{"id":19291,"date":"2019-02-08T01:32:02","date_gmt":"2019-02-08T01:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2019\/02\/08\/how-the-syrian-battlefield-is-preparing-the-corps-for-a-fight-with-russia-or-china\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:59:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:59:56","slug":"how-the-syrian-battlefield-is-preparing-the-corps-for-a-fight-with-russia-or-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/cyber\/2019\/02\/08\/how-the-syrian-battlefield-is-preparing-the-corps-for-a-fight-with-russia-or-china\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Syrian battlefield is preparing the Corps for a fight with Russia or China"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While much of the conflicts across the Middle East tend toward low tech and low intensity, the fight in Syria is providing Marine commanders with a wealth of knowledge and experience for a future fight with near peer rivals like Russia and China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2018\/09\/07\/marines-conduct-show-of-force-exercise-amid-russian-warnings-in-syria\/\" target=_blank>Syrian battlefield<\/a> is littered with a host of tech and weapons that range from Cold War relics to drones, sophisticated anti-tank systems, Russian jets and anti-aircraft systems \u2015 even aggressive electronic warfare tech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The environment is providing invaluable experience to Marines and U.S. military commanders who deploy to the region, but it\u2019s also pushing Marines to retrain skills more salient during the Cold War, like camouflage and reducing electronic and observable signatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marine Col. George Schreffler III, the former commander of Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force \u2013 Crisis Response \u2013 Central Command, told reporters during a media roundtable Wednesday that the Corps was learning valuable lessons about a number of high-end threats in the region. Schreffler and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2018\/12\/04\/busy-deployment-sees-marine-infantry-battalion-covering-three-middle-east-war-zones\/\" target=\"_blank\">Marines under his command <\/a>deployed to the Central Command area of operations from April until December 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere currently are threats out there,&#8221; Schreffler said. \u201cAnd with our aircrews in particular operating in Central Command is a significant opportunity to assess and deal with these threats &#8230; they\u2019re gaining significant operational experience that\u2019s going to make them more relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2018\/11\/16\/with-reapers-in-the-sky-helmand-becomes-a-testing-ground-for-the-corps-future-fight\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Reaper.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">With Reapers in the sky, Helmand becomes a testing ground for the Corps&#8217; future fight<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A small group of Marines with Task Force Southwest now have MQ-9 Reaper support organic to the unit.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Schreffler did not specify the particular threats, citing operational security, but in April 2018 the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, Army <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/04\/27\/socom-boss-adversaries-are-disabling-air-force-gunships-in-syria\/\" target=\"_blank\">Gen. Tony Thomas<\/a>, said that U.S. military forces in Syria were subject to aggressive electronic attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRight now in Syria, we\u2019re in the most aggressive EW [electronic warfare] environment on the planet, from our adversaries,\u201d Thomas said at the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation\u2019s GEOINT 2018 Symposium. \u201cThey\u2019re testing us every day, knocking our communications down, disabling our AC-130s, et cetera.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou\u2019re getting exposure to threats from adversaries to potential adversaries around the region that you can\u2019t replicate back in the United States,\u201d Schreffler explained. \u201cAnd that\u2019s making us more ready.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those lessons learned are making their way up the military chain of command across the military and to the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/syria.jpg_f5899c.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-56439\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/syria.jpg_f5899c.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/syria.jpg_f5899c.jpg?resize=300,157 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/syria.jpg_f5899c.jpg?resize=768,402 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/syria.jpg_f5899c.jpg?resize=1024,536 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A U.S. Marine Corps crew chief observes an MV-22B Osprey land during a resupply mission in support of Combined Joint Task Force \u2013 Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) at Firebase Um Jorais, Iraq, June 27, 2018. (Cpl. Jered T. Stone\/Marine Corps)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat we are doing is a model for every other Marine unit,\u201d Schreffler said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But, even before stepping foot in the Middle East the Marines were prepping for the high-end fight during their predeployment work-ups in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The higher-end fight is a contingency the Marines have to be prepared for regardless of where they are headed. Schreffler said that an incident somewhere around the globe could have diverted their unit from Central Command, or an incident in CENTCOM itself could have required Marines with high-tech skills to take on a near-peer rival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nevertheless, the Syrian warfront is host to