decisions over both our Marines and our
enemies. In the end, the decisions we make must pass the test
of ethical behavior.
Ethical behavior is action taken specifically in observance of
a defined standard of conduct. For Marines, ethics are the
standards of our Corps. They set forth general guidelines
about what we ought to do. As a result, the individual is obligated
to apply judgment to a given set of circumstances.
Judgment, and therefore choice, is at the center of ethical conduct.
Every Marine, regardless of grade, has this responsibility.
Ethical choices often involve a moral dilemma: the necessity
to choose between competing obligations in circumstances that
prevent one from doing both. But, there is more to it than this.
Action is at the heart of ethical behavior. An academic understanding
of what is right and wrong is irrelevant unless it is
coupled to appropriate action. And even then, the answer is
not always clear. Consider the options facing this helicopter
pilot:
The pilot in command of a single aircraft was diverted for
an emergency extraction of a reconnaissance team. He contacted
the team and planned the approach for pick-up. Just as
he landed, the aircraft began to take automatic weapons fire.
FMFM 1-0 Foundations
39
The reconnaissance team made for the helo as the fire became
more intense. As soon as the six Marines were aboard, the
crew chief shouted "Take Off!" As the pilot lifted off, the crew
chief again came up on the ICS and reported that the team
leader had just informed him that two Marines were left in the
zone—two Marines who had provided protective fire for the
others who boarded the aircraft. The team leader urged the pilot
to go back to get them. 15
The helicopter pilot faced a moral dilemma. The choices
were obvious: return to the landing zone to rescue the
Marines and risk everything or leave them but save the aircraft,
crew, and the six rescued Marines. The pilot had to weigh his
responsibilities to the crew against his responsibilities to fellow
Marines left in the landing zone. His choice would be conditioned
by values and attitudes absorbed in training. They
would be difficult, and they would be his alone.
Ethical decisionmaking occurs every time a Marine is faced
with a need to decide—now—what to do. It may be a cut-anddried
decision in garrison or it may be one on the battlefield
that is far more ambiguous like the one facing the helicopter pilot.
At the heart of the leader's ability to choose correctly is a
firm grounding in both institutional and individual values that
will point the correct direction, even when the Marine is tired
or acting under conditions of extreme stress.
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These ethical guidelines offer all Marines a proven set of standards
by which all Marine actions—or inactions—may be
judged.
A professional soldier must be prepared "to rapidly sift
through situations and prescribe certain ethical and moral limits
to actions which he will tolerate—decisions required . . .
under the most trying of times. Simply because we bear arms
and wield awesome power, we do not have limitless authority
to unleash it without due requirement." We may not say, as
one enemy commander said, " 'Kill all, Burn all, Destroy
all.' " 16
Marine leaders must make difficult choices in peacetime,
too. At times, these choices will place them in an unfavorable
light with either subordinates or higher authority. Regardless
of the circumstances, all Marines are expected to choose and to
be accountable for their choice.
It was standing operating procedure in Company A to award
a 72-hour liberty to platoons which went 30 days with no disciplinary
problems. Returning from a lengthy field training period,
the 1st Platoon reached 28 days with no problems, only to
have a Marine go UA on the 29th. No one outside the platoon
knew he was missing. The platoon commander faced a moral
dilemma: ignore the UA and ensure his Marines went on a
well-earned liberty; or report the absence and forfeit liberty
and, perhaps, the morale of his platoon. The platoon commander
chose the latter and reported the UA to his company
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41
commander. The Marines were disappointed—not only at the
loss of hard-earned liberty, but also, initially, in their leader.
But slowly, over succeeding days, they came to respect the difficult
choice made by the platoon commander. Soon, they
came to realize that they were led by a leader who could be
counted on to do what was right, no matter how difficult or unpopular.
Moreover, the company commander realized he had a
subordinate he could trust.
It is not possible to anticipate every circumstance that a
leader will face either in combat or in garrison. Corporal Barrett
faced a unique set of circumstances and so did the Platoon
Commander of the 1st Platoon. It is neither possible to hand
down a set of rules that will answer every question, nor is it
possible to publish a code that will satisfy every demand.
What is possible is the establishment of a simple test:
"If you are prepared to talk about your actions, or lack
thereof, in front of a national audience, made up of all your
seniors, peers, subordinates, and friends who share the same
professional values, and whose opinions you value, then your
behavior was, or is, probably ethical in nature." 17
While the test itself is straightforward, the answers are not.
Giving the right answers, and more importantly, doing the right
things, requires courage.
INDIVIDUAL COURAGE
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Courage can be misunderstood.18 It is more than the ability "to
overcome the jitters, to quell fear, to conquer the desire to run."
19 It is the ability to know what is, or is not, to be feared. An
infantryman charging a bunker is not hampered by the fear that
he may be struck down a few paces from his fighting hole. A
pilot is not afraid of losing all hydraulic power in his aircraft.
They are prepared for those outcomes. A Marine in battle
fears disgracing himself by running. He fears not "losing his
life, but losing his honor. He may not be able to preserve his
life, but he can always preserve his honor. That much is within
his power. . . . To fear disgrace but not death, to fear not duty
but dereliction from duty—this is courage. The truly courageous
do not live in anxiety from morning to night. They are
calm because they know who they are." 20
Marines overcome our natural fear of injury and death and
fight for three chief reasons: 21 First, we are well-trained and
well-led. Second, we have convictions that will sustain us to
the last sacrifice. Third, we fight for one another.
At Tarawa, on November 20, 1943, "the first to disembark
from the jeep lighter, First Lieutenant Hawkins unhesitatingly
moved forward under heavy enemy fire at the end of the Betio
Pier, neutralizing emplacements in coverage of troops assaulting
the main beach positions. Fearlessly leading his men on to
join the forces fighting desperately to gain a beachhead, he repeatedly
risked his life throughout the day and night to direct
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and lead attacks on pillboxes and installations with grenades
and demolitions.
"At dawn on the following day, First Lieutenant Hawkins
resumed the dangerous mission of clearing the limited beachhead
of Japanese resistance, personally initiating an assault on
a hostile position fortified by five enemy machine guns, and
crawling forward in the face of withering fire, boldly fired
point-blank into the loopholes and completed the destruction
with grenades. Refusing to withdraw after being seriously
wounded in the chest during this skirmish, First Lieutenant
Hawkins steadfastly carried the fight to the enemy, destroying
three more pillboxes before he was caught in a burst of Japanese
shellfire and mortally wounded." 22
Although Hawkins was gone, his scout-sniper platoon
continued their deadly work clearing out enemy bunkers.
Hawkins had inspired his Marines to carry on without him.
They were well-trained, well-led, and believed in each other
and their cause. Of Hawkins, the assault commander said, "It's
not often that you can credit a first lieutenant with winning a
battle, but Hawkins came as near to it as any man could. He
was truly an inspiration."
Another leader, the commanding officer of Landing Team
2/8, during the same action, was everywhere, "as cool as ice
box lettuce." 23
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"Major 'Jim' Crowe—former enlisted man, Marine Gunner,
distinguished rifleman, star football player—was a tower of
strength throughout the battle. His trademark red mustache
bristling, a combat shotgun cradled in his arm, he exuded confidence
and professionalism, qualities sorely needed on Betio
that long day. Crowe ordered the coxswain of his LCVP 'put
this goddamned boat in!' The boat hit the reef at high speed,
sending the Marines sprawling. Quickly recovering, Crowe ordered
his men over the sides, then led them through several
hundred yards of shallow water, reaching the shore intact only
four minutes behind his last wave of LVTs. . . . Crowe,
clenching a cigar in his teeth and standing upright, growling at
his men, 'Look, the sons of bitches can't hit me. Why do you
think they can hit you? Get moving. Go!' Red Beach Three
was in capable hands." 24
There is another kind of physical courage—a quiet courage
that affects those all around. It is the kind of calm, physical
courage that a leader has when all around is chaos and noise.
