Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 1 Warfighting has proven to be one of the most enduring documents in American military history. One reason for this is unlike most other publications, it is not a how-to manual that is overtaken by events. It is a philosophical document that explains how the Marine Corps thinks about warfare. Unlike other similar documents, it was not written by committee or a senior officer. The task of writing the most important document in the Marine Corps fell to a captain, a relatively junior officer. The author of MCDP-1 explains how this remarkable document came to be.
Pentagon Labyrinth
The Creation of Warfighting, with John Schmitt
November 28, 2016
When the Marine Corps needed a new capstone document to capture its emerging warfighting philosophy in the 1980s, the person chosen to draft it was not a general, but a junior officer, then-captain John Schmitt.
People
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Guest Expert
John Scmitt
Major John Schmitt is the author of Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 1 Warfighting (MCDP-1).
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Host
Dan Grazier
Dan Grazier is a Senior Defense Policy Fellow at the Center for Defense Information at POGO.
Show Notes:
- Fleet Marine Force Manual 1, Warfighting
- The Road to FMFM 1: The United States Marine Corps and Maneuver Warfare Doctrine, 1979-1989
- Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 1, Warfighting
- “Institutional Reform” Warfighting Panel With Gen. Al Gray, LtGen Paul Van Riper, Maj John Schmitt
- Music: “Without Limits” Ross Bugden
Center for Defense Information
The Center for Defense Information at POGO aims to secure far more effective and ethical military forces at significantly lower cost.