Marines look to update training for high-tech jobs

The Marine Corps' Training Command is wrestling with questions about how to best train troops in high-tech fields like cyberwarfare while still maintaining traditional standards in fitness and infantry skills.

Brig. Gen. Jason Bohm, commanding general of Training Command, is currently looking at how to prepare his schools to meet the needs of Marines in the military occupational specialties that will be critical for fighting future wars, such as electronic warfare, information operations and cyber warfare.

"That's still in development – to determine how best to train cyberwarriors. We are part of the discussion to develop the program in conjunction with the operational needs of the force," said Bohm, who previously led the first Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Central Command.

In a recent interview, Bohm talked to Marine Corps Times about how training for Marines may change – and what will remain the same – as the Corps adapts to counter evolving threats.

Excerpts of the interview, edited for clarity and space.

Q: As fighting future wars becomes more technological, will physical fitness become less important for Marines or does being physically fit complement being technically savvy?

They absolutely complement each other. Our history has shown that somebody who is physically fit is usually more mentally sharp as well. They are able to sustain and endure through physically demanding and mentally demanding times.

The nature of war is enduring. It's two opposing wills trying to impose themselves on the other. That may not always be physical. We saw that, for example, at the Battle of Midway: the first time we ever had a war fought where the two fleets didn't physically see each other – other than the aircraft flying back and forth.

Obviously cyberwarfare, [electronic warfare] an [information operations] are all tools that will be employed in future warfare; but ultimately it comes down to two opposing wills having to impose their will on the other, and that requires flexible, adaptable problem solvers who can endure and sustain themselves in stressful situations. 

That's physical, it's mental, it's moral, it's spiritual and it's combinations of all of that. So whether you are sitting inside a can at Nellis [Air Force Base] flying a drone or you're physically on the battlefield in Iraq, physical fitness is absolutely essential to the overall success of your mission.

Rct. Maria Daume, Platoon 4001, Papa Company, 4th Recruit Training Battalion, sights in on a simulated enemy during the Crucible Jan. 5, 2017, on Parris Island, S.C. Daume was born in a Russian prison and brought to Long Island, N.Y., at the age of 4 when she and her twin brother were adopted.

Photo Credit: Staff Sgt. Greg Thomas.

Q: Since Jan. 1, 2016, both men and women have had to meet the same physical standards for their military occupational specialties. Could those standards be adjusted based on feedback from the schoolhouses?

We now have just over a year's worth of data on the [MOS-Specific Physical Standards]. They are under review. The Marine Corps is constantly looking to improve on our performance.

That review is ongoing right now. That will determine whether any modifications are needed or not. We don't have a final answer on that just yet.

I will say that the [standards] are working. We have a very good success rate in our schools in running those. They are proving to be successful in helping to match the best Marines with the best capabilities that are required for specific MOSs.

Q: Do you see changes in how infantry Marines are trained now that squad leaders may have additional responsibilities?

The Marine Corps is constantly looking to improve in its performance. Once we identify what those skill sets are that the squad leader would be responsible for, we may adjust our program of instruction to be able to adapt to that.

The commandant has been clear: He wants drones at the squad level. What we will do is we will modify our [training]. We've already, in fact, started doing that, to be able to integrate drones into training our squad leaders, out platoon sergeants, our small leaders across the board.

It's still to be determined who's going to train the Marines to operate the drones. We may inherit that or it may be somewhere else, but we're talking through that right now with the Marine Corps.

A member of Kilo Company prepares the newly developed Black Hornet unmanned aerial system for flight Aug. 5.

Photo Credit: Lance Cpl. Julien Rodarte/Marine Corps

There are other areas. For example … digital operability: How you take the air domain and the ground domain and you connect them together so that you can push data down to the squad leader on the ground.

When I was with the Special Purpose MAGTF, we were responsible for the tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel – TRAP – mission. We were on a very short alert status while we were doing that – to the point where the infantrymen were in tents down at the flightline ready to jump in airplanes and go with minutes' notice.

In order to be that responsive, you're not going to get the intel dump; you're not going to get the map chits; you're not going to get all the information you need to properly plan what you're going to do when you get on the ground.

Digital inoperability is what enables that: While you're enroute to the objective – or even after you've landed on the ground – we need to be able to push that data down to a unit leader, who may have a tablet in his hand, where all that information is being downlinked.

Once that capability is fully developed – and the Marine Corps is moving in positive direction on that – we'll have to train to that.

Q: How does Training Command teach resiliency to Marines?

You have to know your Marines – first and foremost. You have to be that personal engaged leader to understand ... indications and warnings.

That's one aspect of it. The other aspect of it is teaching you the coping skills to be able to get through those stressors on your own while understanding that you can ask for help without being stigmatized by doing it.

It's going to be taught across our institution – both in our headquarters and in our school houses – once we develop that program. But it's not going to be so much of a program of instruction as it's going to be a complete mindset shift and change in the way we live our lives.

We can't make it like another rock in the pack – here's another shiny object, another program that we're adding on to you. It has to become intrinsic in everything that we do.

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