Lieutenant Hawkins' and Major Crowe's commander at Tarawa
had that kind of courage. The 4-day struggle to seize
Betio Island reached such levels of ferocity that some wondered
whether the Marines were winning or losing.
During the battle, especially the early part when the landing
seemed to hang in the balance, Colonel David Shoup, the commanding
officer of the 2d Marines, remained resolute. Trying
to land, his LCVP was stopped by a reef. He transferred to an
LVT which had to make three attempts before being able to
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land, but not before it was hit by plunging shell fire. Colonel
Shoup "sustained a painful shell fragment wound in his leg, but
led his small party out of the stricken vehicle and into the dubious
shelter of the pier. From this position, standing waist-deep
in water, surrounded by thousands of dead fish and dozens of
floating bodies, Shoup manned his radio. . . ." 25
"In many ways the battle ashore mirrored the worst trench
warfare of World War I: infantry against machine guns. In
the first day, Shoup's three battalions all lost about half their
men and most of their unit cohesion; two reserve battalions
suffered similar losses when their troops tried to wade ashore
from the reef through a hail of machine gun fire. Punching
Leading Marines FMFM 1-0
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against the Japanese pillboxes with flame-throwers, demolition
charges, hand grenades, and the fire of a few tanks, the 2d Marines
and two 8th Marines battalions held only two shallow enclaves
along Betio's northwestern shore at the end of the first
day.
"On the second day of the battle, the landing hung in
the balance, but by the end of the day it swung toward the Marines.
The scene around the island sickened the most hardened
veterans. Along the beaches LVTs burned, and dead Marines
by the score bobbed in lagoon water turned milky by gunfireblasted
coral dust. Smoke and flames blanketed the island.
Ruined small craft, broken supplies, and bodies swept along
the reef, swirled around the long pier that ran from the shore
toward the reef, and littered the beach. The smell of powder,
flame, and burnt flesh reached even the amphibious transports.
. . .
"Bunker by bunker, the eight Marine battalions converged,
assisted by tank reinforcements and 10th Marines
pack howitzers. By the afternoon of the second day, Shoup
reassured [General] Smith that the battle had turned:
'Casualties many; percentage dead not known; combat efficiency:
We are winning.' " 26
Colonel Shoup's assessment was correct and his calm courage
under almost unimaginable conditions inspired seniors and
subordinates alike. His quiet calmness radiated throughout the
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battlefield and brought comfort to those who thought the issue
was in doubt.
The Armed Forces unification hearings that followed World
War II provided Marines an opportunity to show a different
kind of courage off the battlefield—moral cour- age—the
courage to stand up for what is right and for what one believes.
Interservice quarreling cost the Corps Brigadier General
"Red Mike" Edson, holder of the Medal of Honor and two
Navy Crosses. The Raider leader, who had served longer overseas
in World War II than any other Marine officer, was considered
by some to be a candidate for Commandant. He
disagreed with the unification of the armed forces and could
not support it. Edson wanted to speak about it publicly. To
protect the Corps from criticism, he retired. He left active
duty to pursue a course he believed was right. Edson "demonstrated
that everyone had an option, if they only had the courage
to pursue it." 27 Some officers believed that the example
set by Edson was one of the greatest contributions to the unification
deliberations.
Leading in combat is vastly different from leading in peacetime.
Anybody can give orders and have them obeyed at a
peacetime post or station. There, nothing blocks the way to
obedience. The brig, pay reductions, and demotion may be all
the incentive necessary to instill good order and discipline. But
execution of orders in combat may mean "immediate danger, or
Leading Marines FMFM 1-0
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even the likelihood of being killed; the Marine needs to know
why an order is given and how it is to be executed. Above all,
Marines need to feel that the leader giving the order knows
what he or she is about." 28
Even given the best training, how Marines perform will depend
on the kind of leadership they have, by the example and
courage demonstrated by their leader. Napoleon said, "There
are no bad regiments, only bad colonels." A unit led by an able
and aggressive leader who commands respect because he set
the example and demonstrated courage and confidence will perform
any task asked of them. 29
UNIT ESPRIT
Esprit de corps, then, depends on good leadership primarily,
but there are other factors. The term implies not only respect
between officers and enlisted Marines, but also "a feeling of
confidence and comradeship" among the Marines themselves.
30 It refers to the mental and emotional state of the entire
unit. It is the spirit that motivates Marines to overcome
seemingly insurmountable obstacles. "Each Marine feels the
others have good fighting mettle; they will not let one another
down. . . . And it means the Marines have pride in their
achievements and their reputation as fighters—traditions which
must be lived up to." 31 Nowhere else were unit esprit and
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fighting spirit better demonstrated than in the actions of the
1st Marine Division in November and December 1950.
"Ordered to withdraw . . . in the face of tremendous pressure
in the Chosin Reservoir area, the Division began an epic battle
against the bulk of the enemy Third Route Army and, while
small intermediate garrisons . . . held firmly against repeated
and determined attacks by hostile forces, gallantly fought its
way successively to Hagaru-ri, Koto-ri, Chinhung-ni, and
Hamhung over twisting, mountainous, and icy roads in subzero
temperatures.
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"Battling desperately night and day in the face of almost insurmountable
odds throughout a period of two weeks of intense
and sustained combat, the First Marine Division, Reinforced,
emerged from its ordeal as a fighting unit with its wounded,
with its guns and equipment and with its prisoners, decisively
defeating seven enemy divisions, together with elements of
three others, and inflicting major losses which seriously impaired
the military effectiveness of the hostile forces for a considerable
period of time. The valiant fighting spirit, relentless
perseverance and heroic fortitude of the officers and men of the
First Marine Division, Reinforced, in battle against a vastly
outnumbering enemy, were in keeping with the highest traditions
of the United States Naval Service." 32
One observer from President Truman's White House, an
Army major general, reported that "the Marine Corps was everything
it claimed as a force in readiness. 'The First Marine
Division is the most efficient and courageous combat unit I
have ever seen or heard of.' " 33
BEING READY
Our approach to leading is simple, yet unique. It has been carefully
tailored to the demands of an expeditionary force in readiness
that must be capable, on a moment's notice, of deploying
literally anywhere and doing whatever must be done upon
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arrival—attacking, protecting, or assisting. Many times, decisions
will have to be made in the rain, under the partial protection
of a poncho, in the drizzle of an uncertain dawn, and
without all the facts. At times like that, it will not always be
possible to identify all the components of the problem, and use
a lengthy and logical problem-solving process to reach a decision.
In combat, the decision often must be immediate, and it
might have to be instinctive.
It is the Marine Corps' responsibility to prepare leaders of
all grades for this moment which will inevitably come. It is the
individual Marine's responsibility to overcome the challenges
of leading Marines.
A Marine corporal described it this way:
"If effective leadership is evident and functioning, we are
strong and ready. If we are well disciplined, of high morale,
possess an unquenchable unit spirit, and are efficient, we are
the best in the business.
"Strive to create discipline in yourself and your Marines.
Encourage high morale, foster esprit, and train for efficiency.
