Pentagon Makes Push to Improve Infantry – How?

Air Force photo by Alejandro Peña

By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, March 14, 2018 —

The United States already has the best infantry soldiers, Marines and special operators on the face of the Earth, but Defense Secretary James N. Mattis wants them to completely overmatch any potential foes.

Joseph L’Etoile, the senior advisor in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness, is leading a Close Combat Lethality Task Force to ensure this overmatch becomes a reality.

The task force is laser-focused on capabilities, policies and doctrine that will allow close-combat squads to overmatch any opposing foe. “The idea is to ensure a squad can impose its will on a like-sized organization in any operational environment in any condition,” L’Etoile said in an interview in his Pentagon office.

A career infantry Marine, L’Etoile is working with Army, Marine Corps and special operations personnel to examine every aspect of infantry operations. This effort is aimed at the roughly 130,000 Defense Department personnel who engage in close-combat operations. This group historically suffers 90 percent of war casualties.

Improving Squad Lethality and Protection