SOCOM Marine Corps Element.

[NousDefionsDoc]

Originally Posted by skibum

And, of course, he's repeating the line, "all Marines are special, all Marines are equal." I won't contradict him, but does he think my career E-3 radioman (a grunt-type, not a comm-type) can replace the engine on a Harrier? I'm sure, that as trained observers, most here have noticed that the Corps put a General in charge of the outfit, not a lance criminal or boot Lt. And the core of the assault companies will be a "Force Recon" platoon, not a graves registration platoon, or a platoon of BAMs from the 3rd gynecological regiment. I'll stop before I get really going.

Don't get all lathered up Jarhead.

Copperhead, Copperhead,
The Colonel Sir asked you a question. And we'll be waiting for the answer...

Fine question it was too, Colonel Sir. Simply splendid.

I have yet another question - What is a B4 SQI? No lo conozco.

[skibum]

Not TOO lathered up.

Admit it: "3rd gynecological regiment" is pretty f-ing funny.

To a jarhead, I mean.

[NousDefionsDoc]

Absolutely hilarious.

[CPTAUSRET]

Originally Posted by NousDefionsDoc

Absolutely hilarious.

To a jarhead, I mean.


Indubitably!

[LongWire]

Okay I'm Oconus right now, and currently doing FID in support of OIF. So a couple of weeks ago we have a VIP visit from another Country, who is being accompanied by some US Military advisors, one of whom is a Master Gunnery Sgt.

If you know anything about Arab Countries than you know that their leaders get alot of face time billboarded everywhere. This country's leader is no exception, and is quite a recognized figure even on Fox News, or CNN....you get the picture.

So the entourage is all gathered around the front of the compound we are at, and on the front of the HQS building is this Country's Monarch, who happend to be a member of this very unit.

Anyways, Master Gunns in not a hushed voice decides to ask who the "Semi-Caucasion looking Guy on the Building Is?"............Can I tell you that rapport is often a fragile thing, and is painstakingly gained, and maintaned on a daily basis. Its stuff like that that paints us as all Asshole Ugly Americans. Luckily the guys we are with know whats what.

Can we get at least an Area Study or something before we go blowing others hard work in just a few words. Try watching the news or something!!!!!!!!
I Love my job, but you vets can tell me the deal, did it always come down to those supporting (or more like not supporting)you, blowing what you had established so that you had to work even harder to maintain rapport?

You gotta love the beuracracy sometimes. The guys up top want results, but dont often understand that their actions, and inactions, send ripples down to the lowest level so that you have to end up fixing those problems when you had a full plate already?

Okay I'm done venting

[NousDefionsDoc]

It happens all the time Longwire. I had one complain a while back (not a Marine) because a General kept us waiting five whole minutes to see him. The General didn't know what time we would be there and in one of the hottest areas in the country, not to mention he has a brigade to run.

Visitors rarely take the time to learn anything at all about the target country. Shame too. The other thing is they don't realize they are visitors, no matter how long they are there.

Here's another one: Huge program set up without a site survey. Nobody even understood for years how the units being trained were T,O&Ed or how they operated. Never even asked to see an org chart.

It would be nice if they would at least learn to say "Good morning" in the host country language.

Rapport is a beautiful and misunderstood thang.

Signed,
Apologizing Proudly

[LongWire]

I guess I was just shocked more than anything.............I mean despite regional differences between the different countries (these guys were inbound from another middle eastern country)...........You could have taken a stab in the dark at who's picture that was up on the wall, its not Rocket Science!!!!!!!

[BMT (RIP)]

Guys this shit ain't gonna WORK!!!

USMC BG in charge say's "we'll train our men and deploy. They will stay with the unit 2-3 years and return to unit's to train others. I should of said other MC unit's not MARSOC units.

BMT
FOG

[The Reaper]

One of the funniest things I have ever seen was a Marine Major shaking a HN General's hand downrange and tried out one of the few Spanish phrases he thought he knew.

"Me gusto MUCHO!"

The GO scraped him off and ran away quickly, spent the rest of the trip making sure that the Major got nowhere near him.

I think that the Marines will take a few years learning what they do not know, and a lot of country teams will be requesting that they not return for FID again.

TR

[NousDefionsDoc]

LOL - yes Sir, one of those phrases where inverting the words changes the meaning entirely...

[Doc]

The Corps has it's place but it ain't FID. Been there, seen that and it wasn't pretty. One quick example; 2 Marine CPTs trying to tell/force a HN COL what he's going to do. It didn't work. HN COL played with them like a Cat plays with a mouse and won. It takes years to do this sort of job and two seconds to blow it.

[MtnGoat]

Originally Posted by C/S PHOENIX 10

Wow where to begin

USMC-Some of the finest SF soldiers I have ever worked with have been former(oop's once a marine always one) marines. Here in my corner of OEF(4th tour, fresh of a recon mission), the marines have always out shined their army counter parts. By design marines understand small battles/warfare and have done a great job of adjusting to the GWOT or at least here they have. As I have stated in other post, the "Q" has put in the magic stuff in the water and continue to push out some of the finest in the world at "getting it". So I have full trust that it will hold true if/when the marines send their boys through the "Q"(my understanding is that the 400 man unit will go through the "Q"). Hats off to the great job the instructors are doing.

Is there a need for additional SF right now? Well depends who you ask. For myself, my team and other teams in this group, the answer would be hell yes, I would love to share the biscuts and gravy(having said that I had to fight a SWC assignment to get back here again). But as I send guys to schools during our TDY trip to the states, all I hear about is the number of guys that are disguntial because they haven't been to the big dance yet. We can do better at cross leveling work load and this will also keep the force strong with proven combat vets.

