MARSOC Submarine Infiltrations

Recent drills involving US Navy submarines and Marine Corps special operators in the Pacific and the Mediterranean highlight an overlooked insertion and exfiltration method that would be relevant in a conflict with China. In early 2021, Force Recon Marines conducted a rare training with USS Ohio near Okinawa, and earlier this year US Marines trained with USS Georgia in the Mediterranean "to synchronize" Navy and Marine Corps operations.

Although submarine operations are mostly associated with Navy SEALs or US Army Green Beret combat divers, Marine special operators have a long history of submarine operations — Marine Raiders were the first US military unit to conduct a submarine-borne raid, attacking Makin Island in the Pacific in August 1942.

Submarine operations

The main benefit of using submarines for exfiltration and infiltration of special-operations forces is the difficulty of detecting them. Getting to the fight on a submarine is considerably more discreet than arriving on an MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter or jumping from an MC-130 Combat Talon airplane. If the infiltration and exfiltration are performed properly, the adversary may never know that US commandos and the sub carrying them were there.

Submarine operations allow "Recon Marines and Raiders to infiltrate undetected and conduct reconnaissance or raid missions with low probability of compromise," said retired Marine Raider Maj. Fred Galvin. This allows those operators to carry out missions of a "strategic nature" but it also "affects the enemy's psychology in that they cannot easily defend against it and in order to defend against it they must commit massive personnel and material resources," added Galvin, who began his career in the Marine Reconnaissance community.

In the vastness of the Pacific, submarine operations could be very important in a conflict with China, allowing Marine special operators to conduct offensive and defensive operations.

Marine Special Operators Get Their Own Insignia Pin

Last year, operators with Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command got their own name: Raiders. Now, just like the Navy's elite SEALs, they'll have their own insignia.

Effective immediately, MARSOC critical skills operators and special operations officers are authorized to wear a new gold breast insignia, the Marine Corps announced Monday night.

The insignia, the first Marine Corps - only uniform device to be authorized, features an eagle, wings outspread, clutching an upward-pointing stiletto dagger featuring the Southern Cross constellation that appears on other MARSOC and Raider insignia. Above the eagle's head flies a banner carrying the MARSOC motto: "Spiritus Invictus," or unconquerable spirit.

The insignia badge will be 2 inches by 2.75 inches and will be awarded to critical skills operators and special operations officers upon completion of MARSOC's grueling nine-month individual training course. By the time MARSOC Raiders reach the end of ITC, they have completed at least 268 days of training, according to Marine Corps officials.

The announcement comes just a month after Maj. Gen. Carl E. Mundy III took command of MARSOC, succeeding previous commander Maj. Gen. Joseph Osterman. In a statement, Mundy said the creation of the badge granted Raiders a visual certification of the training they had completed for their role in MARSOC.

"The individual MARSOC operator must be trained and educated to think critically and function in an increasingly complex operating environment -- to understand and interact in dynamic, dangerous and politically-sensitive battlefields," Mundy said. "Our rigorous training pipeline ensures that a newly minted critical skills operator has developed the skills required for full spectrum special operations."

An unidentified MARSOC critical skills operator said in the announcement that the badge was a further tie-in to the command's celebrated ancestry.

"It's a representation of the pride and legacy that dates back to the Marine Raiders of World War II. This badge will distinguish a [special operations forces-qualified Marine, just as the combat crew wings distinguish an aviation crew chief or the jump wings and dive bubble distinguish a Recon Marine," he said.

MARSOC, which was created in early 2006, has marked a number of hard-fought milestones in developing its identity among the other service special operations elements. Its tenant commands were redesignated in honor of the Marine Raiders last July in a reversal by Marine Corps leadership; then-commandant Gen. James Amos had rejected a plan to change MARSOC's name in 2011, citing concern that MARSOC troops retain their identity as Marines first.

Specialized career paths for critical skills operators and special operations officers are also a relatively new development for MARSOC. The command received approval for the creation of an enlisted CSO military occupational specialty, 0372, in 2011, and a parallel MOS for officers, 0370, in 2014.

MARSOC officials said in an announcement on Facebook that the new device will be issued to the next class to graduate from the Individual Training Course, and then rolled out to critical skills operators and officers already within the command.

Notably, a woman could be among the first Marines to receive the new device. While the CSO and SOO jobs have been reserved for men for most of MARSOC's existence, a mandate from Defense Secretary Ash Carter late last year paved the way for women to apply for the elite positions.

