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Proper MAGTF Objectives

Letters to the Editor

by Col John C. Scharfen, USMC(Ret) * Congratulations to LtCol Michael D. Wyly on his perceptive, incisive article “Thinking Beyond the Beachhead” (MCG, Jan83). In this reader’s opinion he gets

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War Without Firepower?

Tactics

I would willingly label myself an "attritionist" before I would espouse a doctrine that would send Marines off to war, thinking that they would not have to kill, that they would not have to confront death and the bloodiest gore on a daily basis. I do not blame anyone for rejecting a theory that

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It’s Time for Realistic Engineer Training

Let's call the combat engineers in from the bench; it's time to move them up to "first string" on the combined arms team.

Present doctrine calls for expedient breaching of minefields by using the M58A1 line charge. By 1984 it will be possible to fire the line charge from a kit installed in an LVTP7, figure 5, or mounted on an M353 trailer towed behind a variety of vehicles (preferably armored), figure 6. Until then

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Maneuver Tactics and the Art of War

How we educate our officers to view warfare, how we train our Marines to fight, and how we build individuals into combat units will determine the outcome of our next battle.

Schwerpunkt, or conceptual focus of effort, is an elemental concept of maneuver warfare. It is surprising then to find that the word "maneuver" should be chosen by its proponents as a title. The word is so semantically confused as to almost preclude a theoretic focus. "Maneuver," "mobility" and

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Major General Edward A. Wilcox Award for Professional Writing 1982

Special Report

The closest competition for Leader's article came from Col Bruce G. Brown's two part "Maneuver Warfare Roadmap," which was published in the Apr and May82 issues. Other "finalist" articles that the panel discussed at length included:

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Thinking Beyond the Beachhead

Let us now come back to the subject of the MAGTF. It would be an unforgiveable crime to write it off as a force that is short on maneuver. The MAGTF can stand much streamlining and improvement, but all such efforts should work towards improving its maneuverability. The aviation portion of the MAGTF

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No Maneuver MAGTF??

Letter to the Editor

by Maj Kenneth W. Estes * . . . Maj J.D. Burke’s article (Sep82). . . is a foot-in-mouth exercise on the MAGTF. [He seems mesmerized by the composition of

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The Mission and ‘The Offensive Spirit’

Maneuver Warfare

Although Maj [Burke]'s suntan could make one very suspicious as to how much work is actually going on at the RDJTF Headquarters, perhaps we should be grateful-maybe he's had more time to think. Certainly his recent article, "Maneuver Warfare and the MAGTF," (Sep82) should be reviewed and debated at

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Combined Arms Properly Understood

On 16 October, Gen Sharon's Israeli Task Force crossed the Suez to attack artillery and SAM launch positions near Deversoir. By the 19th the Israeli air-ground team was at work. Sharon's men had destroyed 10 SAM launch sites, and with a gap created in the Egyptian lines, the IAF stepped up its

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Defending the LAVs

Letter to the Editor

by Maj Ronald J. Brown, USMCR * After reading Maj Gritz’s article “Light Armored Vehicle or Light Armored Victim?” (Aug82) I feel I must respond. The author’s thesis is that

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Maneuver Warfare & the MAGTF

We need to know if the Marine amphibious brigade is bringing enough antiarmor firepower to the battlefield.

Soviet doctrine calls for a multiechelon combined armor-mechanized attack on a wide front covered by a rolling barrage of artillery fire. Soviet artillery is covered by forward air defense batteries. Initial MAGTF supporting arms fires will (a) cause Soviet armor to button up to avoid casualties

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