This plan establishes priorities and provides the combat developer's guidance and direction for investment in the science and technology (S & T) necessary to enable our future Marine Corps. It addresses capability needs for each of the elements of our Marine Air-Ground Task Force as well as key enabling needs resourced by the Navy; these include support to the Sea Base, Naval Aviation, and Naval Medicine and Human Performance. Recognizing the importance of reducing the demand for power and energy to our warfighters, we have included a Power & Energy section in this year's plan. This Plan identifies Science and Technology Objectives (STO) as those technology capability enhancements most needed to enable the warfighting capabilities of our future operating forces. The STOs are not all inclusive and neither are they an end in themselves. The STOs are the opening salvo in the engagement between the S & T 'three circles' (consisting of the combat developer, technology developer, and the materiel developer) in defining what is required, the 'art of the possible, ' and what can and will transition into a program of record. Only in this coordinated fashion can we ensure that our S & T dollars are spent wisely and effectively. While each of the participants in this process is important, requirements drive the S & T process.

This plan establishes priorities and provides the combat developer's guidance and direction for investment in the science and technology (S&T) necessary to enable our future Marine Corps. It addresses capability needs for each of the elements of our Marine Air-Ground Task Force as well as key enabling needs resourced by the Navy; these include support to the Sea Base, Naval Aviation, and Naval Medicine and Human Performance. Recognizing the importance of reducing the demand for power and energy to our warfighters, we have included a Power & Energy section in this year's plan. This Plan identifies Science and Technology Objectives (STO) as those technology capability enhancements most needed to enable the warfighting capabilities of our future operating forces. The STOs are not all inclusive and neither are they an end in themselves. The STOs are the opening salvo in the engagement between the S&T 'three circles' (consisting of the combat developer, technology developer, and the materiel developer) in defining what is required, the 'art of the possible,' and what can and will transition into a program of record. Only in this coordinated fashion can we ensure that our S&T dollars are spent wisely and effectively. While each of the participants in this process is important, requirements drive the S&T process.

To provide a strategic plan for the Marine Corps Science and Technology (S & T) enterprise. The Plan focuses Marine Corps S & T efforts to pursue S & T initiatives and support experimentation of concept-based requirements to achieve future Marine Corps capabilities. Background: (a) The Marine Corps S & T Enterprise is an integral part of the larger Naval Research Enterprise (NRE). It is a collaborative effort between the Marine Corps Combat Development Command under the staff cognizance of the Deputy Commandant, Combat Development and Integration, (DC, CD & I); the Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC), and the Office of Naval Research (ONR). This relationship is depicted in Figure 1.; (b) The Commandant of the Marine Corps provides the future vision for the Marine Corps based on strategic guidance. The DC, CD & I expands on CMC's vision by developing Marine Corps warfighting concepts and determining required capabilities in Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership and Education, Personnel, and Facilities to enable the Marine Corps to field combat-ready forces; (c) The Marine Corps Combat Development Command (MCCDC) serves as the combat developer for the Marine Corps in the same way that the Marine Corps Systems Command serves as the materiel developer and the Office of Naval Research is technology developer for the Department of the Navy (Navy and Marine Corps). Coalescing these responsibilities requires a synergistic partnership with a common vision, a strategy, and an implements plan. Staff responsibility for coordinating Marine Corps S & T combat development efforts is assigned by DC CD & I to the Commanding General, Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory under the title of Executive Agent for Marine Corps S & T. An S & T Integrated Product Team with a broad membership across the community of interest reflected in Figure 1 supports the EA for S & T in this coordination role as needed.