You may never win the Medal of Honor, you may never be
cited for your outstanding example, but you will have an inner
satisfaction that comes only to those that give their all. Then,
if you listen carefully . . . you will hear the voices of all the
other good Marines who have gone before whisper the greatest
commendation of them all—'Well done, Marine.' " 34
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Chapter 3
Challenges
"An army that maintains its cohesion under the most murderous
fire; that cannot be shaken by imaginary fears and resists
well-founded ones with all its might; that, proud of its victories,
will not lose the strength to obey orders and its respect
and trust for its officers even in defeat; whose physical power,
like the muscles of an athlete, has been steeled by training in
privation and effort; a force that regards such efforts as a
means to victory rather than a curse on its cause; that is
mindful of all these duties and qualities by virtue of the single
powerful idea of the honor of its arms—such an army is imbued
with the true military spirit." 1
—Carl von
Clausewitz
FRICTION
"Everything in war is very simple, but the simplest thing is
difficult. The difficulties accumulate and end by producing a
kind of friction that is inconceivable unless one has experienced
war." 2
riction dominates war. It makes simple tasks hard, acts
constantly to tear down the will of the individual Marine,
and interferes with unit cohesion. It operates across the entire
spectrum of conflict, from garrison activities to combat, and
from Marine air-ground task force command elements down to
the most forward fighting position. Friction can be caused by
external factors such as the physical environment, the nature of
the mission, or friendly or enemy action. Inadequate or inaccurate
intelligence also contributes to friction by causing uncertainty.
This uncertainty is sometimes called the "fog of war,"
where things are not always what the leader expected. "This
expression describes both the literal fog created by the dust,
smoke, and debris of the battlefield, and more importantly the
mental fog of confusion and uncertainty created by lack of
knowledge of the enemy, the chaotic noise, mental and physical
fatigue, and fear." 3
Friction's most lethal form, however, is self-induced and
may be termed internal friction. Fear of the unknown breeds
this paralysis. It is best overcome by vigorous leadership,
FMFM 1-0 Challenges
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F
which clearly sets out what is happening, how it is happening,
and, most importantly, why it is happening.
"Countless minor incidents—the kind you can never really
foresee—combine to lower the general level of performance, so
that one always falls far short of the intended goal. Iron willpower
can overcome this friction; it pulverizes every obstacle,
but of course it wears down the machine as well." 4 As FMFM
1 states, "Whatever form it takes, because war is a human enterprise,
friction will always have a psychological as well as a
physical impact." 5
The 1975 Cambodian seizure of the unarmed American container
ship Mayaguez, and its subsequent recapture, is a classic
example of what friction can do to leaders at all levels, and its
ultimate impact on ground forces.
The operation to recapture the crew and ship began with a
sound plan based on the best available intelligence of enemy location,
strength, disposition, and intentions. There were no
reports of either antiair defenses or of the enemy's intention to
significantly resist the rescue. Because there were no Navy
and Marine forces on station, the American command- er in
Thailand decided to use Air Force helicopters and a Marine
battalion flown from Okinawa. The plan called for two Marine
assaults; one to board the Mayaguez, the other to land on Koh
Tang Island where the U. S. crew was thought to be.
Leading Marines FMFM 1-0
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"The May 15 boarding of the Mayaguez proved anticlimactic,
for the Cambodians had abandoned the vessel. But the helo
assault on Koh Tang island, where Communists were supposedly
holding the crew, became a bloody botch.
"Hoping the Cambodians would see the error of their ways
and not resist, the helos plunged in without prior air strikes.
Immediately two helos crashed in flames with Marines aboard,
and another plunged into the sea after dropping its helo team
on the island. Scattered in three different LZs, the hundred or
so Marines found themselves fighting for their lives against the
enraged Cambodians. As the Marines fought the Communists,
the crew of the Mayaguez returned safely to American custody
from another island, which produced such command confusion
and indecision that the Marines on Koh Tang did not receive
reinforcements for half a day. In the meantime the three
groups of Marines fought their way to one another, supported
by Air Force fighters and an AC-130 gunship. With the reinforcements
. . . the landing team could hold enough of an LZ to
allow a relatively safe extraction during the early evening. . . ."
6
Like most plans, this one began to unravel almost immediately,
first in Washington, then in Thailand, and finally, at Koh
Tang Island. External friction—a combination of enemy action
and severe terrain—and internal friction—poor coordination,
miscommunication, and unclear, complicated plans with complex
command relationships—together prevented the execution
of the operation as planned.
FMFM 1-0 Challenges
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Friction is inevitable. Marine leaders must accept it, do everything
in their power to minimize its effects, and learn to fight
effectively in spite of it.
Among the many factors that cause friction, perhaps the
moral and physical challenges to leading are the hardest to
overcome. Together, they can produce obstacles that may prevent
leaders and units from accomplishing their mission. Although
they affect us in very different ways, the moral and
physical elements cannot be separated. Moral factors play an
important role in developing the physical capacity of individuals
and of units.
MORAL CHALLENGE
"Armies of superior numbers have been put to flight before
one man out of ten has fallen. They were not beaten by blows
which became more than flesh could bear. They were beaten
in spirit according to laws as old as the human heart, and the
victor is the one who can best apply those laws." 7
When Marines "are moral, the moral power that binds them together
and fits them for action is given its main chance for success.
There should, therefore, be no confusion about how the
word is being used. We are speaking both of training in morals
for everyday living and of moral training that will harden the
Leading Marines FMFM 1-0
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will of a fighting body. One moment's reflection will show
why they need not be considered separately. . . . When people
conduct lives built on high moral standards and physical fitness,
they tend to develop qualities that produce inspired leadership
and discipline. It is not a new notion; it can be found in
any great military force in the past." 8
A battlefield is the place where moral advantage is paramount.
Moral ascendancy is an imperative that serves as a primary
means of getting the opponent to surrender his will to
resist. Gaining moral ascendancy requires that subordinates
feel that their leaders genuinely care for them, that they are
fighting for a worthy cause and ensuring that their sacrifices
are not made in vain. Trust in the Marine Corps and in unit
leaders who consistently set the example expected of military
professionals is vital to establishing unit cohesion.
Acting as a buffer to protect subordinates is a key responsibility
of any leader. Leaders must avoid "passing the buck."
Leaders must, if necessary, act from the courage of their own
convictions, even when such a position runs counter to the policy
of seniors. Leaders must always accept full responsibility
for their actions, as did the Commanding General, 1st Marine
Division, in Korea.
After the success of the Inchon landing and with high hopes
of "being home by Christmas," General MacArthur pressed his
troops for a knockout blow. Units throughout Korea were
pushed north. On November 11th, X Corps with the 1st
FMFM 1-0 Challenges
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Marine Division was ordered to advance all the way to the
North Korean-Chinese border. In three separate columns unable
to provide mutual support, X Corps advanced north
through rugged and difficult terrain. It quickly became a
"headlong rush" and the commanding general of the Marine division
was worried. His units had become strung out and
spread along a single mountain road. He "feared his Marines
were out on a limb. With the Eighth Army already thrown
back in the west, his left flank was wide open. On November
15, he wrote the Commandant: 'I believe a winter campaign in
the mountains of North Korea is too much to ask . . . I doubt
the feasibility of supplying troops in this area during the winter
or providing for the evacuation of sick and wounded.' . . . The
temperature was 4o below zero. . . . [The commanding general]
'deliberately slowed' the Marine advance at Hagaru; his
caution would 'prove the division's salvation in the weeks
ahead.' " 9
He and his regimental commanders "were now highly dubious
of what might lie ahead of them in the mysterious north.
Deliberately, the Marines slowed their advance, even though
[the X Corps commander] fretted at their lack of prog- ress.
The Marines felt that, strung out as they must be in such terrain,
a pellmell rush to the Yalu was highly dangerous. . . . Under
. . . prodding, X Corps, including the reluctant, exposed
Marines, pushed on." 10 The division commander continued to
express his concerns to the corps commander.
Leading Marines FMFM 1-0
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The Marine commander "who had no confidence in [the]
strategy . . . moved [his] regiments cautiously up the road toward
Chosin and paid particular attention to his logistical arrangements
and security force . . . along the main supply route
(MSR). The weather on November 11 turned miserable. The
temperature fell from 32o to -8o, with gusting winds making
the cold even more devastating. Provided with only about
three-quarters of the cold weather clothing his division required,
[the general] ordered the protective clothes distributed
to his combat units, but the first cold wave stupefied the
troops. With its left flank unprotected . . . and with only scattered
. . . units to its right, the division edged up the MSR.
