Marine Special Ops Command Hones its ‘Cognitive Raiders’
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Marine Special Ops Command Hones its ‘Cognitive Raiders’
9/7/2021
Marine Raiders provide security during a readiness exercise.
Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Brennan Priest
Marine Raiders are some of the nation’s most elite warfighters, but Marine Corps Special Operations Command is pushing to make them even better with its “Cognitive Raider” initiative.
The Marine Corps Special Operations Forces 2030 strategic vision outlined the Cognitive Raider innovation pathway, asserting that troops sent into future special operations environments “must be able to understand them and then adapt their approaches across an expanded range of solutions,” adding, “While tough, close-in, violent actions will remain a feature of future warfare, MARSOF must increasingly integrate tactical capabilities and partnered operations with evolving national, theater and interagency capabilities across all operational domains, to include those of information and cyber.”
To facilitate that understanding and adaptation, MARSOC has implemented an annual event called the Cognitive Raider Symposium, also known as CRS. Co-hosted with the Naval Postgraduate School’s Defense Analysis Department, the multi-day gatherings provide myriad learning venues designed to hone the Marine Raiders’ tactical edges. Significantly, the symposium not only addresses the Cognitive Raider pathway, but also illustrates MARSOF as a true connector of ideas and concepts.
Opening the third iteration of the symposium in early June, Col. John Lynch, MARSOC deputy commander, identified several key traits that help to define a Cognitive Raider, offering, “It starts with being a problem solver, one that never becomes complacent but instead remains adaptable and forward thinking.”
He described an “edge” where the Marine Raider asserts, “I’m not satisfied. There is more out there. There are ways to be better. There are ways to be more efficient. There are ways to be more lethal. And there are better ways to accomplish what we’re trying to accomplish.
“I cannot pick a single period of time in my career … where we have been challenged to evolve at the pace we’re being challenged to evolve right now,” he added. “It is remarkable how fast we have to do it.”
Douglas Borer, chair of the Defense Analysis Department at the Naval Postgraduate School, noted the conference’s focus on “frontier technologies,” offering both low-tech and high-tech examples while discussing how the technologies might alter tactical and strategic realities against a background of great power competition with nations such as China and Russia.
“When I asked what frontier technologies a Cognitive Raider mostly followed, the list included things like automation, AI, advanced manufacturing, biotech, quantum computing, 5G, next-gen hardware robotics and space,” said Matt Stafford, a State Department representative. “These largely follow State’s concerns. I know we both have much longer lists that we’re also paying attention to, but it’s good to hear that we share these worries. We also share some of your background worries about how these things will get used, or combined with each other, or just combined with existing technologies.”
Master Gunnery Sgt. Mark Castille, command senior enlisted leader at the Marine Raider Training Center, engaged conference participants with a presentation focused on critical thinking tools and methods, capping the discussion with a participatory creative thinking exercise for attendees.
The CRS series brings in speakers from diverse and unique backgrounds. This approach was reflected in presentations by writers and analysts P.W. Singer and August Cole, co-authors of the novel Ghost Fleet, which has appeared on the Commandant of the Marine Corps’ Professional Reading List.
Singer noted that he had been asked to speak on the topic “What comes next?” adding, “There is a challenge in that, particularly to the defense space, where the belief is that wrestling with the future is something that we shouldn’t do, because we get it wrong so often.”
Against that caveat, Singer discussed the implications of China’s 19th Party Congress’ order for the Chinese military to “accelerate the development of military ‘intelligentization.’”
“We need to use new modes…
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