sophisticated tech that\u2019s testing and prepping the Corps and forcing the Marines to take heed of lessons learned during the Cold War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA lot of what\u2019s old is new again,&#8221; Schreffler said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The region is littered with a number of adversarial drones that range from commercial off the shelf quadcopters to larger military attack and surveillance craft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One such drone is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2017\/06\/20\/us-forces-shoot-down-another-iranian-drone-in-syria\/\" target=_blank>Iranian Shahid-129<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. military already has had an encounter with that drone, having shot down two of them in 2017 near the small U.S. military garrison at Tanf located near the Iraq-Syria border. In one of those instances, the enemy drone dropped a dud munition near coalition and partner forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With enemy surveillance and sophisticated tech on the battlefield, the Corps once again has to be mindful of its observable and electromagnetic signatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have to continue to train to minimize our signatures, both from an electromagnetic perspective, and from the physical, visual and audible observation perspective,\u201d Schreffler explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCamouflage and cover and concealment matter, and when any adversary is looking at you with their own small unmanned aerial systems, or their aircraft &#8230; your Marines have to be good at skills Marines always have to be good at,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5760\" height=\"3840\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MAR-YIR-1-1225.JPG.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-42092\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MAR-YIR-1-1225.JPG.jpg 5760w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MAR-YIR-1-1225.JPG.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MAR-YIR-1-1225.JPG.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MAR-YIR-1-1225.JPG.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MAR-YIR-1-1225.JPG.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MAR-YIR-1-1225.JPG.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5760px) 100vw, 5760px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Marines with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit fire a M777 Howitzer during a fire mission in northern Syria. (Lance Cpl. Zachery Laning\/Marine Corps)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Deployments to the CENTCOM region are also affording Marines to experiment with and contribute to a future Marine fighting concept called expeditionary advanced base operations, or EABO, which is still awaiting the approval of the Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert Neller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The EABO fighting concept may see Marines fighting from small island bases or barges strewn across the expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Fighting in this environment will require the Corps to operate in small distributed groups, spread thinly across vast distances. Learning how to survive and fight in the this environment will pivotal should the Corps find itself at war with China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the CENTCOM region, Marines already are operating similar to this concept. Schreffler\u2019s Marines were spread across three war zones in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The deployment\u2019s operations officer Lt. Col. Michael McFerron told reporters that an operation near the Tanf garrison in September 2018 was a narrow view example of the EABO concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following provocations by Russian forces to breach a 55-km deconfliction bubble around the Tanf garrison, which houses a small group of American forces training anti-ISIS fighters, a company of Marines were rushed to re-enforce the area, where they conducted live fire exercises over several days and then withdrew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The operation required intermediate staging areas, a rapid timeline to insert forces and logistical plans to move troops and recover that force, McFerron said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Syria is not the only battlefield where the Corps is prepping its force for modern war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Afghanistan, Marines in Helmand province are learning how to manage and control larger classes of drones like the MQ-9 Reaper, as the force awaits its large-scale futuristic MUX drone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A SOCOM commander said U.S. forces in Syria faced aggressive electronic attack.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":27789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":10,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3369],"class_list":["post-19291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyber"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"32GPS5ATHFDPXDWBDMOQOK5O74","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2019\/02\/08\/how-the-syrian-battlefield-is-preparing-the-corps-for-a-fight-with-russia-or-china\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How the Syrian battlefield is preparing the Corps for a fight with Russia or China - C4ISRNet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A SOCOM commander said U.S. forces in Syria faced aggressive electronic attack.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How the Syrian battlefield is preparing the Corps for a fight with Russia or China\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A SOCOM commander said U.S. forces in Syria faced aggressive electronic attack.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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