This United States Marine Corps USMC manual, Marine Corps Warfighting Publication MCWP 3-30 Marine Air-Ground Task Force Command and Control November 2023, addresses how commanders form battle staffs and utilize the commander's decision cycle to command and control forces during operations. It describes how Marine Corps commanders operating in a joint or combined environment employ major command and control components through clearly defined procedures managed by a battle rhythm process. Additionally, most principles and concepts discussed in this publication also apply to battalion through regimental level commanders. This publication builds on the philosophy established in Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication (MCDP) 6, Command and Control, and links that philosophy to the tactics, techniques, and procedures in Marine Corps Tactical Publication 3-30A, Command and Staff Action.
This publication serves as the authoritative reference to describe staff cross-functional integration and the actions necessary for the battle staff to perform its functions; the most important being to support the commander's decision-making process. This publication complements information contained in MCWP 5-10, Marine Corps Planning Process. In addition, it incorporates validated elements of the distributed maritime operations, littoral operations in a contested environment, expeditionary advanced base operations, stand-in forces, and composite warfare commander concepts. As future concepts, such as all-domain operations with evolving battlespace considerations mature and are validated through wargamming, experimentation, and exercises, MCWP 3-30 will evolve to reflect the command and control needs of the future force as it executes the expeditionary operations of tomorrow.
