Strategic Corporal

A consequence of contemporary thinking about modern military forces, who have both extensive communications and media visibility, is that of the Strategic Corporal. It means that the most junior soldiers may have to take actions that have consequences at the highest level of national policy, requiring more thoughtfulness in — and more information to — junior leaders. A corporal, in land combat, usually leads 5-10 soldiers. Some of the strongest advocates of the concept, although not the only ones, are in the United States Marine Corps.

Such responsibilities can be purely military, or go well beyond. During the 1991 Gulf War, at the Battle of Khafji, two U.S. Marine reconnaissance patrols, led by corporals, stayed in the city after it was overrun by Iraqi regular troops. They played a key role both in providing intelligence and in directing air and artillery strikes.

More elaboration came in a hypothetical article by the Commandant of the Marine Corps in 1999. Major Lynda Liddy, of the Australian Army, describes it, basing her paper on a 2002 statement by Lieutenant General Peter Leahy, Chief of the Australian Army, as

the Australian Army must begin to foster a military

culture that is aimed at preparing non-commissioned officers (NCOs) to become what has been described as ‘strategic corporals’. The term strategic corporal refers to the devolution of command responsibility to lower rank levels in an era of instant

communications and pervasive media images.

In the Battle of Fallujah, "the small unit leader emerged as a center of gravity. His ability to affect the tactical level had strategic implications."

To maximize the positive effects of these small unit

leaders, the Marines developed their strategy to integrate the Three Block War principles with Network Centric Warfare concepts. They used the training concepts developed for the Three Block War and augmented them with the equipment developed for Network Centric Warfare. The result was

tantamount to a human network centered on the small unit leader, the Strategic Corporal.

Recognizing the responsibilities at this level have necessitated better training in military law and military ethics. "Rules of engagement training, handling detainees, military ethics, these are all areas of instruction that are getting an increased emphasis," said Maj. Paul Merida of the Marine Corps' Basic School in Quantico, Va, who said it does not have to be a corporal; the concept applies to any Marine. "The guy's called a strategic corporal because not only can he make a good decision that has strategic implications, but he can also make a bad decision that can have strategic implications. He can be a corporal, he can be a sergeant, he can be a lieutenant--that's why these guys have to know these things and be trained how to operate as far as ethics and rules of engagement." Merida said. Martial arts training is stressed for reasons that include giving Marines options for nonlethal force.