The Commandant's Planning Guidance (CPG) provides the 38th Commandant's strategic direction for the Marine Corps and mirrors the function of the Secretary of Defense's Defense Planning Guidance (DPG). It serves as the authoritative document for Service-level planning and provides a common direction to the Marine Corps Total Force. It also serves as a road map describing where the Marine Corps is going and why; what the Marine Corps force development priorities are and are not; and, in some instances, how and when prescribed actions will be implemented. This CPG serves as my Commandant's Intent for the next four years. As Commandant Neller observed, "The Marine Corps is not organized, trained, equipped, or postured to meet the demands of the rapidly evolving future operating environment." I concur with his diagnosis. Significant change is required to ensure we are aligned with the 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS) and DPG, and further, prepared to meet the demands of the Naval Fleet in executing current and emerging operational naval concepts. Effecting that change will be my top priority as your 38th Commandant. This CPG outlines my five priority focus areas: force design, warfighting, education and training, core values, and command and leadership. I will use these focal areas as logical lines of effort to frame my thinking, planning, and decision-making at Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC), as well as to communicate to our civilian leadership. This document explains how we will translate those focus areas into action with measurable outcomes. The institutional changes that follow this CPG will be based on a long-term view and singular focus on where we want the Marine Corps to be in the next 5-15 years, well beyond the tenure of any one Commandant, Presidential administration, or Congress. We cannot afford to retain outdated policies, doctrine, organizations, or force development strategies. The coming decade will be characterized by conflict, crisis, and rapid change - just as every decade preceding it. And despite our best efforts, history demonstrates that we will fail to accurately predict every conflict; will be surprised by an unforeseen crisis; and may be late to fully grasp the implications of rapid change around us. The Arab Spring, West African Ebola Outbreak, Scarborough Shoal standoff, Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine, and weaponization of social media are but a few recent examples illustrating the point. While we must accept an environment characterized by uncertainty, we cannot ignore strong signals of change nor be complacent when it comes to designing and preparing the force for the future. What is abundantly clear is that the future operating environment will place heavy demands on our Nation's Naval Services. Context and direction is clearly articulated in the NDS and DPG as well as testimony from our uniformed and civilian leadership. No further guidance is required; we are moving forward. The Marine Corps will be trained and equipped as a naval expeditionary force-in-readiness and prepared to operate inside actively contested maritime spaces in support of fleet operations. In crisis prevention and crisis response, the Fleet Marine Force - acting as an extension of the Fleet - will be first on the scene, first to help, first to contain a brewing crisis, and first to fight if required to do so. The Marine Corps will be the "force of choice" for the President, Secretary, and Combatant Commander - "a certain force for an uncertain world" as noted by Commandant Krulak. No matter what the crisis, our civilian leaders should always have one shared thought - Send in the Marines.

"The Marine Corps Science and Technology Strategic Plan" establishes the priorities and direction for science and technology (S & T) investment in the technologies that the nation needs for its future Marine Corps. This Plan addresses capability needs for all the elements of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force. The Plan is designed to complement the "Marine Corps Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare Capability List" by identifying as S & T objectives -- STOs -- the technology enhancements most needed to enable the warfighting capabilities of the nation's future Marine operating forces. The STOs are not intended to be all-inclusive. Instead, they identify the priority S & T objectives needed to implement the vision for the 21st century Marine Corps. This Plan is intentionally designed to mirror the warfighting functions contained in the "Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare Capability" list so as to clearly depict the linkages between the Marine Corp's capability needs and the science and technology pursuits that have been determined to be essential. However, the authors have added separate sections for Mine Counter Measures and Human Performance and Training in recognition of the specific S & T investment made in these critical enabling combat development areas. In addition, they have included Annexes that address the capability needs of a future sea-based, power projection Navy-Marine Corps team capable of implementing distributed operations and increasing their agility and speed in operations from cooperative security to major combat. One must not forget that it is the infantryman who is the centerpiece of the military institution, even though expertly supported by combat power of immense lethality from the air-ground team and superbly sustained by Marine logistics. Accordingly, this plan focuses on S & T capabilities that enhance small units that are more autonomous, more lethal, and better able to operate across the full spectrum of operations."

This plan is a supporting document to Marine Corps strategic planning guidance and those documents guiding force capability development. It serves as the initial road map for developing training technology requirements and fully implementing Modeling and Simulation (M&S) in support of the MAGTF Capability List (MCL) and MAGTF Requirement List (MRL). By describing objectives and clarifying responsibilities, this plan outlines an approach by which the operating forces and supporting establishment will, over the next ten years, fully integrate with Marine Corps and Joint capabilities development processes as a means of achieving the desired end state. This plan serves both the Marine Corps and industry as a source document for current and objective capabilities for virtual and constructive simulation in support of the Marine Corps. Supporting plans are intended to be developed to include more detailed development and implementation of M&S in support of all MAGTF training. Background As stated in Marine Corps Strategy 21, our goal is to make America's Marines comprise the premier expeditionary ̀Total Force in Readiness.'" Specific aims supporting this goal include "expand[ing] our participation in science and technology developments to enhance the capabilities of the Total Force;" and "creat[ing] a distributed planning, training, and rehearsal capability for the MAGTF at the tactical and operational levels of war to include enhanced amphibious capability." Technological advances, the availability and affordability of training technology, and alignment and integration of Joint and Marine Corps capabilities development processes have out-paced the usefulness of existing M&S master plans. A renewed effort is necessary to meet critical training requirements, with an emphasis on training for the GCE.