| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: WoT |
| USMC Joins SOCOM And... |
| 2005-11-03 |
| November 3, 2005: The U.S. Marine Corps has officially assigned its 2,600 strong Marine Special Operations Command, to SOCOM (Special Operations Command.) When SOCOM was formed in 1986, to control all the special operations units in the American military, there was resistance from all the services, except the army (which had the most special operations troops, mainly in its Special Forces.) But the Secretary of Defense overruled the services, and, by 1990, the navy and air force had assigned their special operations units to SOCOM control. The marines resisted, and got away with it by insisting they didnât have any âspecial operationsâ troops (or that âall marines are special operations troops,â depending on what day you asked them.) But by late 2001, it was obvious even to the marines that SOCOM was where the action was, and the marines wanted in. After four years of haggling and negotiation, the marines are in, with a combination of traditional commandoes, long range recon and ârangerâ type forces. The marines may add more forces in the future, or perhaps the entire Marine Corps will join SOCOM and take it over. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #10 I found them to be disciplined, motivated, general assault troops but a far cry from adequate for foreign internal defense, insurgency or other non-direct action missions 1980s? Gee, somebody ought to tell the jarheads that they didn't do it right in China, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, or the Philippines. Oh, and that their 'Small Wars' manual is all wrong. I guess you ought to inform the State Department, which used the Corps in foreign ops some 180 times in the 20th century... |
| Posted by: Pappy 2005-11-03 21:22 |
| #9 I like the Marine spirit that "We don't have any special operations troops or that all Marines are special operations troops." Kind of like Joe Paterno and not having names on football jerseys. On the other hand, the Marines coming into SOCOM can't do anything but add to. |
| Posted by: John Q. Citizen 2005-11-03 19:43 |
| #8 From what I've heard, though, WhiteCat, 21st-century Marine NCOs have been great as MTTs; there was an article on it back in April by Robert Kaplan, "America's African Rifles." |
| Posted by: Edward Yee 2005-11-03 16:15 |
| #7 White cat: Roger Roger, Tng MTT's, FID and DA fir sure maybe, UW prolly not their cup of tea. BHG too tightly wrapped I'm afeared. But rat now, suspect we can use the aug. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2005-11-03 14:00 |
| #6 It's going to be interesting. Having worked with Marines while running an ODA -way back in the mid-eighties, I found them to be disciplined, motivated, general assault troops but a far cry from adequate for foreign internal defense, insurgency or other non-direct action missions. |
| Posted by: WhiteCat 2005-11-03 13:51 |
| #5 Name was "Percy". Imagine how it was like being a Marine named Percy. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-11-03 12:31 |
| #4 Though it's far less popular song than it used to be, it used to bug Marines intensely that the lyrics of the Marine Hymn fit perfectly to the country tune, "The Wabash Cannonball". (I am far from anti-Marine, BTW. I had a great uncle Marine who had the fourth highest "peace bond" of any Marine in WWII. Great combat NCO, but you just couldn't send the man on shore leave without creating an international incident.) |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-11-03 12:31 |
| #3 I could care less what you call a Marine, as long as he's whacking haji's and terrorists he's damn sure "Special" to me! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2005-11-03 12:19 |
| #2 The Corps believes that a Marine is a Marine, and that SEALs and Green Berets are still "squids" and "doggies". Reminds me of the retort I heard from an old roommate who was in the Navy: "Who're you calling a squid, ya freakin' jarhead?" |
| Posted by: Raj 2005-11-03 11:24 |
| #1 The Marines are assigning two battalions to SOCOM, bringing to mind the 1st and 2nd Raider Battalions of WWII. These outfits were disbanded because the top Marine brass didn't like the idea of having an elite force within an elite force. The Navy SEAL program was created from the RECON Marines, but few people know about RECON. The Corps believes that a Marine is a Marine, and that SEALs and Green Berets are still "squids" and "doggies". |
| Posted by: usmc6743 2005-11-03 11:12 |