Q&A: Major General Paul Lefebvre
Written by Phil Kiver
SOTECH 2010 Volume: 8 Issue: 6 (August)
Major General Paul Lefebvre
Commander
U.S. Marine Corps Forces
Special Operations Command
Major General Lefebvre graduated from Springfield College in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science in physical education. Prior to entering the Marine Corps, he coached football at Penn State. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in April 1977 following completion of Officer Candidate School (OCS).
Operational tours include: rifle, weapons and 81 mm mortar platoon commander, 1st Battalion, 3d Marines (1978-81); Guard company commander, Marine Barracks, Earle N.J. (1981-84); H&S and weapons company commander and operations officer, 2d Battalion, 9th Marines (1985-88); Current Operations, Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Fort Bragg, N.C. (1992-95); executive officer, 8th Marine Regiment (1995); commanding officer, 3d Battalion, 8th Marines (1995-98); executive officer, 2d Marine Regiment (1998); commanding officer, 22d Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) (2000-03); deputy director for Operations, U.S. Pacific Command (2004-2006); deputy commanding general, Multi- National Corps-Iraq (2008-09); deputy commanding general, II MEF (present).
Other tours have included faculty advisor and tactics instructor, Amphibious Warfare School (1988-91); director Strategic Initiatives Group (SIG), Plans Policies and Operations and simultaneously served as the director of the commandant’s “War Room” (1999-2000); director, MAGTF Staff Training Program, Marine Corps Combat Development Command (2003-04); commanding general, Marine Corps Recruit Depot/ Eastern Recruiting Region, Parris Island, S.C. (2006-08).
Lefebvre has served on the Board of Governors, Marine Corps Association and the editorial board, Marine Corps Gazette. Lefebvre is an honor graduate of Officer Candidate School, The Basic School and Amphibious Warfare School and a distinguished graduate of Marine Command and Staff College and the Marine Corps War College.
He was awarded the Leftwich Trophy in 1987 while serving with 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines.
Q: Last year, one of MARSOC’s primary goals was the reorganization of the command, in part growing to 12 special operations companies and 48 special operations teams. What is the status of the reorganization and are you on track with where the command hoped to be at this time?
A: The reorganization is going well. We activated the MARSOC Intelligence Battalion [MIB] in late May, which provides unprecedented support to our teams. We are moving forward with getting the companies fully manned, and we’re continuing to refine the training pipeline, which is ensuring we’re getting the right people in terms of both quantity and quality. We are working to make sure we have a sound foundation as we continue to build the command’s structure. MARSOC is proceeding along our projected operational growth plan about as expected. We are operationally engaged in every theater, but despite operational pressures, our build plan adheres to the SOF truths that “quality is more important than quantity” and that “special operations forces cannot be mass produced.” Our retention rates are high, and so our capabilities increase as we select and train new personnel while maintaining a solid core of experienced operators.
Q: How are you doing on hitting and maintaining your staffing numbers?
A: We are continuing the consistent, steady march toward reaching our initial authorized end-strength of 2,600 Marines, sailors and civilians. We have also recently implemented some additional manpower initiatives that look to increase our authorized end-strength and “right-size” the command for the long-duration irregular warfare campaign. These new initiatives will allow MARSOC to maintain an enduring presence—with one special operations task force and two special operations companies—while still allowing the command the flexibility to support additional SOCOM requirements as they arise. We are retaining our experienced and trained Marines for longer tours as a result of Headquarters, Marine Corps authorization for Marines to remain beyond the 60-month tours, with incentives for Marines reenlisting and remaining in MARSOC. The requested increases in manpower will also allow us to meet individual training, unit training and operational deployment requirements while ensuring that MARSOC personnel sustain primary and advanced SOF skills certifications. Increases in MARSOC manning are required to sustain the primary core tasks assigned by SOCOM. It will allow the command to move ahead of the sound of the guns and develop regionally-focused MSOCs with land and littoral capabilities that redefine the “clear, hold, build” concept through persistent engagement.
Q: Tell me about your selection process.
A: Well, the process is really four steps: recruiting, screening, assessment and selection. We have recently put into place some mechanisms that are designed to make our recruiting efforts more robust. We are working to ensure that Marines at all levels—those within the recruit pool as well as their commanders and senior enlisted—understand MARSOC in its entirety. This means building lines of communication to discuss what we’re looking for in Marines that come here, what our mission sets look like, what the career path looks like for Marines when they get here, etc. The screening phase simply ensures that Marines who are interested in coming to MARSOC meet the standardized prerequisites in all facets. This includes a very detailed medical screening and other physical fitness standards such as a swim assessment and hike.
The last two steps occur during our assessment and selection program, and that program has been evolving since the initial course in April 2007. I think we have recently settled on a sound methodology that will ensure we find the right Marines in terms of quantity and quality. We are looking for critical thinkers who can operate independently on a distributed battlefield in austere and adverse conditions. Our Assessment and Selection [A&S] is designed to evaluate Marines in both individual and team scenarios. It is demanding and requires a great deal of mental and physical endurance. We have recently implemented a 10-Week Preparation Guide for individuals selected for A&S. The guide is specifically geared toward the A&S curriculum, and we think that candidates who use the guide as designed will be well prepared for A&S. Marines who complete the assessment portion of the course are then evaluated against our primary MARSOC attributes as the final step in selection. When a Marine is selected after completion of A&S, he is assigned to the Individual Training Course which is a seven-month course designed to prepare him for the variety of missions which SOCOM has assigned to MARSOC.