MARSOC officials said last week that two female enlisted Marines had entered assessment and selection in July. As of then, one of the Marines, a corporal, remained in the course.

Article from Military.com

MARSOC receives new commander

The parade field on Stone Bay hosted top ranking U.S. Special Operations Command officials, Marine Raiders and their families to witness Maj. Gen. Carl E. Mundy III assume command of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) on Tuesday morning. “I’m privileged to be able to be a part of this wonderful organization. Everyday that I’m in this billet ... would be a privilege to serve alongside you, and an honor to command you,” Mundy said early Tuesday.

The Change of Command ceremony was held on Stone Bay and included the passing of the Marine colors to symbolize the transfer of total responsibility, authority and accountability from the outgoing commander, Maj. Gen. Joseph L. Osterman, to Mundy. “It’s always nice rolling into the front gate and see a couple things that you remember, like the Driftwood Lounge. I don’t think that place has changed since I was a second lieutenant. It was the bane of the blotter on Monday morning,” Mundy quipped during his remarks.

Mundy served his first tour in the area 30 years prior to assuming command of MARSOC. Gen. John M. Paxton, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, was the presiding senior officer at the ceremony, representing Gen. Robert B. Neller, the commandant of the Marine Corps.

Osterman was relieved of his command effective at 9 a.m. Tuesday after two years commanding MARSOC. “The thing that has most impressed me is the caliber of the Marine, sailors, soldiers and civilians that we have here. I mean it really is extraordinary,” Osterman said after the ceremony. He will report to U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa, Florida for service as its deputy commander.

Osterman will also be promoted to lieutenant general, according to ceremony officials. “I’ve had some of the most sophisticated political-military discussions of my career sitting down with a sergeant or a staff sergeant at the team level during a RAVEN exercise,” Osterman said. “That’s a great example of just the caliber, depth of intellect and professionalism that they have as individuals.”

His accomplishments include the regionalization of the three Marine Raider Battalions and their support battalions; significant expansion of MARSOC’s intelligence organization and capabilities; the development of the Special Operations Forces Liaison Element concept, which integrated planning and coordination between special operations and Marine Expeditionary Units; and much more.

“One of the big things I had to do was adjust my thought from maneuver battalions and regiments when I got here to understanding that small teams have strategic effects out in the battlespace, out globally,” Osterman said of some early challenges commanding MARSOC.

Article from JDNews

10 years of MARSOC: How the Marine Corps developed its Spec Ops Command

A decade after the Marine Corps stood up its new special operations command, Marine Raiders are helping lead the charge against the Islamic State group, training local troops across the African continent and quietly conducting missions across the Asia-Pacific region.

Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command activated on Feb. 24, 2006, to lend the Corps' muscle to U.S. Special Forces Command as it took on expanded operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond.

Beginning as a fledgling force drawn from two Marine force reconnaissance companies, MARSOC expanded to three special operations battalions — each with its own support battalion — aligned with Africa, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.

“MARSOC has grown into a mature Special Operations Forces organization over the last 10 years and is on a sustainable operations path,” Maj. Gen. Joseph Osterman said in a release. “We are Marines first and bring the strong Marine ethos of honor, courage and commitment to special operations.”

A staff sergeant and CSO with 1st Raider Battalion who requested anonymity, citing security concerns, told Marine Corps Times that in his experience over the last 10 years, that it is the tight-knit camaraderie that has driven MARSOC’s success.

“I look back at everything and am humbled and honored to walk beside and serve beside my heroes every day,” he said. “Just living and breathing and sweating and gun fighting beside guys like that ... they just work in the shadows, that's all they want and they care about their brothers.”

Even as the Corps reduced its own numbers because of the drawdown and increasing budget constraints, MARSOC continued to grow to a present strength of more than 2,700 Marines, including about 1,000 critical skills operators.

Today, they are deployed on a global scale conducting a wide range of missions to support theater commanders, including leading the joint special operations task force in Iraq taking on ISIS.

“Our people, not equipment, make the critical difference in our success,” Osterman said. “MARSOC units are in high demand among [theater special operations commanders] due to its reputation for professionalism and combat-proven small unit tactics, cultural awareness and operations intelligence at all levels,” he said.

