Mission.
As the single authority for all Marine Corps Installations Matters, MCICOM exercises command and control of regional installations commands, establishes policy, exercises oversight and prioritizes resources in order to optimize support to the Operating Forces and tenant commands.
Focus.
In today’s unsettled and contested environment, one of the Marine Corps’ comparative advantages remains our global mission-focused base and station network. As the foundational platform from which the Marine Corps generates, deploys, employs, sustains and recovers ready forces, we must Be Ready to support today’s force readiness requirements while taking care of our Marines and their families. The changing national security environment and the Marine Corps Force Design efforts demand that we look beyond today and Make Ready to support the future force and if necessary to fight from the installations. This will require us to be actively engaged, innovative, adaptive and flexible to meet the requirements of those we support. I will focus on resourcing Force Design, building Resiliency, and enabling Retention of Talent.
Resourcing Force Design.
My priority, at the enterprise level, will be to ensure we identify and develop the necessary infrastructure and capabilities to realize Force Design objectives. There are extensive implications for the installations to support the changes in our force. We need to be a better partner in the force design and development process. This will require active engagement across HQMC and with the MARFOR’s to resource the “known knowns,” and ferret out the “known unknowns,” for Force Design – we cannot be late to need.
Building Resiliency.
Integral to success in Force Design will be the ability to continue operations in increasingly contested environments, from the frequency and severity of destructive weather events, through cyber and ransom-ware activities, to intentional attacks which could occur across multiple domains. Combined with the increase of activities conducting global operations from the installation, we must consider that the installation is no longer a safe haven. We must be prepared to fight from the installation. MCICOM must develop a resiliency strategy that extends beyond climate and energy and will encompass the ability to maintain operations and support across a contested competition to conflict spectrum.
Enabling Retention of Talent.
The Marine Corps and MCICOM depend on the talent of our people. MCICOM, through barracks, housing, schools, and Marine and family programs, is a critical component of the retention of talent. The quality of our support is either a deposit or withdrawal on the Marine’s commitment to future service. We will identify the investments that build the commitment of our Marines and their families. We will avoid withdrawing from their accounts. Likewise, the MCICOM global enterprise cannot deliver on our mission without talented Marines and civilians. As we consider the work that lies before us, MCICOM must improve our approach to recruiting, developing and retaining uniformed and civilian talent – we cannot win without you.
Be Ready. Make Ready.
The Marine Corps depends on the installations to deliver ready forces to answer the Nation’s demand for a 911 force. MCICOM will continue to deliver on that commitment by providing the tenant activity infrastructure, ranges, ports, airfields, and Marine and family services to meet today’s requirements. But the strategic landscape and changing organization demand that we aggressively posture the installations to meet the emergent challenges and requirements necessary to be “most ready when the nation is least ready.” Time is not our friend.
Expectations.
Following are my expectations for each of us as leaders with MCICOM Headquarters and for the regional leadership. These are aiming points I believe contribute to a successful and rewarding working relationship. I value your input – be prepared to engage in discussion and direction setting.
What should you expect of me?
- To set the conditions with the resources and flexibility for the team to accomplish our mission.
- My decisions and our recommendations will be informed by the team with appropriate staff work.
- I will strive to communicate openly with higher and adjacent organizations and with the MCICOM team in order to ensure a common understanding and set conditions of our operating environment.
- I will treat every individual with dignity and respect. This is a fundamental right of any individual.
- Accountability - for what I do and what I don't do. Help keep me accountable.
What do I expect of you?
- Be Professional, Proficient and Proactive. At this level and in this command, I take the first as a given. In the Installations, the second is always a work in progress. The last is required to gain the advantage.
- Get your car and drive it - stay off the bus. Don't be a passenger. I would rather have several cars all racing to the finish line than one bus with a bunch of passengers along for the ride.
- Gain and maintain admin superiority. If you are an expert in the business rules of the organization and practice rapid planning and execution effectively, we will win. Drive or be driven.
- Engage the brain. Physical presence does not compensate for mental absence.
- What did I learn today, who did I learn it from?
- Who did I teach today, what did I teach them?
- Who did I make smile today?
- Superior performance breeds trust, confidence and opens communication lines. The converse is also true. Effective operations at any level are based on Trust, Confidence and Communication.
- Communication. Communication drives effective mission accomplishment and for me personally requires constant, conscious thought and action. Ask yourself these questions on any action:
- What do I know?
- Who needs to know it?
- Have I told them?
- Given Force Design and future demands there is a complementary set we need to ask:
- What do I need to know?
- Who knows it?
- Have I talked to them?
The Team.
MCICOM is blessed with talented Marines and civilians possessing diverse skills who guide our organization. The breadth and complexity of our mission cannot drive us into “cylinders of excellence.” We are better and more effective together. We must take care of each other – the strength of the wolf is the pack. This is our Marine Corps culture and what we do. It sets us apart.
The End State.
Grow and develop as individuals and a team recognized by the Marine Corps as a solutions-based organization that “gets it done.” Everything we do impacts the success and welfare of the individual Marine and the Marine Corps as a whole. Our readiness for tomorrow’s fight will be in large part due to your efforts today.
Semper Fidelis,
MajGen D.W. Maxwell, USMC