Marines do it their own way

MSNBC ^ | 9/30/01 | Sue Lackey

[kattracks]

A different approach to special forces
A Marine awaits orders during urban war training exercises last week at Camp Pendleton, California.
By Sue Lackey MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR

Sept. 30 —  For the average Marine, it is both amusing and a bit galling to hear all the talk about “special forces” and their capabilities. For while the Army, Navy and Air Force have created Special Operations Commands with a unique structure, the Marine Corps has taken its basic forward deployed unit — the Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) — and trained every one in special operations tactics.

THE FAMED Delta Force is often celebrated as the nation’s most elite special operations team, but its position as a member of the the Army’s Joint Special Operations Command gives it a narrow focus restricted to counterterrorism and hostage rescue. In contrast, each MEU must be qualified in 18 separate mission areas, including counter terrorism. This broad focus in training and qualifications makes the Marine unit more versatile than any other service’s special operations forces.
       Gen. Alfred M. Gray, who served as Commandant of the Marine Corps in the early 1980s, helped create the Joint Special Operations Command. But while the command often requests Marines to flesh out its capability, the Corps is the only service which has refused to join the command at an organizational level. “It goes against the reason the Marine Corps was developed,” says a Marine officer who is a special operations specialist. “It would have forced the Corps to focus on one mission, when the nation needed an amphibious force for forcible entry, with much broader capabilities.”
       Under a recent reform of the system, traditional special operations forces forces are assigned to specific theater Commanders in Chief — for instance, the Commander in Chief, Europe or the Commander in Chief, Southern Command, which handles Latin America. East of these commands have units with specific specialties, and depend on that regional commander for support. MEU’s, however, an amphibious force that can be deployed at will to any theater. Their floating base of operations gives them the ability to sustain a mission longer than other special operations forces, which are traditionally used for short term insertions, or in the case of the Green Berets, specific insurgency training missions.
 

      The true strength of the MEUs lie in their ability to augment their forces with air and ground combat elements and combat service support. This means any given unit can call in tanks, amphibious assault vehicles, and fixed wing aircraft — all of which are part of standard MEU order of battle. Other special operations forces must rely on conventional service support when additional forces are needed.
       A perfect example of this versatility was in the 1983 Grenada invasion, where Army special forces were inserted to extract U.S. Embassy staff. The team was able to reach their target, but were then bottled up inside the embassy and unable to get out through enemy troops. The JSOC team then called for Marine support. An MEU which had been diverted to Grenada broke through with tanks and armored vehicles to extract their colleagues and the embassy personnel they had rescued.
       The way in which special operations training has been integrated into the basic structure of the Corps has changed the capabilities of the Corps as a whole. The other military services are large enough to allow their SF units to function in some degree of separation. Because the Marine Corps is so small in numbers, its SOC qualified personnel rotate on duty throughout the Corps, which has enhanced the overall quality of training and identification with special operations forces. Most of these men have now percolated to the top of the command structure. “It’s been in place so long now that a lot of the flag officers grew up with this-they’re Al Gray’s boys,” said one Marine special operations veteran. “That’s what you do not get in the other special forces, because they tend to stay in their own areas. When they do go into other units to further their careers, they have problems integrating within the conventional forces and its military bureaucracy. They don’t do well as staff officers; they want to go back to their unit.”
       That lack of experienced special forces officers at high levels to give special forces a voice allows other branches of the conventional forces to marginalize the effectiveness of special operations in budget battles and mission planning — a situation the Marine Corps has managed to avoid.

       

[COB1]

"and would proudly join his fellow Marines if they would take "an old man"....."

Heck, Texasgirl, he ain't old!
I was in Pendleton in '62, and I'd gladly go with my fellow Marines to Afghanistan if they'd let me.
'Course, they might have to carry me when we got there!

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

My husband laughed out loud when I asked him your question about the M1..... he said "Whew, he's old".... (said with respect, of course!)..... but my husband shot expert, in the rain, with an M16A1.......

[Mudboy Slim]

"Scout Snipers that could slice off Osama's left ear at 1000 meters...and then his nose...and then his right thumb...and...the proverbial "death of a thousand cuts")."

Wouldn't that be wonderful...MUD

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Well, my friend, the young Marines would be carrying both of you - too many 500+ ft. towers have played havoc with his knees....