Ground true for the fathers of SF(old guys), instructors or men that are just out of the loop. The SF world you think you know are quickly becoming a thing of the past. And the only people we can blame is??? That's right team daddies. More and more I read, observe and witness the destruction of the foundation of SF. First I blame the TS, second the flow of money(GWOT dollars), the surge of new kids, and the command. I will try and paint the picture that I see around me, without pushing opsec.

First example the team sergeant: The SFAUC generation, you see a ton of door kicking bleed over onto ruck teams(oops GMV teams now). Being able to shot, move and communicate is the basic standard that my team lives by(it also is the basics for any indig force too) and if you can do it in an urban invoirment(sp) you can do it anywhere. So my team does spend a good chunk of time working those skill sets, but it is only a stepping stone to the end-state. During any ITC train up all I hear is "my team needs more flat range time" or " shooting schools". Stuff along these lines is the normal now days. Again not saying it is wrong but it is just another stone in the pond. Bottom line most guys nowadays want to be door kickers. We aready have a unit for that, I don't think we need 5 more groups worth. Go to selection if that is you steady gig. I have done a ton of unilateral DA stuff here and it is a great time, but I all so know that it is not going to win the war in the long run, the HN will decide that. I see a lot of miss use of the HN, with the man use being the first line of defense for catching IED, or in earliy days the beleive was that if you have HN in your mounted patrol package or even better on your truck the enemy will not shot you. Just the facts I heard it all!!

Dollars; state of the art this or we need that or if we had this we could do that, I hear this crap all the time. As I look in my ruck(yes some teams still use them, even though we have trucks), I think I said this in another post but VIKING(memeber) was spending he hard earned combat pay to buy a new ruck, a couple of guys from our company said why waste your money, we've never that far from our trucks to need a ruck muchless a new one. Back to my ruck, it's right beside me freshly repacked from a mission. let's see, water, chow, NOD's, radio, bino's, ammo, map marker, recon log, signal stuff and a poncho. Well that's it, better check the packing list to make sure I'm forgetting some peice of hightech stuff, nope NOT MUCH HAS CHANGE IN THE LAST 40 YEARS. I watched a team leave a state side range after the day shoot, because they had NVG's, but didn't have peq-2 issued yet(long story), why waste the time the TS said. We hell how did we ever fight a war at night prior to lasers or NVG's.

I know a lot of you men are throwing the BS flag, but I'm telling you it is true. It is not every team or even most, but it is growing. There are a few of us old school guys that are fighting the flow, but only time will tell.

So as you can see some of the special has been lost along the way, I think that if the proper training is conducted marines would be a great addition to the force.

Well said PHOENIX 10!

Look the whole MARSOC thing has been coming. But what your talking about PHOENIX 10 is so ture about teams and the TS. You have Groups standing up new teams just so they can sent whole companies to do things they usually don't do. Why maybe its a bullet for a NCOER or OER, I don't know.

MARSOC will stand up at the end of the month, start to run a course along the line of whatever force they like in the future. The futrue, lets see five to tens years we'll see a fifth Branch. - SOC Branch. Reagan years!?! Let see.

Everyone wants into the roles that everyone is looking to SOF, SOC whichever way they (you) call it. SOF/SOC has always had the money, the Marines didn't play in the ninities why. Not their thing maybe. They saw the money they lost and they stood up MEU(SOC) and now the need of GWOT; there is more money. Yes I see it as a money thing - not a role.
Some SOF do see it as a "Role play", SF has always been the UW warriors, they can never change, 50(+) years of training and Experience.


Berg Heil

[NousDefionsDoc]

Three main components: direct-action companies under a Marine Special Operations Regiment; a Foreign Military Training Unit; and a Marine Special Operations Support Group. Officials expect MarSOC will reach full operational capability by 2010.

The first FMTU teams, which are based at Lejeune, are training and will deploy starting in May.

The first Marine Special Operations Company - there will be nine direct-action MSOCs under the Marine Special Operations Regiment - will organize in May, train with the Lejeune-based 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and deploy later this year. The first West Coast-based spec ops company is slated to join the 13th MEU in September.

Under current plans - outlined to senior leaders during their quarterly "executive off-site" on Jan. 18 and remaining in flux as working group studies and reviews continue - the nine direct-action companies will fall under two Marine Special Operations Battalions. Those battalions report to the Marine Special Operations Regiment.

Besides the direct-action companies and FMTUs, plans also call for the establishment in July of a Marine Special Operations Support Group, which will provide battalions with a range of specialized skills, from security and K-9 teams to communications, intelligence and logistics.

Marine Special Operations Command

Under current plans, the MarSOC will be broken into three main sections:

Marine Special Operations Regiment

1st Marine Special Operations Battalion

Four Marine Special Operations Companies

1st Special Missions Training Branch

2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion

Five Marine Special Operations Companies

2nd Special Missions Training Branch

Small Craft Company

Foreign Military Training Unit

Alpha Company

12 teams

Bravo Company

12 teams

Marine Special Operations Support

Support Company

ANGLICO Platoon

Security Platoon

Communications Platoon

Intelligence Company

CI/HUMINT Platoon

SIGINT Platoon

Analysis Platoon

Logistics Company

\Marine Corps Times

[Jack Moroney (RIP)]

Interesting organization. Guess they ran out of space for their photo battalion

[NousDefionsDoc]

It will be interesting to see the TO&E slots for ranks on those training teams. With 24 of them, I can't imagine they will be led by Os.

I believe the Commandant also stated something about upping the USMC by 5k bodies as well.