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| 2005-09-28 |
| September 28, 2005: The U.S. Navy recently announced that they are creating a Naval Infantry branch, to provide the fleet with some special operations like ground combat capability for special missions. While it will be some time â perhaps a couple of years â before this force is able to undertake significant missions, itâs worth noting that the navy already has some infantry combat-trained personnel in its ranks. · Seabees. Founded 63 years ago, during World War II, the Seabees â the âNaval Construction Forceâ â numbers some 10,000 active duty and 12,000 reservists. Usually organized and deployed as battalions, seabees are trained in both construction and defensive combat. An undetermined number of seabees are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, where they are putting both sets of skills to use. · Masters-at-Arms (MAs). These are the Navyâs security and anti-terrorism personnel. Trained in police procedures, anti-terrorism, and force protection, they are normally armed like police officers, but have some light infantry capability. The MA force numbers about 9,500. · Hospital Corpsmen. Hospital Corpsmen provide medical services to the Navy and Marine Corps. The Navy has nearly 30,000 Hospital Corpsmen, some 23,000 active duty and 6,000 reservists. Several thousand currently served in Marine units. Hospital Corpsmen serving with the Marine Corps â âGreenâ in Navy parlance â receive infantry training for defensive combat. · Chaplainsâ Assistants. Chaplainsâ Assistants provide general support to Chaplains, which may include everything from assisting at services to serving as drivers. Since Navy Chaplains provide religious support to the Marine Corps, the Assistants to those Chaplains receive extensive combat training, to provide protection for their charges. Rumor in the Navy has it that of all âGreenâ personnel in the Navy, Chaplainsâ Assistants are the most skilled in ground combat. They are also by far the fewest in number, since hardly a hundred chaplains serve with the Marine Corps. Until about the early-1970s, all naval personnel received some training in infantry combat, in the event that they might be called upon to serve in landing forces. That training has since been watered down considerably, but is being revived for the new Naval Infantry specialists. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #12 I thought the naval infantry branch went by the name "Marines." See this Strategypage article. The Marines got so large due to World War II that it was no longer an adjunct to the Navy, but became a separate entity. The Navy for its part, stopped using Marines for ship and base security (going to both DoD and civilian security contractors). Sailors also used to be trained in some infantry methods for boarding parties, landing parties, and temporary security detachments. That stopped in the '60s and early '70s. One can thank the 'blue-water' and aviation factions for the decline in the Navy's riverine and littoral warfare assets and experience. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2005-09-28 22:53 |
| #11 Hospital Corpsmen serving with the Marine Corps â âGreenâ in Navy parlance â receive infantry training for defensive combat. Defensive combat?? - No, the way I remember it was that we were trained for offensive combat. My instructor said words to the effect - "When all the officers are dead, all the NCO's are dead, the enemy has you surrounded and you are out of ammunition, the senior PFC alive shall order "fix bayonets and charge". He meant it. |
| Posted by: Doc8404 2005-09-28 19:40 |
| #10 The Marines have long been part of the Department of the Navy - the Men's Department ! Come on - MAA's in hand to hand ? The only ones I've seen where overweight CPOs on shore patrol with 1930's Chicago PD billy clubs. The SeaBees kick ass and are to a man/woman some of the Navy's best - with a torque wrench and a cutting torch. I don't think their strong suit is light infantry. |
| Posted by: BangkokBilly 2005-09-28 19:07 |
| #9 This opens big logic doors for an integral USAF Armourmed Cavalry Regiment. WSC: RAF Regiment? Pansies. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-09-28 18:58 |
| #8 #5: I thought the naval infantry branch went by the name "Marines." Damn, beat me to it. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2005-09-28 13:58 |
| #7 John Garfield used to do this in all those submarine movies. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2005-09-28 13:30 |
| #6 This seems a page from WWII Japanese ship based SNLFs. where in some islands a couple of ships will draw some mens to take a remote island. Or make some temporary land operation. |
| Posted by: Hupomoque Spoluter7949 2005-09-28 13:16 |
| #5 I thought the naval infantry branch went by the name "Marines." |
| Posted by: Mike 2005-09-28 12:38 |
| #4 If we had had naval infantry in WWII we could have taken Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima. |
| Posted by: Matt 2005-09-28 12:27 |
| #3 It's articles like this, that truly make me doubt Strategy Page's bona fides. The Navy's MAA force has about as much light infantry capability as the Army has experience with carrier aviation. Periodically training with M-16s does not light infantry make. The Navy foolishly allowed the riverine mission to escape to the Army and is now playing catch up trying to make itself relevant in the GWOT. |
| Posted by: Dreadnought 2005-09-28 10:46 |
| #2 My dad was a Seabee, circa 1942 - 45. His favorite saying was "The Marines marched into Tokyo on the roads the Seabees built." The only story I could get out of him on the topic of WWII was re-building a runway on some island (Tinian I think) before the Marines finished taking the other end of it. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2005-09-28 10:31 |
| #1 As a good friend, a retired Navy captain says, the Navy will do whatever it takes to get money.... |
| Posted by: RWV 2005-09-28 10:05 |