Thinking First, Adapting Fast: Debating the Marine Corps’ Need for the Information Group

The U.S. Marine Corps is experiencing a significant internal debate over the effectiveness of its Marine expeditionary force information groups, which were created to integrate information warfare. One camp views the groups as a failed experiment that duplicates effort and should be disbanded, while the opposing side believes they add value and should be further optimized. This disagreement is not about the importance of information warfare itself, a concept widely accepted within the service, but rather about the specific organizational structure designed to implement it. The core questions revolve around whether these units are worth the resources and how to properly test their value. The author suggests that future discourse must focus on creating valid test criteria to prove or disprove the unit's worth, moving beyond arguments that are already settled.