Introduced at the Farnborough Air Show, Second Line of Defense has published The Three Dimensional Warriors. A hard copy of this publication is available for $4.95 via PayPal in addition while supplies last we will send all three publications, 3D Warrior, the Renorming of Air Power and the Challenge of Maritime Security for the price of only the Three Dimensional Warriors.
The book is also available for Kindle through Amazon.com.
A PDF version is also available for download.
This is the first publication built around the interviews published on the website.
The publication provides an overview of how aviation for the United States Marine Corps (USMC) shapes their entire capabilities and directs how they operate. Aviation allows the USMC to be “three dimensional warriors” in fighting the “three block war.” Not only does aviation provide for 360-degree situational awareness, but aviation leverages the ground warrior against the “hybrid” enemies he faces today. As a former Commandant of the USMC characterized the challenge, the Marines have to be prepared to fight the “three block war.” For then Commandant General Krulak, Marines needed to be prepared to operate over the spectrum of warfare within confined space. USMC aviation provides the essential glue for such capability.
The new elements being added to the USMC – the V-22 and the F-35B – provide a significant advancement in capability to support these concepts of operations. The role of the air element for the USMC is essential to its future. One can have a police force that wears military uniforms or one can have a flexible military force enabled by full spectrum capability. The choice depends upon the central role provided by an integrated air element for USMC operations and options. The air element is the strategic glue, which enables diversified, decentralized, and flexible USMC operations.
Interviews with Generals Trautman and Deptula as well as interviews with pilots and maintainers are the core of the publication which highlights the transition to the Osprey and the F-35B. This publication is one of the first detailed treatments of the capabilities which the Osprey and F-35B bring to the fight.
At the heart of the change is the necking down from multiple legacy aircraft to two, the Osprey and the F-35B. As General Trautman has highlighted in a piece on the website, this provides for significant savings for the USMC.
It is the USMC version of shaping a Southwest Airlines strategy of flying common aircraft for its operations.
This transition is highlighted in the center spread of the publication.