WASHINGTON — The Marine Corps is working on a first-of-its-kind information warfare plan to translate complex technical concepts into a broader strategic vision for the Corps, policymakers and senior leaders across the Pentagon, according to the service.
The plan, still in draft, seeks to streamline the Corps’ information warfare training, justify funding requests to Congress, and explain to industry representatives what capabilities Marines seek to manipulate information on the battlefield, Eric Schaner, deputy director for information plans and strategy within the deputy commandant for information’s office, told Breaking Defense in response to emailed questions.
It is not clear when the forthcoming plan will be published.
This is the first time such a plan has been devised, but it is envisioned as akin to the Marine Corps Aviation Plan, an annual document that outlines the strategic vision of the service’s aviators and desired capabilities to industry, senior leaders and policymakers.
The information warfare plan’s “primary vision is to establish strategic initiatives that serve as the connective tissue between broad Marine Corps strategies and clear, time-phased modernization roadmaps,” Schaner said.
Non-kinetic and information warfare capabilities play a growing role in military operations, from cyber missions that purported to aid in the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, to electronic warfare tactics that jam enemy communications and radars.
“There is an insatiable demand and realization by combatant commanders now that non-kinetic effects are integral to what they need to do, and they are turning to the services, particularly to the Marine Corps, to say, ‘Hey, I need this capability in addition to the traditional arms of the’” Marine Air-Ground Task Forces, Deputy Commandant for Information Lt. Gen. Jospeh Matos said at the Modern Day Marine Conference in April. “Those demand signals are out there because they realize, in order for the combat commander to do his job, they need these non-kinetic effects from across the services.”
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Schaner pointed out three key themes expected in the forthcoming plan.
The first theme centers around professionalizing the information warfare community, by transitioning the siloed information intelligence and communications occupational fields into an information warfare community with clear, standardized training and readiness pipelines. This will ensure Marine information warfighters are ready and equipped to meet the technical demands of modern conflict, Schaner said.
The plan will also outline what resources information warfare Marines require in coming years as they communicate to the service and industry partners their needs. Additionally, this theme will provide transparent justification to Congress to secure funding support for critical capabilities, such as resilient tactical networks, AI-enabled data fusion and long-range sensing and targeting.
Another theme in the forthcoming plan will center around driving greater integration of information warfare capabilities across the fleet to enable the joint force. The plan is also expected to highlight any institutional changes needed to better integrate directly into the combat power of the Marine Air-Ground Task Forces.
The plan follows other recent efforts to bolster information warfare within the Corps as a key enabler and force multiplier, such as the establishment of the deputy commandant for information position in 2017; the creation of information and multi-domain forces at each Marine Expeditionary Force; and Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication-8, Information, which was published in 2022 and describes the purpose and mechanics of information as a war fighting function for the entire service.