New Ideas from Old Books

Marines are going to have to be comfortable with chaos, operate in dispersed situations, and push complex operations to sergeant-level organizations.3 Modern maneuver warfare requires an adaptive mindset in addition to skills typically thought of as required for combat leaders. The battle has been described as "the critical learning experience on how to meet and defeat a tenacious and proficient enemy in very difficult terrain under most adverse circumstances."^ Sounds a lot like what may face Marines if tasked to address Chinese aggression in the South Pacific. Fear is a reaction to danger and controlling fear increases a person's ability to react to physical threats and survive.10 The improvisation inherent to maneuver warfare induces opportunities for leaders to manage both fear and acute stress. Guadalcanal NCOs report that the effort they spent controlling young Marines' fear and. acute stress had tangible value in the ability to take assigned objectives and "shake off" the unpleasantness of war.11 This factor has particular importance in modern maneuver warfare because panic usually begins in the rear and moves forward.