Low-Intensity Conflicts and the United States Marine Corps

You are here: Homepage > Search

Low-Intensity Conflicts and the United States Marine Corps

W. A. Clemmer

The United States Marine Corps has a long and viable history of being involved with low intensity conflicts. Even when most of the strategists in the United States were focusing on the Soviets as the main threat, the majority of conflicts, since World War II, have occurred in the Third World. A recent study of U.S. responses in over 200 of these crises situations reported that Navy and Marine forces were employed 80 percent of the time. This kind of political preference has given this naval team the opportunity and experience to organize and develop its assets into a modern sea-based expeditionary force. This force is called the Marine Air Ground Task Force and is based on the three-in-one combined arms concept. The Navy has built a fleet of ships around this concept which have enhanced the force's capability to rapidly respond to world crises situations. Our Navy and Marine forces are capable of providing the United States with the flexibility and latitude to affect conflicts because of their ability to rapidly deploy and be employed. The Marine Air Ground Task Force and its combined arms concept, along with the Navy's sea based support, con project the military force needed to strengthen our foreign policy and interests in the Third World.