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Putting it all together

A powerfully written trip report by retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey is circulating Washington. Taken as a whole, his report describes Afghanistan as being at a strategic and operational inflection point — what some might call a “tipping point.”

Every indication coming from Afghanistan argues for a “surge” of capability, but the type of surge that proved successful in Iraq is not what is needed, and may not even be possible. McCaffrey argues that more combat brigades are not the answer, even if they were available. Based on the nature of the conflict and the history of its people, Afghanistan needs a force that can help it solve its own problems, McCaffrey argues.

A nontraditional option is available. The Marine Corps Reserve has the immediate potential to field a cohesive, pretrained, air-ground stabilization force with muscle. While follow-on forces will undoubtedly be required, the Marine task force I propose meets McCaffrey’s initial prescription for success.

Marine Forces Reserve is organized as a near mirror image of its active component counterparts. It has a Marine division — three infantry regiments, plus a full complement of combat support units such as artillery, armor, engineer, communications and reconnaissance. It has an aircraft wing with substantial rotary wing aviation capability — transport, utility and attack helicopters — plus 40 percent of the Corps’ air refueling capability. Many of these aviation assets have served tours in mountainous Afghanistan.

The Reserve also has a robust logistics group capable of delivering substantial support to military units and a civilian populace. Marine Forces Reserve has a deep reservoir of civil affairs expertise that has served with distinction in Iraq. There are additional individual augmentees with current skills — both military and civilian — and a wealth of combat experience. This capability could expand the training cadres that Marine Forces Reserve has sent to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, the units of Marine Forces Reserve have been mobilized for duty around the world, primarily in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. The men and women of this force have served with distinction. The force has been judiciously employed, with relatively small portions serving on active duty at any one time. So it is a force that is largely well-rested, and certainly less stressed than the active-duty Marine Corps and probably less than the ground forces of the National Guard and Army Reserve.

A point to consider: The Marine Corps Reserve, like the Corps’ active component, is a young, first-term force. That means that repeat deployments by the same units frequently do not mean as many repeat deployments by the same Marines. This demographic fact also contributes to my assessment of the Marine Corps Reserve as “better rested.”

The “surge stabilization force” I envision would have enough “shooters” from the infantry, artillery and attack helicopter communities to provide a robust force protection capability, and sufficient quick reaction forces to answer expected Taliban response to success in remote villages. But the core of this force would be its civil affairs units, backed by support and service units of engineers, transporters, water purifiers, medical and dental professionals. All of these skills are immediately available in Marine Forces Reserve.

In the Marine Corps, civil affairs units are found only in the Reserve. At the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Corps had two civil affairs groups. Each group deployed on two occasions to Iraq, but it was clear that more capability was needed. Marine Forces Reserve built two additional provisional civil affairs groups in 2004 and 2005. Today, it could put four civil affairs groups in Iraq simultaneously if tasked to do so.

So what’s not to like? This proposal would break new ground for the Marine Corps and its Reserve. In the past, the Corps has deployed Reserve units primarily at the battalion and squadron level, attaching them to active-component division and wing headquarters.

I recommend a new approach of building a self-contained force entirely from Reserve assets, including the command element. Some will be nervous, but this should not deter Defense Department and Marine leaders. Every element of the force described above has been tested separately in combat. The only change here is putting them together.

Given the great potential for success or failure in Afghanistan, our ongoing commitment in Iraq, and the stress the past seven years has put on other elements of our forces, the time seems right for bold thinking.

The Marine Corps and its Reserve are up to the task.

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The writer is a retired Marine lieutenant general and the former head of Marine Forces Reserve.