Marine Corps Embraces AI for Battlefield Edge in New Implementation Plan

The Marine Corps released its inaugural artificial intelligence implementation plan this week designed to transform the service into an AI-enabled force by 2030. This strategic blueprint seeks vision to integrate artificial intelligence across all warfighting functions and business processes.

“The AI plan outlines a multi-phase approach to building an AI-competent workforce,” plan co-author Marine Corps Service Data Officer and Deputy Department of the Navy Chief Data Officer Colin Crosby told GovCIO Media & Research. “The Marine Corps is embracing a risk-tolerant, experimentation-driven culture (complete with dedicated innovation environments) to enable warfighters to prototype, iterate, and validate AI tools under realistic conditions, thereby forging trust through both tangible successes and instructive failures.”

Developed in alignment with the USMC AI Strategy and the 39th Commandant’s Planning Guidance, the plan outlines a comprehensive approach to integrating AI across warfighting functions, business processes and decision-making at the tactical edge.

“We need to ensure that our systems are augmenting … Marines to be able to do their job better, faster and taking a lot of the dull, mundane, redundant tasks away from them so they can focus on … fighting and winning wars,” plan co-author Marine Corps Service Data Office AI Lead and Deputy Commandant for Information Capt. Christopher Clark said during GovCIO Media & Research’s AI Fedlab in May. “[AI is] not replacing them, but augmenting them.”

Launching the Digital Transformation Pilot Project

The document introduces a Digital Transformation Pilot project as the near-term vehicle for implementation, deploying Digital Transformation Teams to commands like II MEF, LOGCOM and MARFORPAC. These teams will digitize processes, build data pipelines and deliver AI solutions tailored to operational needs, Crosby said.

“By embedding Digital Transformation Teams at key commands, it establishes a continuous, bottom-up feedback loop that channels fleet requirements, pinpoints skill gaps and aligns training to immediate operational needs,” said Crosby. “This model bridges national AI directives and tactical demands to deliver reliable, mission-critical AI capabilities where they’re needed most.”

Centering Data as the Foundation for AI

The Service Data Office is tasked with updating the Marine Corps Data Implementation Plan to improve lifecycle management, governance and architecture.

“We must embed AI and data literacy into Marine Corps culture so that every Marine understands leveraging data and AI isn’t just a technical support function — it’s as critical to battlefield success as rifle marksmanship,” Crosby said. “By codifying data stewardship roles, establishing new MOS pathways and aligning promotion criteria with AI expertise, we ensure operators can proficiently curate, assess and employ AI capabilities across any mission.”

Modernizing the Workforce

Workforce modernization is another cornerstone of the plan. The document proposes new military occupational specialties focused on digital operations and AI, supported by training pipelines through institutions like the Marine Corps Software Factory and Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity. Marine Corps Training and Education Command is charged with developing and institutionalizing AI education across the total force, the plan says.

Establishing Effective AI Governance

The plan also outlines AI governance, incorporating ethical principles and oversight mechanisms. It also addresses policy blockers, including the authority to operate process and fragmented data management, recommending reforms to accelerate adoption. Crosby said that the plan works within the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Risk Management Framework.

“The plan weaves NIST’s AI Risk Management Framework and Responsible AI principles into every phase of the AI lifecycle — data collection, model development, red-teaming and deployment — by requiring documented risk assessments, bias and threat analyses, ethics board reviews and operator-centric mitigation strategies,” said Crosby. “Operators stay engaged through human-in-the-loop controls, built-in fail-safes and live performance monitoring to ensure systems remain resilient under pressure. Prototypes get tested in realistic, contested scenarios so teams can learn and adapt quickly.”

Balancing Speed with Risk

The speed of AI’s evolution requires agility at the Marines, Crosby said, to balance the risk management strategies.

“Our Digital Transformation Teams keep us moving fast without cutting corners. By combining rapid prototyping with strong governance, we deliver AI capabilities that are both cutting-edge and mission-ready, even in the most demanding environments,” Crosby added.

The Marine Corps is also exploring the creation of a Center for Digital Transformation to serve as a hub for AI knowledge products, prototyping and collaboration with academia and industry. Strategic partnerships with entities like the Naval Postgraduate School and federally funded research centers are expected to play a key role in accelerating innovation.

The document includes a detailed execution timeline, with milestones stretching from 2024 to 2027. Offices of Primary Responsibility will report quarterly to the AI Working Group, ensuring transparency and accountability.