Communications
By the fall of 1996, the Marines will finally begin their long-awaited move to the Army's Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS). SINCGARS utilizes 'frequency hopping' to make its signals difficult to intercept or jam. The 2nd MEF will get the entire suite of SINCGARS radio systems for aircraft, vehicles, and personnel in FY-1996 and FY-97. SINCGARS will be taken to the field by 26th MEU (SOC) during their 1996/97 Mediterranean cruise. The current SINCGARS variants are shown in the table below:
Marines deploy a number of satellite communications systems, ranging from large fixed systems for command posts to backpack models for on-the-scene commanders. The key to military satellite communications is access to the proper frequency channels, which are usually overbooked and the subject of intense competition by users, all of whom need to communicate right now. The Department of Defense maintains a number of satellite communications systems to support military operations. But the high tempo of U.S. military deployments has saturated existing military systems. Every communications satellite has a number of transponders, which provide television or radio channels. Each transponder is assigned according to priorities determined by theater commanders, or even by the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. There are simply not enough to go around. As a result, the Defense Department is also a major customer for commercial satellite communications air time from commercial suppliers like INMARSAT and Hughes. The Marines have equipment that operates on most standard satellite frequencies, though the most common is the man-portable UHF TACSAT system. This version, known as the PRC- 117D, is carried by a communications specialist, with a backpack battery and transceiver and an attached antenna. Able to transmit voice or data, it works well in the field, though it is a battery hog.
While the Marine Corps has a robust and effective communication architecture today, things are going to be changing fast. Already on the horizon are direct-broadcast /receive commercial satellite phone systems, and military communicators are drooling to get some. Global handheld satellite phones will create a telecommunications revolution that makes current-generation cellular phones look like soup cans connected by a string. For example, Texas Instruments has already developed a two-way satellite antenna that is just a flat square a few inches/centimeters on each side. Requiring only minuscule power to operate, it can be fitted to the roof of an HMMWV, or possibly even the top of a Kevlar 'Fritz' helmet. The dream of tying every Marine into a global communications net is now within sight.
Food and Water
Marines might be able to hold a position without fuel and with just the ammunition they are carrying, but without food or water, they will have to surrender or die within a few days. Water is usually no problem; Marines have a ready supply of pure water from the ships that bring them ashore. The Corps has also made a significant investment in portable reverse-osmosis water-purification systems that can be delivered via transport aircraft or prepositioned ships. As a result, other services and coalition allies frequently depend upon Marine units to supply their water needs until follow-on logistics forces arrive.
Food is a different matter. The Corps is a virtual hostage to the meal systems produced by the U.S. Army; it must order food items from the Army logistics system. Options are limited. To begin with, there are Meals Ready to Eat (MREs), heavy, bland, but nourishing rations. Since Desert Storm, MREs have actually gotten heavier, for the Army has chosen to pack more stuff into the brown plastic packages, rather than make what was already inside more appetizing. The result is that field troops tend to throw much of the MRE away, and thus fail to take in the nutrients and calories they need. Though MRE manufacturers like Star Foods already have better products on hand, the Army is not willing to buy them at this time. It is working to issue better MREs, though, and expects to field several new kinds in FY-2000. Because MREs are so unappetizing, American peacekeepers in Bosnia have been using their own money to buy nutritional snacks or freeze-dried camping food; and if they're lucky, they can get some French or British rations. The French version of the MRE, for example, contains fresh bread and pate!
The Marine food service system falls into three levels. The first or 'A'-type rations are boxes with three trays of prepackaged food (meats, vegetables, and starches), which are heated in tray boilers and served cafeteria-style to troops. The 'B'-type rations are actual meals that are cooked in field kitchens made from locally purchased ingredients as well as dehydrated/freeze-dried ingredients shipped from the U.S. Finally, there are the field rations, normally composed of MREs. I say normally, because when troops enter cold-weather and high-altitude areas, they begin to burn calories at an incredible rate. While a typical Marine might burn about three thousand calories per day under normal environmental conditions, cold weather can double this rate. Since Marines routinely throw out much of the stuff inside the four MREs issued each day, something else is clearly required for cold-weather operations. That is the cold-weather ration. Produced by Oregon Freeze Dry, Inc. (they also produce Mountain House brand camping food) and packaged by Right Away Foods, these rations take up only half as much space and volume as a comparable diet of MREs, and deliver more calories. The ration itself is composed mainly of freeze-dried foods which are contained in a sealed plastic bag. These only require rehydration to make them ready to eat. Given a supply of snow for melting and a heat source, the cold-weather ration can provide an excellent source of hot food for field units. As an added benefit, it is very high in calories (about three thousand per issued ration), and quite light in weight. Compared to MREs, cold-weather rations are quite tasty, and this means that the troops eat everything in the packs issued each day.
As the Marine Corps moves towards the 21st century, it is looking forward to the new varieties of MREs due to be fielded by the Army. But don't be surprised if the USMC finally begins to produce rations to its own design and specification. The Commandant's Battle Lab at Quantico, Virginia, is studying the problem from a purely 'Marine' point of view, and may yet produce field rations with an 'expeditionary' flavor.
Fire Support
Marine units are primarily infantry-based formations, which depend upon the fire of supporting units to achieve their objectives. Supporting fire must be both accurate and lethal to allow lightly laden Marines to stand up to everything they might have to face, from irregular forces (as encountered in Somalia and Liberia) to conventional military units like those in the Persian Gulf. Without firepower, Marines have to trade their lives to take objectives; and the American people simply will not accept excessive casualties. Thus, Marines have a great professional interest in fire support. Almost every Marine can read a map, use a radio, and call in fire from ships, aircraft, or artillery. A single rifle platoon might receive air support from AV-8B Harrier IIs or AH-1W Super Cobras, and artillery support from a battery of 155mm guns, or an offshore destroyer or cruiser. The Corps is currently suffering a severe shortfall of fire support. In the five years following Desert Storm, the Marines and the Navy lost over half of their total fire-support resources with the decommissioning of the lowa-class (BB-61) battleships and retirement of many support aircraft and artillery units. This is a source of severe concern to Marine and Navy leaders.
