The United States Marine Corps Special Operations Command, in its current form, was formed only on February 24, 2006 and is the youngest such command. The US Marine Corps is large enough, but there are not many special forces in it. The personnel of the USMC Special Operations Command currently numbers approximately three thousand people. Among all Special Operations Commands, this is the smallest value.
USMC Special Operations Command
The United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) was formed relatively recently. Initially, it was believed that the reconnaissance battalions as part of the ILC were sufficient to solve all the tasks facing this American branch of the military. However, after the terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001, a reassessment of values took place in the country and in the army. At the same time, it was decided to allocate separate elite special forces as part of the corps, which would be integrated into the US Special Operations Command SOCOM.
As a result, after the September 11 attacks and the change in American policy, the process of forming a new command began. This process was fully completed by 2006, when the USMC Special Operations Command was officially formed. At the same time, the personnel of the new command was initially recruited precisely from the soldiers of the reconnaissance battalions of the marines. Since its inception, MARSOC fighters have taken part in the global war on terrorism around the world.
As of February 2019, over the 13 years of its existence, the new ILC Special Operations Command has carried out three hundred deployments in 17 countries around the world, while special forces fighters have received more than 300 state awards. During the same time, during the hostilities, as well as the training process, 41 special forces soldiers and two specially trained dogs were killed.
Currently, the headquarters of the US Marine Corps Special Operations Command is the Camp Legend military base, located in Jacksonville, North Carolina. It is on this base that the main forces and command and control bodies of special operations of the ILC are deployed. Currently, the command is headed by a Korean American, Major General Daniel Y. The general is famous for the fact that in 2014 he commanded all units of the US Marine Corps in Afghanistan in Helmand province, at that time he had about seven thousand troops under his command. Currently, the ILC Special Operations Command has a little more than three thousand personnel, including about 200 civilian specialists.
Organizationally, the ILC Special Operations Command consists of a three-battalion Marine Raider Regiment, a Marine Raider Support Group and a Marine Raider Training Center. It is the regiment of naval raiders that is the main striking and combat force of the ILC Special Operations Command. The regiment got its name in honor of the elite units of the United States Marine Corps during the Second World War.
Marine Raider Regiment
Marine Raiders trace their history back to World War II, when an elite Marine Raider unit was formed as part of the US Marine Corps. The soldiers of this unit were light infantry, including capable of landing from conventional rubber boats and operating behind the front line behind enemy lines. The regiment was re-formed in its present form in February 2006. The three-battalion regiment (1st, 2nd and 3rd) is based at two bases located on different coasts of the United States. In addition to the North Carolina base, the regiment's units are based on the Pacific Coast at Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp in San Diego County, California. The total number of the regiment is about 1.5 thousand people.
The main combat unit of naval raiders is the Marine Special Operations Group (MSOT), each such group consists of 14 people. Of these, four people are the headquarters group, five people each - two tactical detachments that are identical in their capabilities. Each battalion of naval raiders consists of four companies in four such groups.
The fighters of the regiment of naval raiders are trained in direct hostilities, special reconnaissance, methods of waging unconventional warfare (guerrilla warfare), and the fight against terrorism (including those that can be used to combat modern sea piracy). They can also be used to suppress riots and fight insurgents, including in other countries, conduct information operations and provide assistance to security forces.
That is, they are able to solve all the same tasks as the fighters of other units of the American special operations forces. But with its own specifics - in particular, with a course in scuba diving and water rescue. Also, the fighters are trained in the operation of small boats and small landing craft. At the same time, the special forces of the US Marine Corps also undergo parachute training, they can parachute.
The combat debut of the Marine Corps raiders in the 21st century took place in Afghanistan, where special forces have participated in military operations since 2007. Also, naval raiders took part in rescuing hostages during the terrorist attack on the Radisson Blu hotel in the capital of Mali in November 2015. They also took part in the liberation of the Iraqi city of Mosul from terrorists in 2016, and already in 2017 they helped to liberate the city of Marawi in the Philippines.
Marine Raider Support Group
The naval raider support group is organizationally similar to a regular regiment as part of the group's headquarters and three battalions (1st, 2nd, 3rd) to support naval raiders. Support battalions are deployed alongside Marine Raider battalions and provide vital support to the latter in a number of critical areas. In particular, the divisions resolve issues related to logistics, communication support and communications, fire support, information and analytical support.
Units can conduct reconnaissance, as well as mine. The support battalions have well-trained dog handlers and trained dogs. Also in the composition there are separate groups for enhancing firepower, as well as fire spotters, including aviation spotters.
In addition to special training, Marine Raider Support Team members receive regular Marine training and combat skills at an infantry school. That is, they are practically familiar with the methods of waging war in urban conditions, methods of patrolling the area, marksmanship skills, as well as methods of waging information war. It should also be noted that all the fighters of the special units of the marines are introduced to foreign weapons and are taught to use them in practice.