[COB1]

"Anyone else here shoot expert on the rifle range, in the rain, with an M-1?"

I need to rephrase that a little, CHIEF:
"Anyone else here shoot expert on the rifle range with an M-1?"
YEP!

BTW: Did you do that at Camp Mathews?
Did y'all stay in tents, or did they have dorms built at that time?

[CHIEF negotiator]

Didn't the M-16 look, and feel like a toy? It was so light weight. Once I went to "right shoulder arms", pardon me, "Raht Shoder, HUAH!" and the damn thang almost flew outta my hands.

[LadyX]

"Just goes to show you that Marines can spell Yacht the right way,lol"

Now, dear swabbie, you KNOW it is only professional courtesy, perpetuating your foulup so you will not be embarrassed!!

Case of 'whither thou goest, we HAVE to go - to take care of you'..:)))

[harpo11]

[SoCalConservative]

I've been trying to figure out just exactly what it is about your drivel that gets my hackles up. I was never in the service, but I grew up very close to Camp Pendleton, USMC Base. When I was in high school, we always made fun of the jarheads, gyrenes, leathernecks...whatever the name of the day was. We used to make fun of their jacked up cars from South Dakota and Arkansas....we never gave them a break. I now have a best friend that has just retired as a Gunny and I am his oldest son's Godfather. I have had the pleasure of knowing many of his fellow Marines and have more respect for each and every one of them than anybody else I know. They are real men and very focused on their job. You seem to have some lack of respect for the Marines....why, I don't know. But you sure remind me of myself when I was in high school. I think perhaps you are the one that has some growing up to do.

[JoeSixPack1]

Chief: heheh you super grunts,,, always throwing your weapons around!!!

Yeah, they sucked,, you needed a nail to set the sights, if your weapon found out there was a grain of sand within a 50mile radius it jammed, they made it too dang easy to hold it out laying on the back of your outstretched hands, where the 14 felt like you were holding up a truck after the first 5 mins

68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub: Cool looking boat, how many SKIS can ya pull? :-)~

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

So.......does my Green Beret mean that I have only been to Marine Boot Camp? (Esprit De Corps!)

[CHIEF negotiator]

My Reserve unit from San Antone, was a Recon unit. A few Force Recon recruiters were on the rifle range the day I had the highest score in my platoon, using an M-14. The next day, they tested me with an M-1, and still shot expert in the rain. The M-1 and M-14 were not that different, once you "sight the rifle".

Parris Island, SC. Platoon 3026, 3rd Batallion, (lovingly called Disneyland - 3 story brick building)

2nd Force Recon, Camp Geiger, NC.

[jo6pac]

You were in the 1st,too? I was there from 65-67. Best damn kept secret in the army at that time. Well,that and "Detachment A"

Nah, just TAD and billeted with them for a month. As I recall there were linen tablecloths and napkins, and real silverware. Not too hard to handle.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"Cool looking boat"

Actually the correct term is ship, ships are big enough to carry boats (like life boats).
I learned the correct terms my first day aboard my ship.
Then I was sent to get some "water line" from one of the Chief's. LOL

[Ligeia]

Thanks for the pic on #15. The local D.C. news showed some excited, young Marines running with an unblemished Marine Corps flag on September 11 to Fort Myer near the Pentagon. The flag had survived the destruction and its presence was the source of one tiny bit of joy and much pride on a tragic day.

[The Right Stuff]

Oh, please, ILL - Full Metal Jacket was such an unrealistic film, another "America is Bad" movie. Not worth the admission price, like that other hurler, Platoon.

[jo6pac]

Sorry,I can't agree here. Get caught trying to pass yourself of as a AF EM in order to eat would be no big deal. Get caught stealing a beret and trying to pass yourself off as SF could be a VERY painful experience. Not to mention a LOT harder to do when everybody knows everybody else on sight.

You'd have no worries about me offing a beret of any color. Not for chow, not for love or money.

[JoeSixPack1]

HEHEH thank you for being "kind" I used the term boat to get a rise out of ya!
It is definetly a Ship to be proud of!

So i guess no skiing, eh? :-)

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

I'm impressed by your achievements with the M1 and M-14 rifles, (assuming the M-1 was a carbine)

I was a bit more specialized. I used the 308 SR mounted with a Redfield (military spec.)4X12. (The results are still classified.)