[The commanding general] and his staff deflected X Corps
demands for more speed and nursed their gnawing suspicion
that the 1st Marine Division faced a new war." 11
The moral courage of leaders is the key to keeping effective
combat units from becoming armed mobs. Moral courage is a
private courage, a form of conscience that can often be an
even tougher challenge than physical courage, especially in
peacetime. It serves not only as a foundation of our leadership
philosophy; it is also a challenge that Marine leaders must face
everyday. If Marines do not have the moral courage in peacetime
to meet consistently the high standards and expectations
of the Marine Corps, then they are not likely to have the moral
courage to make the difficult decisions that may determine the
outcome of a battle or a campaign.
FMFM 1-0 Challenges
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PHYSICAL CHALLENGE
The physical demands of battle encompass more than being fit,
and these demands influence both the leader and the led. The
effects of sleep deprivation, poor diet, poor hygiene, and most
importantly, fear, have to be understood and be a part of everyday
training. No one is immune to fatigue. As Marines become
increasingly tired, they may lose the ability to make rapid
decisions and are susceptible to being confused, disoriented,
and ultimately ineffective. "Guts" and "pride" are not a substitute
for fitness. A leader relying on "guts" and "pride" will not
be able to concentrate fully on the mission or task at hand.
Exact limits of endurance cannot be determined, but physical
conditioning is one method of reducing the effects of physical
exertion, and it can increase individual self-confidence and
reduce stress. The physical development of Marine leaders
must include dealing with the natural fear of interpersonal violence,
which contributes significantly to the fog and friction of
combat. Units, and their leaders, that do not have the mental
and physical strength to overcome fear will not be able to fight
effectively and overcome friction. In fact, one of the greatest
sources of friction is physical exertion, and it may be required
of individuals, units, or both. Captain John Ripley's actions in
Vietnam vividly depict the physical demands sometimes placed
on individuals.
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"A rapidly moving, mechanized, North Vietnamese army
force, estimated at reinforced divisional strength, was attacking
south. . . . It became imperative that a vital river bridge be destroyed
if the overall security of the northern provinces of Military
Region ONE was to be maintained. Advancing to the
bridge to personally supervise this most dangerous but vitally
important assignment, Captain Ripley located a large amount
of explosives which had been prepositioned there earlier, access
to which was blocked by a chain-link fence. In order to
reposition the approximately 500 pounds of explosives, Captain
Ripley was obliged to reach up and hand-walk along the
beams while his body dangled beneath the bridge. On five
separate occasions, in the face of constant enemy fire, he
moved to points along the bridge and, with the aid of another
advisor who pushed the explosives to him, securely emplaced
them. He then detonated the charges and destroyed the bridge,
thereby stopping the enemy assault." 12
A commander, fighting his battalion over 4 days of intense
combat on Iwo Jima, demonstrated again the physical stamina
required of leaders under stress.
"Under a furious barrage of enemy machine-gun and smallarms
fire from the commanding cliffs on the right, Colonel
Chambers . . . landed immediately after the initial assault
waves of his Battalion on D-Day to find the momentum of the
assault threatened by heavy casualties from withering Japanese
artillery, mortar, rocket, machine-gun and rifle fire. Exposed
to relentless hostile fire, he coolly reorganized his battle-weary
FMFM 1-0 Challenges
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men, inspiring them to heroic efforts by his own valor and
leading them in an attack on the critical, impregnable high
ground from which the enemy was pouring an increasing volume
of fire directly onto troops ashore as well as amphibious
craft in succeeding waves.
"Constantly in the front line encouraging his men to push
forward against the enemy's savage resistance, Colonel Chambers
led the 8-hour battle to carry the flanking ridge top and reduce
the enemy's fields of aimed fire, thus protecting the vital
foot-hold gained. In constant defiance of hostile fire while reconnoitering
the entire Regimental Combat Team zone of action,
he maintained contact with adjacent units and forwarded
vital information to the Regimental Commander.
"His zealous fighting spirit undiminished despite terrific
casualties and the loss of most of his key officers, he again reorganized
his troops for renewed attack against the enemy's
main line of resistance and was directing the fire of the rocket
platoon when he fell, critically wounded. Evacuated under
heavy Japanese fire, Colonel Chambers, by forceful leadership,
courage and fortitude in the face of staggering odds, was directly
instrumental in insuring the success of subsequent operations
of the Fifth Amphibious Corps on Iwo Jima." 13
Not every Marine will face the same individual challenge as
Captain Ripley, and not every Marine will lead an assault like
Colonel Chambers, but some will. Marine leaders understand
this and work continuously to improve the conditioning of the
Leading Marines FMFM 1-0
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Marines under their charge. Part of the leader's job "is to ensure
that members of his or her command have every survival
edge that can be provided. If people lack the coordinated response
that comes only from long, varied and rigorous exercise,
they will lack cohesion in action, have much higher
combat losses and uselessly expend much of their initial velocity.
. . . The gain in moral force deriving from all forms of
physical training is an unconscious gain. Will power, determination,
mental poise and muscle control all march hand in hand
with the general health and well-being of the individual." 14
Friction and its elements of moral and physical challenges
are perhaps the most difficult obstacles to effective leading.
How Marines overcome these obstacles, and others not addressed
in this manual, is part of our heritage, passed down
from our predecessors.
OVERCOMING CHALLENGES
"Assure that all members of the command are acquainted
with procedures. . . . ensure the free approach by subordinates
for advice and assistance. . . ."
— Paragraph 1100, Marine Corps
Manual
FMFM 1-0 Challenges
65
ADAPTABILITY
Adaptability has long been our key to overcoming the effects of
friction and its components. Although it is synonymous with
flexibility, adaptability also embraces the spirit of innovation.
Marines constantly seek to adapt new tactics, organization, and
procedures to the realities of the environment. Deficiencies in
existing practices are identified, outdated structure discarded,
and modifications made to maintain function and utility. The
ability to adapt enables Marines to be comfortable within an
environment dominated by friction. Experience, common
sense, and the critical application of judgment all help Marine
leaders persevere.
Marine leaders are the most adaptive of any in the world.
Their expeditionary ethos builds in them an ability beyond simply
"leaving here," "going there," and "executing set-piece missions."
Marine leaders are trained to go forward and adapt to
situations, circumstances, and missions not known when they
deployed.
One Marine leader said, "Most often, the ingredients of victory
are initiative, resourcefulness, adroitness, and improvisation."
15 That is another way of describing adaptability, long a
way of life for Marines. More than adapting to changing
weather conditions or being able to fight across any type of terrain,
the Marine Corps' tradition of adaptability means "getting
things done." It means a willingness to deviate from the
Leading Marines FMFM 1-0
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normal, accepted practices—even from doctrine—if that is
what it takes.
During Operation Desert Shield, as Marine forces began to
expand their lodgment, one of the "greatest concerns was overland
transportation. Doctrinally, the Marine Corps planned for
moving support no more than about 50-80 kilometers from a
beachhead port. Faced with double and triple these distances, .
. . [Marine logistic leaders] resorted to a series of practical if
somewhat unconventional actions to solve the problem." By
leasing as many civilian trucks as possible, virtually every
truck in Saudi Arabia was thrown into some kind of use regardless
of its age or mechanical condition. Dubbed "Saudi
Motors," the new transport fleet grew to more than 1,400 vehicles
and eventually included 50 colorfully decorated 10-ton lorries,
over 200 civilian buses, and about 100 rental
cars—everything from Toyota Landcruisers, to Mitsubishis, to
Jeep Cherokees donated from allied governments. 16
It was this fleet, together with some quick thinking by
Marine leaders that led to the establishment of a remote logistics
base well beyond the distances "allowed" by Marine logistics
doctrine. A change in tactics by the ground maneuver
forces required logisticians to move the main combat service
support area along secure but unimproved main supply routes.
