Q & A GEN. ROBERT B. NELLER, USMC
NELLER, 63, COMPLETED HIS FIRST YEAR AS COMMANDANT SEPT. 24. The East Lansing, Mich., native graduated from the University of Virginia and was commissioned in 1975. Over the course of his 41-year career, he has served as an infantry offi cer at all levels, including command of Marine Security Force Company Panama dur- ing Operation Just Cause in 1989, command of the 3rd Light Armored Infantry Battalion dur- ing Operation Restore Hope in Somalia from 1993-94, and as deputy commanding general of I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) during Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2005-07. Recent past assignments have included di-
rector of Operations (J-3) of the Joint Staff ; commander of Marine Forces Command; and commander, Marine Forces Central Command. He is a graduate of Marine Corps Command and Staff College, NATO Defense College, and the Armed Forces Staff College, and holds a master’s degree in human resource management.
Is there a mismatch today between the size and capability of the Marine Corps and its responsibilities under current national defense strategy? We’re able to meet requirements of combatant commanders with our forc- es forward deployed around the globe. The number is in excess of 35,000 out of 183,000 or so Marines on active duty. Those forces are trained and ready, their gear in good shape.
The diff erence is, before 9/11, the Marine Corps was 172,500 but
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we were a 3-to-1 force. That is, home for 18 months, gone for six. Now we’re a 2-to-1 force: home 12 months, gone six. That creates stress on the force, on families, on equipment. The time to reset and train before we go again is [one]- third less. That’s a concern. So far, we’re able to sustain it. For young Marines, it’s not an
issue. They came in to go some- where and do something. For staff NCOs and offi cers, we’ve got to
make sure we give them a chance to reset their own selves and take care of their families before we put them back in the fi ght.
The pace of operations, you’ve said, is as intense today as it was during the peak of the Iraq War. Why? Fewer soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines are in combat areas, but there are things we’re doing now that we weren’t doing then. We didn’t have units on Okinawa [Japan] or in the Far East; they’re back now. We didn’t have two Special Purpose MAGTFs [Marine Air-Ground Task Forces] deployed, one supporting Africa Command and distributed throughout European Command, the other supporting Central Com- mand. On 9/11, there was no Marine Special Operations Command. We didn’t have as many Marines in- volved in cyber activities or another 1,000 involved in embassy security.
So we’re doing diff erent things, but when you’re gone, you’re gone.
At the height of the war, you also had 202,000 Marines. You’re almost 20,000 below that now. Another fac- tor behind high operational tempo? When [we] grew the force to 202,000, we went from 24 to 27 infantry battalions to get a better depth-to-dwell [ratio]. We didn’t change what was in the organiza- tion. We just made more of the same. We’re talking now about changing what’s in the organization a little bit.
Is that to relieve 2-to-1 dwell? No. Given the missions and capability sets we have, it’s where we are.
If the president were to ask you what the Marine Corps needs to become an optimal force for threats it faces, what would be your top three requests?
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