Information Maneuver in the United States Marine Corps

Abstract

In 2017, Secretary of Defense James Mattis formally addressed and introduced the seventh joint warfighting function: information. This resulted in an explosion of literature across the military services in an attempt to define this new function and its many facets. Research reveals information can be viewed as data with meaning, a domain, a warfighting function, and an action when paired with maneuver. Conceptual frameworks have been proposed for the latter, but no consensus has been reached between service branches. Specifically, maneuver within the information environment has yet to be defined.  The physical aspect of maneuver can be understood through actions executed in time and space.  However, maneuver becomes an abstract concept as soon as the information environment is introduced. This becomes a problem for practitioners, planners and commanders alike when implemented without foundational direction. A framework must be provided for Marines to learn, implement, and refine. This paper aims to: 1) define information maneuver, 2) accentuate the relationship between information maneuver, the information warfighting function, and the six remaining warfighting functions, 3) delineate the need for research that develops the Marine Corps’ understanding of information maneuver to enable effective employment of information maneuver specialists.