Marines’ new warfighting concept focuses on small, agile forces with an eye on China
The "evolving" stand-in forces concept is "applicable globally" but singles out America's chief rival.
By Justin Katz on December 01, 2021 at 8:17 PM
WASHINGTON: The Marine Corps today published a new warfighting concept, dubbed “Stand-In Forces,” describing the need for small, “lethal” forces that can also work at levels below combat to counter what’s often referred to as “gray zone” aggression from rivals like China.
Beyond small and lethal, the Marine Corps defines “stand-in forces” as “low signature, mobile, relatively simple to maintain and sustain forces designed to operate across the competition continuum within a contested area as the leading edge of a maritime defense-in-depth in order to intentionally disrupt the plans of a potential or actual adversary.”
Notably, the concept document, signed by Commandant Gen. David Berger, states that a stand-in force also uses diplomatic and informational tools to “impose costs on rivals” who use “ways and means below the violence threshold to achieve their goals.”
https://breakingdefense.com/2021/12/marines-new-warfighting-concept-focuses-on-small-agile-forces-with-eye-on-china/
