The 5 Pillars Of Power: Inside The Modern Mission Of The Marine Corps Rifle Squad (2025 Update)

The mission of the Marine Corps Rifle Squad has undergone its most significant transformation in decades as of late 2024 and early 2025. While the core infantry task—to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver—remains doctrinally sound, the *how* of that mission is being radically redefined by new technology and the strategic demands of modern warfare. This shift is not merely an equipment upgrade; it is a fundamental re-engineering of the squad's structure, capabilities, and role on the battlefield, moving from a blunt instrument of maneuver to a distributed, lethal, and sensor-enabled fighting force. The primary driver of this change is the Marine Corps’ overarching strategic blueprint, Force Design 2030, which mandates a transition toward a more distributed, agile, and technologically advanced force capable of operating within contested environments, particularly in the Pacific theater under the concept of Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO). The humble rifle squad is the smallest, yet most critical, unit tasked with executing this grand strategy. The result is a 13-Marine squad structure, finalized after years of experimentation, that introduces a game-changing new role: the Organic Precision Fires Specialist.

The Traditional Foundation: Core Infantry Tasks

The foundational mission of the Marine Rifle Squad remains rooted in the principles of Maneuver Warfare. This doctrine, outlined in Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication (MCDP) 1, *Warfighting*, emphasizes the importance of striking the enemy’s critical vulnerabilities and achieving a decision faster than the adversary. The squad’s mission is a direct, actionable component of this philosophy.

Locate, Close With, and Destroy

The classic definition of the squad’s mission is a three-part mandate that governs all offensive operations. This task is executed through fire and maneuver, the synchronized application of suppressing fire to fix the enemy while a maneuver element moves to a position of advantage.

• Locate: This involves aggressive patrolling, reconnaissance, and leveraging organic sensors to find the enemy's position, strength, and disposition.
• Close With: The act of aggressively moving toward the enemy position, often under the cover of supporting fire, to initiate the final assault.
• Destroy: The final phase, involving the use of all available weapons, including small arms, grenades, and close combat, to eliminate the enemy force.

In defensive operations, the mission shifts to repelling the enemy's assault by fire and close combat, holding assigned defensive positions, and coordinating fire with adjacent units. The squad is the smallest unit of maneuver in the Marine Corps, making its leadership—the Squad Leader, typically a Sergeant—the most critical link between the platoon commander's intent and the action on the ground.

The New 13-Man Structure: A Technological Leap

After extensive debate and field testing, the Marine Corps has officially settled on a 13-Marine rifle squad structure for its traditional infantry battalions and its new Littoral Combat Teams (LCTs). This structure maintains the traditional balance of firepower and maneuverability while integrating a new, critical capability. The current 13-man organization is composed of:

1. Squad Leader (Sgt): The commander, responsible for controlling the squad and executing the Platoon Commander's orders.
2. Three Four-Man Fire Teams: Each team is led by a Corporal and includes a Rifleman, an Automatic Rifleman (armed with the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle), and an Assistant Automatic Rifleman/Grenadier. (3 teams x 4 Marines = 12 Marines).
3. One Precision Fires Specialist: The 13th Marine, a new organic billet focused on long-range, non-line-of-sight engagement.

The addition of the Precision Fires Specialist is the centerpiece of the modern squad mission, directly addressing lessons learned from recent global conflicts, such as the extensive use of small, affordable, and lethal drones in Ukraine.

The Fifth Pillar: Organic Precision Fires and Distributed Lethality

The most significant update to the Marine Rifle Squad’s mission is the organic integration of precision, non-line-of-sight strike capability. This new role fundamentally changes the squad from a purely kinetic, direct-fire unit into a combined sensor-shooter node capable of independent, long-range effects.

The Role of the Precision Fires Specialist

This specialist is trained to operate small, expendable, and lethal unmanned aerial systems, specifically loitering munitions. Their primary mission is to provide the squad with an immediate, over-the-horizon strike capability, allowing the squad to engage enemy forces—including light armored vehicles, command nodes, and dismounted infantry—without exposing themselves to direct counter-fire. The specialist is the squad’s answer to the challenge of Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO), where units are spread across vast distances and must be self-sufficient. They enable:

• Immediate Target Engagement: The ability to strike a target of opportunity without waiting for external artillery or air support.
• Extended Reconnaissance: Using the loitering munition's sensor payload for high-fidelity, immediate reconnaissance and target confirmation.
• Counter-UAS/Counter-Drone: The loitering munition platform can also be used to observe and potentially counter enemy small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) by providing real-time intelligence to the Squad Leader.

The Organic Precision Fires-Light (OPF-L) Program

The equipment enabling this new mission is being fielded under the Organic Precision Fires-Light (OPF-L) program. This program focuses on providing the infantry squad with a small, man-portable loitering munition. The Marine Corps has selected systems from companies like Teledyne FLIR (specifically the Rogue 1 system) for testing and future delivery, with fielding anticipated to ramp up in the coming years. These systems are essentially small, armed drones that can "loiter" over a target area, search for the enemy, and then be directed to strike with a small warhead. This capability transforms the squad's reach, turning a small unit into a potent, long-range strike asset.

The Future Mission: A Sensor-Shooter Node

The 2025 mission of the Marine Corps Rifle Squad is no longer just about overwhelming the enemy with direct fire. It is about distributed lethality and information superiority. The modern rifle squad is a small, integrated element of the larger Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF), now operating with the ability to: 1. Integrate Sensors and Shooters: The specialist acts as an organic sensor and shooter, linking the squad directly into the wider command and control network. 2. Conduct Independent Maneuver: Squads can operate in a more decentralized, distributed manner, knowing they have their own precision fire support. This is crucial for operations in complex terrains, such as archipelagos and littoral zones. 3. Increase Survivability: By engaging targets from non-line-of-sight positions, the squad can reduce its exposure to enemy fire, increasing its overall survivability and effectiveness. In essence, the Marine Rifle Squad has evolved from being purely a maneuver element to a maneuver-and-strike element. Its mission is to not only locate and destroy the enemy up close but also to fix, disrupt, and neutralize threats at extended ranges, making it the most technologically advanced and lethal small unit in the history of the Corps. The addition of the Precision Fires Specialist ensures that the lowest-level infantry unit is fully equipped to fight and win the next generation of warfare.

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