Q: Not too long ago MARSOC graduated the first group of students from the almost month-long Special Operations Training Course at Dodge City. Tell me about the significance of this course, and then let’s talk about what MARSOC does to take a Marine and make then a special ops Marine.
A: It takes a specially skilled Marine to be a MARSOC critical skills operator [CSO]. Similarly, we require talented Marines to deploy in support of our CSOs. The Special Operations Training Course is designed to ensure these support Marines transition from their roles in the conventional forces to their new roles supporting special operations teams. The course is currently run by our Marine Special Operations Support Group. The training focuses on reinforcing critical combat skills and teaching combat support and combat service support Marines and sailors how to best perform their functions in the SOF environment.
Q: Language and cultural understanding has always been a key asset of SOF. How and with what resources do you develop those skills with your teams?
A: Language capabilities and regional understanding are keys to mission success. There is no indication that the world will soon revert to a place where large armies fight across open fields or even to a place where the enemy can be easily identified. Failed states and rogue extremists will play a significant role in future global engagements. It must be a priority to stabilize fragile governments so that they can defend their sovereignty, not only territorially, but economically and culturally as well. We must continue to develop our Marines and sailors into regional experts who can operate in an area and work by, with and through the native population. We will continue to build and enhance our Advanced Linguist Course and direct our efforts on those languages that support our assigned regional focus areas.
Q: What are your major acquisition plans for the next year? Are there any acquisition needs you have that are not yet funded?
A: MARSOC’s out-standing requirements to support our current mission set have been or are being addressed through the USSOCOM budget process. These requirements are for special operations forces peculiar items that enhance our capabilities and ensure interoperability with the other SOF components. When we stood up in February 2006, MARSOC was thought to be a “come as you are” force. The recognition that MARSOC would require SOF peculiar equipment to conduct the SOCOM directed missions was instantaneous. Beginning in FY06/07, MARSOC started developing its one-to-end list of SOF peculiar equipment requirements. We now have over 100 SOF peculiar items as programs of record. Our top four areas of emphasis to support our assigned SOCOM missions are: persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; biometrics; command, control, communication and computers; and counter-IED.
Q: What are MARSOC’s plans for the warrior’s individual weapon? Do you plan to stay with the M4 or are you looking at other weapons, the SCAR for example?
A: The Marine Corps “service common” weapons provide the operator the basic capability to conduct special operations forces missions. The Marine Corps equips the MARSOC operator with the M4A1, which meets the basic requirement of the operator’s capabilities. The Special Operations Product Modification weapon accessories are SOF peculiar items that increase the capability of the MARSOC operator. Some of these items are day optics, aiming lasers, close quarters battle optics, to name a few. These items are procured through the USSOCOM process to meet the MARSOC operator’s requirements. As technology advances, the Marine Corps continues to enhance the capabilities of these weapons systems. MARSOC will continue to assess the capability of the weapons and weapons accessories to ensure MARSOC operators’ needs are being met.
Q: Has MARSOC had a role in preparing and training the Afghan and Iraqi special operations forces?
A: MARSOC has had a significant role in preparing and training Afghan forces. Our teams and companies train intensively in order to effectively conduct their Foreign Internal Defense mission in Afghanistan. MARSOC efforts are focused on training with partnered forces to meet the high standards demanded in that combat environment. As a result, MARSOF and Afghans are well integrated and fighting alongside each other every day.
Q: Any final thoughts?
A: The establishment and activation of the MARSOC Intelligence Battalion was one of the component’s more significant accomplishments during the recent reorganization of the command. The MIB is unique in the Marine Corps and the SOF intelligence communities in that it brings to bear the power and capability of experienced MAGTF intelligence operators combined with the specialized training and equipment of USSOCOM. Our intelligence operators are having a significant impact on the battlefield and the activation of the MIB enables us to keep that capability growing in step with the component. At full strength, this growth will allow us to provide specialized, fused intelligence support to the Marine Special Operations Team level, while concurrently maintaining a robust analytical capability at the Marine Special Operations Company and Task Force levels. For the first time in its history, MARSOC deployed a Special Operations Task Force [SOTF], into Afghanistan under CJSOTF-A. Made up of Marines, soldiers, sailors, airmen, and a variety of Department of Defense and contracted civilians, it was a critical step in the legitimacy of Marine Special Operations Forces within the SOCOM community. Our first SOTF returned from this deployment at the end of June, after transferring the mission to another MARSOCsourced SOTF. The SOTF deployment demonstrated MARSOC’s ability to provide command and control of SOF over a very large battlespace, and incorporate fused intelligence capabilities, combat support and combat service support down to the lowest level. ♦