In this episode, we discuss:
-How Neil views training and education
-How the Marine Corps seems to focus more on training enlisted Marines over educating them
-What professional military education (PME) was like when Neil joined the Marine Corps
-The lack of PME he experienced as a young Marine in the fleet
-Where Neil’s interest in PME began
-The influence that the Infantry Small Unit Leaders Course had on Neil
-Neil’s initial reaction to working with me (a non-Marine civilian)
-Why Neil thinks decision-forcing cases (DFCs) are effective teaching tools
-How creating and facilitating DFCs helped Neil trust his Marines more
-Neil’s favorite DFC
-Neil’s process of researching and developing DFCs
-If Neil were the Commandant of the Marine Corps, what’s the one thing he would change about enlisted professional education?
-Neil’s ideas on how to get Marines of all military occupational specialties interested in the profession of arms
-If Neil could change one thing about Marine training, what would it be?
-What about changing one thing about the infantry community?
-Neil’s thoughts on Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 7 Learning
-Neil’s journey to writing, the trials of publishing, and his advice to Marines who are interested in writing
-The need for honest critiques of one’s writing
-Some of Neil’s ‘a-ha’ moments with maneuver warfare
-The dichotomy between maneuver and attrition warfare
-What does the Marine Corps’ warfighting philosophy look like in garrison?
-As a former platoon sergeant, Neil’s expectations of his Marines, squad leaders, and platoon commanders
-What excites Neil most about the future of the Marine Corps
-What worries Neil most about the future of the Marine Corps
Links to books mentioned
The Bear Went Over the Mountain edited by Lester Grau: https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a316729.pdf
The Other Side of the Mountain by Ali Ahmad Jalali and Lester Grau: https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a376862.pdf
Fangs of the Lone Wolf by Dodge Billingsley: https://www.amazon.com/Fangs-Lone-Wolf-Russian-Chechen-1994-2009/dp/1909384771
Errata
Lester Grau did not write Fangs of the Lone Wolf. Dodge Billingsley did, though Grau wrote the foreword.
