Posted on 06/21/2003 4:34:17 AM PDT by kattracks
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) — Eighty-six men have begun a one-year trial to determine if the Marines will join Navy SEALs, Green Berets and Air Force Special Operations Forces in the military's special operations forces.
The Marine Corps Special Operations Command Detachment One was activated during a ceremony Friday at Camp Pendleton, where it will begin training next week.
In October, the commando force will join Naval Special Warfare Group One in Coronado, Calif., to train with the Navy. It will go overseas in April, likely for combat missions in the war on terror.
Unlike other special operations forces, the Marines unit will have a deep roster of specialists in areas including fire support, counter-intelligence, linguistics and communications. Marine Lt. Col. Robert J. Coates, a seasoned reconnaissance officer, is heading the unit.
The mix of troops "provides the type of light mobile and lethal forces critical to success in the global war on terrorism," said Lt. Gen. Earl B. Hailston, who commands all Marine Corps forces in the Pacific region.
The troops have an unusual degree of seniority and experience. The youngest members are sergeants, with an average age of 33. Each has completed 15 to 20 different schools, which range from airborne and dive schools to advanced courses in close-quarters combat, free-fall parachuting and demolition.
The trial run comes just as the Bush administration seeks to grow the 47,000-member U.S. Special Operations force by 2,563 and boost its budget by 46 percent. The joint command enjoys strong backing from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Initially, the Marines' presence will be tiny compared to the 2,700 Navy SEALs and special boat crews, 26,000 Army Rangers and Green Berets and 10,000 Air Force special operations personnel. The Marines troops seemed unfazed by the unit's relatively small size.
Sgt. Mike Mulvihill, a 10-year Marine veteran who left the military two years ago, jumped at Coates' invitation a few months ago to join the force.
"I was doing cartwheels in my living room," said Mulvihill, 35, of Pittsburgh.
Master Sgt. James R. Rutan drew a parallel between the new force and the Marine Raiders, who were pioneers in amphibious reconnaissance operations during World War II.
"Its everything we always wished for to be nationally recognized," Rutan said.
And the PIOs! Don't forget the PIOs and combat cameramen!
does allow the Marines to partake in another funding source.
Those are some sharp lookin' X-Ray glasses you've got there, gunner.
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