"In addition, there were no airfields in the area for casu- alty
evacuation or aerial resupply." Situated 170 kilometers and
355 kilometers from the ports of Mishab and Jubayl
FMFM 1-0 Challenges
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respectively, the logistics base, dubbed "Al Khanjar" (Arabic
for a type of short sword), was built from the desert floor in
14 days. When it was finished, it "included 38 kilometers of
blastwall berm which contained among other things the Marine
Corps' largest-ever ammunition supply point, 151 cells in
768 acres, a five-million-gallon fuel farm, and a naval hospital
with 14 operating rooms. The complex also included two
5,700-foot dirt airstrips capable of handling C-130 turboprop
transports." 17
Leading Marines FMFM 1-0
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The ability to improvise is a key characteristic of our Corps.
In this case, the piecing together of hundreds of pieces of mismatched
equipment, moving it over "impossible" distances, and
building a city in the desert literally turned dreams into reality.
The ability to find a way—any way—to accomplish the mission
is a hallmark of the Corps. All Marines should cherish it,
nurture it, and believe in it.
INNOVATION
Innovation has always been a key component of Marine Corps
tradition and our style of leadership. It has come naturally because
our "combatant function was and is unique." 18 From the
development of dive bombing in Nicaragua, through the pioneering
of amphibious warfare between World Wars I and II,
to operational maneuver from the sea, Marines have always
sought fresh and decisive approaches to problems. Innovation
requires that leaders listen to their subordinates and that a twoway
system of communication is maintained. Corporals, sergeants,
captains, and generals all have the responsibility to be
innovators.
Nowhere is our ability to innovate better demonstrated than
in the development of our integrated air-ground combat team.
The history of Marine aviation since its inception in
FMFM 1-0 Challenges
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1912 is a story of heroism, skill, dedication, and of continuous
effort to develop better ways for air and ground forces to operate
together. In aviation alone, Marines pioneered the development
of close air support, heliborne operations, movable
expeditionary airfields, dedicated airborne electronic warfare
platforms, vertical/short takeoff and landing jets, expeditionary
maintenance organizations and expeditionary, interoperable air
command and control systems.
"Sharing the perils and thrills of flying biplanes with their
Army and Navy comrades, Marine pilots had the added
Leading Marines FMFM 1-0
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advantage of actual combat operations in Haiti, the Dominican
Republic, and Nicaragua, which they used to de- velop
techniques for supporting ground troops. Among those techniques
was dive-bombing, first attempted by Lieutenant L.
H. M. Sanderson in 1919, which may be a unique Marine contribution
to aerial warfare." 19
Our reputation as innovators stems, in part, from periodic
examinations of our role in the national defense structure. After
World War I, our predecessors sought to redefine the Corps
which had fought alongside the Army in the trenches in France.
They focused on the requirement to seize advanced naval bases
and developed doctrine for amphibious operations at a time
when the other militaries of the world ignored it as—in the aftermath
of Gallipoli—an impossible mission. As Marines became
experts in amphibious operations, they also trained U. S.
Army divisions in the tactics that would be used by them to
land at, among other places, Casablanca, Sicily, Anzio, and
Omaha Beach in the European theater; and at Kwajalein,
Leyte, and Okinawa in the Pacific.20 Marines went further still
and developed a landing craft and a reef-crossing tractor that
became primary tools in both the Pacific and Atlantic theaters
of World War II.
FMFM 1-0 Challenges
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"In the early 1920s, the Marines experimented with a
British-designed 'Beetle boat' and a Christie amphibian tractor.
. . . In 1936, the Marines tried out five different commercial
boats as possible landing craft. They even tested fishing boats
and boats seized from rum runners; but all had exposed rudders
and propellers, and men had to drop as far as 10 feet into
the water.
"The answers started to take shape when Andrew J. Higgins,
a New Orleans boat builder, working with the Marine Corps
and Navy, modified the shallow-water Eureka boat that he had
designed for trappers and oil drillers on the Gulf Coast. In
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April 1941, . . . Higgins [was shown] pictures that Captain
Victor H. Krulak had taken of landing boats the Japanese used
at Shanghai in 1937. One type had a ramp in its bow. At his
own expense, Higgins put a retractable bow ramp on his
36-foot Eureka boat; this became the precursor of the LCVP of
World War II." 21
"After World War II, General Alexander A. Vandegrift
summed up the importance of what the Marine Corps had
achieved: 'Despite its outstanding record as a combat force in
the past war, the Marine Corps' far greater contribution to victory
was doctrinal: that is, the fact that the basic amphibious
doctrines which carried Allied troops over every beachhead of
World War II had been largely shaped—often in the face of
uninterested and doubting military orthodoxy—by U.S. Marines,
and mainly between 1922 and 1935.' " 22
In the 1980's, Marines responded to the challenge of rapidly
getting ground forces to the Middle East by creating maritime
prepositioning equipment and doctrine. And six decades ago,
the Corps codified its vast experience in operations other than
war in the Small Wars Manual—a manual that is proving its
continuing relevance in the emerging security environment of
the latter part of the 20th century. 23
The innovation of Marine leaders has changed the character
of war. Whether it was leaders developing a system to use naval
gunfire in support of landing forces, studying the art of dive
bombing, figuring out how to drop bombs in the dark and in all
FMFM 1-0 Challenges
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kinds of weather, or developing and proving the concept of
maritime prepositioning, they all demonstrated the impact of
Marine leaders who combined vision and initiative.
"The essence of loyalty is the courage to propose the unpopular,
coupled with a determination to obey, no matter
how distasteful the ultimate decision. And the essence of
leadership is the ability to inspire such behavior." 24
One Marine leader developed a set of "rules" he followed to
promote innovation and creativity. 25 First, leaders should
make it their duty to bring subordinates' ideas and criticisms to
the surface where all may analyze and evaluate them. Ask for
ideas and you will get them. Second, leaders must clear a path
to their doorstep. Subordinates should use the chain of command,
but ideas must rise to the top. Leaders must allow subordinates
the opportunity to show initiative. Third, because
innovation is imprecise and because subordinates, especially
junior ones, will make mistakes, protect them. "Zero defects"
are not a standard of measurement. They do not encourage initiative;
they stifle it. Lastly, emphasize that you expect honest
expression of the subordinate's best thinking. Do not tolerate
patronizing behavior.
"If we wish to think clearly, we must cease imitating; if
we wish to cease imitating, we must make use of our imagination.
We must train ourselves for the unexpected in place
of training others for the cut and dried. Audacity, and not
caution, must be our watchword." 26
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DECENTRALIZATION
Decentralization is simply authorizing subordinates to act,
guided by commander's intent and focus of effort, in situations
where judgment and experience dictate action. The one concept
that is repeated again and again within classic military literature
is the advantage of allowing junior leaders to apply
judgment and act upon their decisions. The Marine Corps has
always enjoyed great success decentralizing au- thority to the
lowest levels. Marines fighting expeditionary wars during the
first half of this century exemplified this. Whether on duty in
the Legation Quarter in China during the 1920's, with the
Gendarmerie in Haiti, or on patrol with the Guardia in Nicaragua,
junior Marines—sergeants and lieutenants—helped enforce
United States policy, kept law and order, suppressed
revolts against governments, and protected American lives, interests,
and property.