On June 19, MARSOC officially adopted the name “Raiders” to honor the heritage of its World War II predecessors.

First activated in February 1942, four Marine Raider battalions waged irregular warfare across the Pacific as a special amphibious light infantry force, often operating behind enemy lines.

They were disbanded in January 1944, however, due in part to resentment of an “elite of the elite” within the Corps.

Gen. James Amos echoed this sentiment 67 years later, when as commandant in 2011 he initially rejected MARSOC’s taking on the Raider name.

Article from the Marine Corps Times

MARSOC Units to Change Name to Raiders

The U.S. Marine Corps Special Operations Command and Units are changing their name to Raiders. At long last, the Raiders will be reborn. An official flagging ceremony to rename Marine special operations battalions in honor of their World War II predecessors is set to take place June 19, MARSOC officials confirmed. The ceremony comes 10 months after the command first announced its plan to change the names of Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command's component units to reflect their history.

The formal renaming was held up while Headquarters Marine Corps approved a bulletin announcing the upcoming change, said Capt. Barry Morris, a MARSOC spokesman. He said MARSOC's headquarters in Sneads Ferry, North Carolina, also had to coordinate with its major subordinate elements to determine a date for the ceremony.

Army Gen. Joseph Votel, the head of U.S. Special Operations Command, is expected to attend the event. Also present will be members of the original World War II Raider companies.

During the ceremony, MARSOC's eight major subordinate elements and tenant battalions will be briefly deactivated, and then re-activated with their new names. The following units are part of the change:

• Marine Special Operations Regiment becomes Marine Raider Regiment.

• 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion becomes 1st Marine Raider Battalion.

• 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion becomes 2nd Marine Raider Battalion.

• 3rd Marine Special Operations Battalion becomes 3rd Marine Raider Battalion.

• Marine Special Operations Support Group becomes Marine Raider Support Group.

• 1st Marine Special Operations Support Battalion becomes 1st Marine Raider Support Battalion.

• 2nd Marine Special Operations Support Battalion becomes 2nd Marine Raider Support Battalion.

• 3rd Marine Special Operations Support Battalion becomes 3rd Marine Raider Support Battalion.

The cost of the name change will be roughly $12,000, Morris said, including the new unit flags and identification placards for corresponding headquarters buildings. These new flags will not feature the iconic skull on a red field that was part of the original Raiders logo, Morris said. But they will continue to display the "Southern Cross" of five white stars on a blue background that was part of the Raider patch and the current MARSOC unit insignias.

To save money, MARSOC has held off on printing advertising products including billboards, newspaper ads and promotional pamphlets while the name change was finalized, he said.

Morris said officials will update all eight units' web pages by June 22 to reflect the change. Within the command, he said the name change will be communicated primarily within units.

"MARSOC has been informing all Marines, sailors and civilians within the command of the re-flagging at the small-unit level," he said. "Since the announcement last August, leaders at all echelons within the command are leading small discussion groups and meeting face-to-face with their personnel, informing them of the upcoming re-flagging and answering any questions that anyone may have."

MARSOC's much-awaited name change comes following years of controversy and dispute. MARSOC operators and enablers have long identified informally with the legendary Raiders, who participated in high-stakes amphibious raids in the Pacific and are considered the first U.S. special operations troops to fight in World War II. (Raiders WWII photo at left)



But a proposal to change MARSOC's name to reflect its history was rejected by Gen. James Amos, then the commandant, in 2011. At the time, he argued that "your loyalty … is to the Marine Corps, based on the title you have on your uniform," according to a general who was present when he announced the decision.

Nonetheless, troops in the MARSOC community and members of the Marine Raider association, which preserves the group's legacy, continued to push for the change. Marine Corps Times reported in 2012 that MARSOC troops had been spotted downrange in Afghanistan wearing the famous skull patch, even though it was not officially authorized.

Amos reversed his decision and announced the name change last August, a few months before his retirement.

"United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command is proud and honored to adopt the name Marine Raider, carrying on the rich heritage and legacy passed along to us by the Raiders of World War II," MARSOC's commander, Maj. Gen. Joseph Osterman, said in a statement.

MARSOC now has more than 2,700 Marines, including nearly 1,000 critical skills operators. The three soon-to-be-named Raider battalions receive region-specific training for deployments to Africa, the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East.

Article by Hope Hodge Seck and originally published in the Marine Corps Times.