The Marine Corps Schools: Driving Institutional Change Towards the Second World War

Abstract

Abstract : The establishment and development of the Marine Corps Schools transformed the Marine Corps from a group of small war specialists to an institution geared toward innovative thinking, developing new capabilities, technologies, and operational concepts. The continued adaptations laid the foundation for the Marine Corps and validated its existence and continued relevance as an element of the nation's armor. This monograph conducted a chronological review of the Marine Corps' education system from 1775 to 1941, and viewed those changes through the theory of institutionalization and legitimation as outlined by Berger and Luckmann in Social Construction of Reality in order to analyze the needed evidence of the influence of the Marine Corps Schools. The first section reviews the Marine Corps education system from 1775 to 1898. It focuses on the Marine Corps' approach to education and the professional development of Marines. It covers the method education and training of Marines by commanders and veterans through the establishment of the School of Application. The second section reviews the Marine Corps education system from 1899 through the end of the First World War. It focuses on the establishment of the Advanced Base Force School and the major shift in U.S. policy that repeatedly pulled Marines into several small interventions at home and abroad, and ends with the Marines Corps participation in the 'War to End All Wars'. The final section covers the period following the end of the Great War through 1941, commonly referred to as the Interwar Period. This era witnessed the greatest evolution of the Marine Corps with the establishment of the Marine Corps Schools and a multi-tiered approach to the education of Marines throughout their career.