Free Republic

<p>CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — The Navy has its SEALs; the Army has its Green Berets. Now, the Marine Corps will have its own special operations force under a new test program being launched at its West Coast training base.</p> <p>A ceremony was planned Friday afternoon at Camp Pendleton for Pentagon officials to formally begin a yearlong test of an elite 86-man commando force that will train and operate with Navy SEALs. By next spring, the joint team will go overseas, likely for combat missions in the war on terror.</p>

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...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.(June 20, 2003) -- Marines have always been known as the few and the proud. But on Friday, the Marine Corps took its first steps toward assembling a group of warriors even fewer and prouder as part of the U.S. Special Operations Command. Operating under the name Detachment One, this elite 86-man unit "if it passes muster" will be in a league of its own alongside the Navy Seals, Army Green Berets and Rangers, and the Air Force's Special Operation Command. The commando unit, housed at the Camp Del Mar Boat Basin, will consist of...