During World War II, the actions of junior leaders were directly
responsible for our successes in the island campaigns of
the Pacific. Decentralized decisionmaking—pushing authority,
responsibility, and accountability to the lowest levels—promoted
speed in execution. In battle after battle, small units
were able to make a decisive difference because of the actions
of subordinate leaders. Of Tarawa, Colonel Merritt A. Edson
mentioned decentralization and adaptability as important parts
of the final outcome. "It is my opinion that the reason we won
this show was the ability of the junior officers and noncoms to
FMFM 1-0 Challenges
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take command of small groups of six to eight or ten men, regardless
of where these men came from, and to organize and
lead them as a fighting team." 27
As a result of these experiences, the Marine Corps developed
the modern-day fire team and produced the world's finest
noncommissioned officers. The tradition of encouraging decentralized
decisionmaking continues today and is manifested
in such peacetime duty as that performed by Marine Security
Guard detachments commanded by staff noncommissioned officers,
drill instructors at recruit depots and Officer Candidates
School, and the small-unit combat patrols in the strife-torn
streets of every corner of the globe.
Testimony to the skills of Marine small-unit leaders was the
development of the combined action program (CAP). First
used with success in Haiti (1915-1934), Nicaragua
(1926-1933), and in Santo Domingo (1916-1922), it was used
again in Vietnam.28 There, the combined force was commanded
by a Marine squad leader—a sergeant or a corporal—
and demonstrated the positive benefits of decentralization.
"In principle, the CAP was simplicity itself. In execution, it
demanded political and tactical sophistication. The program
required that a specially selected and trained Marine rifle squad
join a Popular Forces (militia) platoon and work in concert to
provide continuous security from the VC. The Marines would
Leading Marines FMFM 1-0
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live and work among the people and inspire the PF to conduct
night-time patrols and ambushes." 29
Decentralization was at the heart of the CAP program. Its
success lay in a tradition of Marine leadership: the encouragement
of subordinates. Give subordinates all the initiative and
latitude they can handle by decentralizing authority. "Tell
them what results you want, and leave the 'how' to them." 30
"Make it clear what you want done and who is to do it. . . .
Remember the old promotion-examination question for lieutenants,
in which the student is told that he has a ten-man working
FMFM 1-0 Challenges
77
party, headed by a sergeant, and must erect a 75-foot flagpole.
. . . Problem—How to do it?
"Every student who works out the precise calculations of
stresses, tackle, and gear, no matter how accurately, is graded
wrong. The desired answer is simple: The lieutenant turns to
the sergeant, and says, 'Sergeant, put up that flagpole.' " 31
WILL
All leaders—even the most famous—lead in much the same
way, at least partially, because they think in much the same
way, "in terms of intuitions, fears, guilts, and occasional
flashes of reasoned insight." 32 Why then, do some Marine
leaders succeed and others fail? What is it that some leaders
have that others do not? What all successful leaders have in
common is a strength of will that enables them to face the most
challenging of tasks and extract the most from their subordinates.
Captain William Barber's performance from 28 November
to 2 December 1950 demonstrates the importance of a
leader's will.
"Assigned to defend a three-mile mountain pass along the division's
main supply line and commanding the only route of approach
in the march from Yudam-ni to Hagaru-ri, Captain
Barber took position with his battle weary troops and, before
Leading Marines FMFM 1-0
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nightfall, had dug in and set up a defense along the frozen,
snow-covered hillside. When a force of estimated regimental
strength savagely attacked during the night, inflicting heavy
casualties and finally surrounding his position following a bitterly
fought seven-hour conflict, Captain Barber, after repulsing
the enemy, gave assurance that he could hold if supplied by
air drops and requested permission to stand fast when orders
were received . . . to fight his way back to a relieving force after
two reinforcing units had been driven back under fierce resistance
in their attempts to reach the isolated troops.
"Aware that leaving the position would sever contact with
the 8,000 Marines trapped at Yudam-ni and jeopardize their
chances of joining the 3,000 more awaiting their arrival at
Hagaru-ri for the continued drive to the sea, he chose to risk
loss of his command rather than sacrifice more men if the enemy
seized control and forced a renewed battle to regain the
position, or abandon his many wounded who were unable to
walk.
"Although severely wounded . . . Captain Barber continued
to maintain personal control, often moving up and down the
lines on a stretcher to direct the defense and consistently encouraging
and inspiring his men to supreme efforts despite the
staggering opposition. Waging desperate battle throughout
five days and six nights of repeated on-slaughts launched by
the fanatical aggressors, he and his heroic command accounted
for approximately 1,000 enemy dead in this epic
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stand in bitter sub-zero weather, and when the company was
relieved, only 82 of his original 220 men were able to walk
away from the position so valiantly defended against insuperable
odds. His profound faith and courage, great personal
valor and unwavering fortitude were decisive factors in the
successful withdrawal of the division from the deathtrap in the
Chosin Reservoir sector. . . ." 33
It was tough-minded leaders like Captain Barber and Lieutenant
Colonel Ray Murray that held units together under
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extreme stress. Lieutenant Colonel Murray, commanding the
5th Marines at the Chosin Reservoir, summed up what was required
of leaders: "I personally felt in a state of shock, the kind
of shock one gets from some great personal tragedy, the sudden
loss of someone close. . . . My first fight was within myself. I
had to rebuild that emptiness of spirit." 34
For leaders to hold units together under adverse conditions,
they must first fight—and win—the battle within themselves.
FIGHTING POWER AND WINNING
Fighting power is an organization's ability to conduct combat
operations by overcoming challenges to lead, compete, and prevail
on the battlefield. Creating and sustaining superior fighting
power requires the combination of the tangible ac- tivities of
war—maneuver, firepower, and protection—with the intangible
elements of war—leadership, unit esprit, and individual
courage. According to one historian, fighting power "rests on
mental, intellectual, and organizational foun- dations; its manifestations,
in one combination or another, are discipline and cohesion,
morale and initiative, courage and toughness, the
willingness to fight and the readiness, if necessary, to die.
'Fighting Power,' in brief, is defined as the sum total of mental
qualities that make armies fight." 35
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Fighting power is what took the 2d Marine Division over the
seawall at Tarawa, into the face of prepared defenses and devastating
fire; it is what kept the "flying leathernecks" of the
"Cactus Air Force" on Guadalcanal launching again and again
from the shell-pocked runway of Henderson Field; it is what
brought the 1st Marine Division down intact from the Chosin
Reservoir to the sea; and it was what three under-strength Marine
battalions used to help recapture the Citadel in Hue City.
Fighting power is what makes certain units superior to others
on the battlefield; it enables organizations to sustain high
casualties and continue their missions, and it can compensate
for material deficiencies. Fighting power remains the ultimate
measure of all military leadership effectiveness .
For more than two centuries Marines have produced victory.
It has been the vitality of the Marine leader that has upheld the
"critical foundations of our Corps in the searing cauldron of
combat." Whatever the challenges, Marines have overcome
them using the foundations of Marine Corps leadership—foundations
steeped in the values, traditions, customs, and history
of our Corps. It is a unique blend of ethos and standards not
found anywhere else in the world and is more than simple obedience
to orders. Leading Marines is more than just a simple
awareness of responsibility. It is a commitment and an obligation
to those who follow.
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Epilogue
"The time always comes in battle when the decisions of statesmen
and of generals can no longer effect the issue and when
it is not within the power of our national wealth to change the
balance decisively. Victory is never achieved prior to that
point; it can be won only after the battle has been delivered
into the hands of men who move in imminent danger of
death." 1
—S.L.A. Marshall
n one of the many fights enroute to Chosin on the hills north
of Yudam-ni, a private named Stanley Robinson had taken
command of a decimated squad. Later wounded, Robinson
lay on a stretcher in a warming tent of the medical battalion
and listened "to the cascading sound of a fire fight to the north.
It was not long before the ambulance jeeps drew up outside.
Litterbearers brought in a stretcher and placed it alongside
Robinson.
" 'What outfit you from?' Robinson asked. 'Easy, 7th,' the
inert figure mumbled. 'Did we get hit?' 'Clobbered. Mr.
Yancey's wounded—so's the skipper—everybody is, I guess.'
"Robinson sat up. In the darkness he got into his clothes
and parka. He stifled a moan as he pulled the shoe-pacs on
over his swollen feet. 'Be seein' you, Mac,' he whispered.
