After a decade of land-based deployments – and many of its younger members never having been to sea – how is MARSOC looking to connect with the Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs) and Navy at sea?
MARSOC fully supports, with both manpower and exercise support, the SOCOM program to deploy a Special Operation Forces Liaison Element (SOFLE) with each Amphibious Readiness Group/Marine Expeditionary Unit (ARG/MEU) team.
It is important that I note to you that the SOFLE is not a MARSOC unit. It is a six-man liaison element made up of SOF members from across the SOCOM enterprise – United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), Naval Special Warfare Command (NSW), and MARSOC. The SOFLE advises and informs the MEU commander and his staff on SOF capabilities and actions that are relevant to their training, exercises, and operations.
Marine Raider ties together “Marine” – who we are – with “Raider,” an historical reference to Marine special operations, ultimately relaying the message “Marines are who we are, special operations are what we do.”
The operational successes during recent deployments by the 11th MEU and 24th MEU are a reflection of the service emphasis on integration and interoperability between SOF and the deployed Marine Air Ground Task Forces. This interoperability makes all of us stronger.
Subordinate MARSOC units are now designated as Marine Raiders, in honor of their World War II ancestors. What has that meant to individual operators and the Raiders’ relationships with allied forces and SOCOM’s other SOF components?
What I have witnessed since the Raider re-designation is the title Marine Raider continues to unify all those assigned to MARSOC. Using the legacy of Marine Raiders and the label as an organization creates an umbrella under which all military occupational specialties (MOS) fall. This unifying concept provides our operators and those who support them with a common cohesive term and prevents elitism from fostering within the command.
Marines are Marines and no one MOS or occupational field is more special than the other. Each Marine brings a unique set of skills that is essential for the collective capability. It is this collective capability that is MARSOC’s center of gravity and distinguishes it within the SOF community. The Raider moniker also provides our SOF and Marine Corps leadership with a way to identify MARSOC Marines in different forums.
Within the SOF community, our sister SOF services are labeled as Navy SEALS, Army Green Berets, Army Rangers, and Air Force Air Commandos. When it comes to Marines, there is often a struggle to find the right label, and the term critical skills operator is often used, which tends to confuse people. Marine Raider ties together “Marine” – who we are – with “Raider,” an historical reference to Marine special operations, ultimately relaying the message “Marines are who we are, special operations are what we do.”
SOF proved itself an invaluable asset to the wars in Southwest Asia and are now at the top of every COCOM’s speed dial. How has this increased demand, in light of tight budgets and a reduced end force, affected how MARSOC responds when called?
We have responded by forward-deploying Marine Special Operations Forces (MARSOF) that are capable of the full spectrum of SOF operations and are adaptable to whatever the specific mission requirements dictate. By persistently providing these forces to the TSOCs, the regional commanders know what they have and how agile those forces are. I believe this provides them maximum flexibility as they respond to emerging theater requirements for SOF.