Robinson stumbled to the entrance and lurched through the
opening. The cold night air made him gasp. He was selecting
a weapon from a discarded stack of rifles when a corpsman
came to him.
" 'What'n hell you doin', Robinson?' 'What does it look like,
Doc?' . . . Robinson slung the rifle over his shoulder and
headed for the hill mass to the north. When he came to the
steep hillside he had to crawl. The blisters on his feet had broken
and his socks were wet with blood and pus. Robinson
found his way to Easy Company, [and] he found Yancey.
'What'n hell you doin' here?' Yancey asked hoarsely. 'Looking
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I
for a job.' Yancey spat blood in the snow. 'You got one. Over
there.' " 2
Private Robinson's action in 1950 captured the essence of
Marine Corps leadership. Leaving the warming tent, selecting
a weapon, and struggling to rejoin his battered platoon was an
act of extraordinary personal courage, but it was not an aberration;
instead, it was an act that sprang from the rich tradition
of Marine leadership manifested in hundreds of battles—from
Chapultepec to Blanc Mont Ridge to Okinawa. It is a tradition
that continues today in countless ways and in countless places.
Marines understand why there was no emotional greeting
from Yancey when Robinson rejoined the platoon. Thanks
were neither expected nor given. Both knew he would rejoin
the outfit, if he could. They were Marines, with the enemy in
their front, and their division decisively engaged. Where else
could Robinson be? There was work to be done, serious fighting,
and because of the actions of thousands of leaders like Private
Robinson—leading teams, squads, and platoons—the
outnumbered division prevailed.
Thirty-three years later, an unnamed lance corporal in Beirut
asked the same question: "Where else should I be?" These
examples, so tightly wound into the concepts of personal example,
courage, and unit esprit that they cannot be separated,
demonstrate the eternal strength of the Marine Corps. For in
the final analysis, Marine leaders must be prepared to act
alone, when all others choose to sit, or when others find a way
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to stand aside to let someone else take the lead. Marines cannot
stand aside because to do so compromises their very selfidentity
as Marines. Private Robinson understood this. Knowing
that his fellow Marines counted on him, Robinson acted in
the only way he could.
One can always imagine situations in combat when the
choices will be clear and obvious, though not necessarily easy.
More difficult, but no less important, is discovering those challenges
in peacetime. Preparing for those challenges—what we
do in training—shapes directly what we do in combat. In any
team sport, teams play the way they practice. Similarly, Marines
fight the way they train. While it is easy to give in on the
"small things," eventually that surrender may cause the collapse
of a "large thing" in combat. The actions of Private Robinson
were the natural and logical culmination of his training
and the leadership to which he had been exposed. Because it
had been severe but fair, hard but rewarding, when he had to
decide—alone—what to do, his choice was easy: He rejoined
his Marines.
All the rank in the world will not draw a fire team forward
unless it has confidence in the Marine who leads it. Marines
have a reasonable expectation that their leaders will come up
with plans that will accomplish the mission and give them the
best possible chance of succeeding. They do not ask for certainty,
just the best possible preparation and skills from their
leaders. The Marine Corps works hard to train leaders, but the
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most important and fundamental leadership training and education
must come through self-study and self-examination.
Marines do not climb from their fighting holes, or leave
warming tents, and go forward into fire, the unknown, and possibly
even death because of grandiose visions about the national
interest, the international security structure, or even love
of family or our American culture. They go forward because
of their friends and comrades—fellow Marines, who display
their special skills and abilities for each other, and often, in the
ultimate loneliness of close combat, for each other alone. As
was said of Marines in Korea, "These Marines had pride in
their service, which had been carefully instilled in them, and
they had pride in themselves, because each man had made the
grade in a hard occupation. They would not lightly let their
comrades down. And they had discipline, which in essence is
the ability not to question orders but to carry them out as intelligently
as possible." 3
And we still don't let our comrades down. The risk of death
has always been preferable to letting a fellow Marine down.
This is expressed in the actions of a rifleman continuing forward
in rushes under heavy fire, and in a pilot bring-ing his
aircraft around for another attack while the antiair- craft guns
continue to seek the range. This is why the word "Marine" has
always been synonymous with the very best self-sacrificing
leadership our nation produces.
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These enduring foundations support more than just our institution.
They support individual Marines for the rest of their
lives, in service and out. A former Marine described his "foundations"
this way:
"My life experience has taught me again and again the value
of the time I spent in the Marine Corps. The values I learned
and lived while a Marine, the values of self-reliance, selfdiscipline,
honor, courage as well as physical and mental
toughness have enabled me to make a success of my life.
Moreover, I would add this bit of perspective; the Marine
Corps has won many victories for which it is famous. However,
the Corps has won many personal and private victories in
the hearts and minds of the men and women who have worn the
uniform. It has . . . imbued the lives of many common Americans
with the necessary character traits to master their own
lives and to achieve great things. These many personal victories
sometimes go unnoticed but they are meaningful and of
great value, in-and-of-themselves, as well as to this Nation." 4
"It is this continuity of the spirit, purpose, and tradition,
these many and intangible forces, which are the strengths that
support Marines as they go into harm's way. We are what our
institution demands that we be; and our institution is what
it is because of these foundations; no more and no less." 5
Marines lead because of the adaptability, innovation, strength
of will, and devotion to our Corps learned from our predecessors.
They lead, and win, not because of what they may be as
individuals, but rather because of what they are as Marines.
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"The U. S. Marine Corps has evolved its mystical appeal
slowly, through an unusual combination of circumstance,
good fortune, and, most of all, conviction in the hearts of
resolute men. It is a combination that has both strengthened
and brought glory to the United States.
"Although the Corps contains its share of visible heroes,
its triumphs, in an aberration of history, are triumphs of
the institution itself and not the attainments of individual
Marines. We remember that Marlborough defeated the
French, that Togo defeated the Russians, that Scipio defeated
Carthage. But we know only that it was the Marines
who won at Belleau Wood, the Marines who won at Guadalcanal,
the Marines who led the way at Inchon. And that is
exactly the way the Corps's heroes—big and small—would
have it, for the Corps is less of the flesh than of the spirit." 6
These are the legacies that we have inherited and that we
must pass on. Learn them, study them, and live them.
Semper Fidelis . . .
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Be technically and tactically proficient
Know yourself and seek self-improvement
Know your Marines and look out for their welfare
Keep your Marines informed
Set the example
Ensure the task is understood, supervised, and accomplished
Train your Marines as a team
Make sound and timely decisions
Develop a sense of responsibility among your subordinates
Employ your unit in accordance with its capabilities
Seek responsibility, and take responsibility for your actions
Appendices
Marine Corps Manual, Paragraph 1100 — Core Values —
Leadership Traits — Leadership Principles — The Oaths —
Trust
Marine Corps Manual1
SECTION B—MANAGEMENT
1100. MILITARY LEADERSHIP
1. Purpose and Scope
a. The primary goal of Marine Corps leadership is to instill
in all Marines the fact that we are warriors first. The only
reason the United States of America needs a Marine Corps is
to fight and win wars. Everything else is secondary. In North
China in 1937, Captain Samuel B. Griffith said, "Wars and
battles are not lost by private soldiers. They win them, but
don't lose them. They are lost by commanders, staffs, and
troop leaders, and they are often lost long before they start."
Our leadership training is dedicated to the purpose of preparing
those commanders, staffs, and troop leaders to lead our Marines
in combat.
b. Marine Corps Leadership qualities include:
(1) Inspiration—Personal example of high moral standards
reflecting virtue, honor, patriotism, and subordination in
personal behavior and in performance.
(2) Technical proficiency—Knowledge of the military
sciences and skill in their application.
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(3) Moral responsibility—Personal adherence to high
standards of conduct and the guidance of subordinates toward
wholesomeness of mind and body.
2. Responsibility
a. The Commandant of the Marine Corps is directly responsible
to the Secretary of the Navy for establishing and
maintaining leadership standards and conducting leadership
training within the Marine Corps.
b. Commanders will ensure that local policies, directives
and procedures reflect the special trust and confidence reposed
in members of the officer corps. Full credit will be given to
their statements and certificates. They will be allowed maximum
discretion in the exercise of authority vested in them, and
they and their dependents will be accorded all prerogatives and
perquisites which are traditional and otherwise appropriate.
Except in cases where more stringent positive identification
procedures are required for the proper security of classified
material and installations, or are imposed by higher authority
for protecting privileges reserved for eligible military personnel,
the officers' uniforms will amply attest to their status, and
their oral statements will serve to identify them and their
dependents.
c. An individual's responsibility for leadership is not dependent
upon authority. Marines are expected to exert proper
influence upon their comrades by setting examples of
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obedience, courage, zeal, sobriety, neatness, and attention to
duty.
d. The special trust and confidence, which is expressly reposed
in officers by their commission, is the distinguishing
privilege of the officer corps. It is the policy of the Marine
Corps that this privilege be tangible and real; it is the corresponding
obligation of the officer corps that it be wholly
deserved.
(1) As an accompanying condition commanders will
impress upon all subordinate officers the fact that the presumption
of integrity, good manners, sound judgment, and discretion,
which is the basis for the special trust and confidence
reposed in each officer, is jeopardized by the slightest transgression
on the part of any member of the officer corps. Any
offense, however minor, will be dealt with promptly, and with
sufficient severity to impress on the officer at fault, and on the
officer corps. Dedication to the basic elements of special trust
and confidence is a Marine officer's obligation to the officer
corps as a whole, and transcends the bonds of personal
friendship.
(2) As a further and continuing action, commanders are
requested to bring to the attention of higher authority, referencing
this paragraph, any situation, policy, directive, or procedure
which contravenes the spirit of this paragraph, and which
is not susceptible to local correction.
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(3) Although this policy is expressly concerned with
commissioned officers, its provisions and spirit will, where applicable,
be extended to noncommissioned officers, especially
staff noncommissioned officers.
3. Personal Relations. Effective personal relations in an organization
can be satisfactory only when there is complete understanding
and respect between individuals. Commanders
must:
a. Strive for forceful and competent leadership throughout
the entire organization.
b. Inform the troops of plans of action and reasons therefor,
whenever it is possible and practicable to do so.
c. Endeavor to remove on all occasions those causes which
make for misunderstanding or dissatisfaction.
d. Assure that all members of the command are acquainted
with procedures for registering complaints, together with the
action taken thereon.
e. Build a feeling of confidence which will ensure the free
approach by subordinates for advice and assistance not only in
military matters but for personal problems as well.
4. Relations Between Officers and Enlisted Marines. Duty
relationships and social and business contacts among Marines
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of different grades will be consistent with traditional standards
of good order and discipline and the mutual respect that has always
existed between Marines of senior grade and those of
lesser grade. Situations that invite or give the appearance of
familiarity or undue informality among Marines of different
grades will be avoided or, if found to exist, corrected. The following
paragraphs written by the then Major General Commandant
John A. Lejeune appeared in the Marine Corps
Manual, Edition of 1921, and since that time have defined the
relationship that will exist between Marine officers and enlisted
members of the Corps:
a. "Comradeship and brotherhood.—The World War
wrought a great change in the relations between officers and
enlisted men in the military services. A spirit of comradeship
and brotherhood in arms came into being in the training camps
and on the battlefields. This spirit is too fine a thing to be allowed
to die. It must be fostered and kept alive and made the
moving force in all Marine Corps organizations.
b. "Teacher and scholar.—The relation between officers
and enlisted men should in no sense be that of superior and inferior
nor that of master and servant, but rather that of teacher
and scholar. In fact, it should partake of the nature of the relation
between father and son, to the extent that officers, especially
commanding officers, are responsible for the physical,
mental, and moral welfare, as well as the discipline and military
training of the young men under their command who are
serving the nation in the Marine Corps.
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c. "The realization of this responsibility on the part of officers
is vital to the well-being of the Marine Corps. It is especially
so, for the reason that so large a proportion of the men
enlisting are under twenty-one years of age. These men are in
the formative period of their lives, and officers owe it to them,
to their parents, and to the nation, that when discharged from
the services they should be far better men physically, mentally,
and morally than they were when they enlisted.
d. "To accomplish this task successfully a constant effort
must be made by all officers to fill each day with useful and interesting
instruction and wholesome entertainment for the men.
This effort must be intelligent and not perfunctory, the object
being not only to do away with idleness, but to train and cultivate
the bodies, the minds, and the spirit of our men.
e. "Love of corps and country.—To be more specific, it
will be necessary for officers not only to devote their close attention
to the many questions affecting the comfort, health,
military training and discipline of the men under their command,
but also actively to promote athletics and to endeavor to
enlist the interest of their men in building up and maintaining
their bodies in the finest physical condition; to encourage them
to enroll in the Marine Corps Institute and to keep up their
studies after enrollment; and to make every effort by means of
historical, educational and patriotic address to cultivate in their
hearts a deep abiding love of the corps and country.
f. "Leadership.—Finally, it must be kept in mind that the
American soldier responds quickly and readily to the exhibition
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of qualities of leadership on the part of his officers. Some of
these qualities are industry, energy, initiative, determination,
enthusiasm, firmness, kindness, justness, self-control, unselfishness,
honor, and courage. Every officer should endeavor by
all means in his power to make himself the possessor of these
qualities and thereby to fit himself to be a real leader of men."
5. Noncommissioned Officers. The provisions of paragraphs
1100.3 and 1100.4 above, apply generally to the relationships
of noncommissioned officers with their subordinates and apply
specifically to noncommissioned officers who may be exercising
command authority.
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Core Values
Generation after generation of American men and women have
given special meaning to the term United States Marine. They
have done so by their performance on and off the battlefield.
Feared by enemies, respected by allies, and loved by the
American people, Marines are a "special breed." This reputation
was gained and is maintained by a set of enduring core
values. These values form the cornerstone, the bedrock, and
the heart of our character. They are the guiding beliefs and
principles that give us strength, influence our attitudes, and
regulate our behavior. They bond our Marine family into a total
force that can meet any challenge.
HONOR: The bedrock of our character. The quality that
guides Marines to exemplify the ultimate in ethical and moral
behavior; never to lie, cheat, or steal; to abide by an uncompromising
code of integrity; to respect human dignity; to have respect
and concern for each other. The quality of maturity,
dedication, trust, and dependability that commits Marines to
act responsibly; to be accountable for actions; to fulfill obligations;
and to hold others accountable for their actions.
COURAGE: The heart of our core values, courage is the
mental, moral, and physical strength ingrained in Marines to
carry them through the challenges of combat and the mastery
of fear; to do what is right; to adhere to a higher standard of
personal conduct; to lead by example, and to make tough
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decisions under stress and pressure. It is the inner strength that
enables a Marine to take that extra step.
COMMITMENT: The spirit of determination and dedication
within members of a force of arms that leads to professionalism
and mastery of the art of war. It leads to the highest order
of discipline for unit and self; it is the ingredient that enables
24-hour-a-day dedication to Corps and Country; pride; concern
for others; and an unrelenting determination to achieve a standard
of excellence in every endeavor. Commitment is the value
that establishes the Marine as the warrior and citizen others
strive to emulate.
Reaffirm these core values and ensure they guide your performance,
behavior, and conduct every minute of every day.
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Leadership Traits
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Leadership Principles
FMFM 1-0 Leadership Principles
The United States Marine Corps spends a great deal of time and effort on training leaders. Some of these principles are listed below:
* know your Marines and look out for their welfare.
