Interview: Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command

This is pretty thin, but interesting no less. NSC
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These are the written answers received by the Examiner to a series of questions posed to the leadership of America's newest special operations force, the US Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC). These answers were the result of a collaborative effort by a number of MARSOC officials.

Examiner: What brought about the decision to have the USMC join SOCOM after rejecting participation for so long?

MARSOC Officials: The Secretary of Defense directed that the Marine Corps stand up MARSOC.

Examiner: How is MARSOC different from the SOF units of the other services?

MARSOC Officials: MARSOC focuses on deploying Company-sized units with the ability to conduct distributed operations. As Marines we traditionally focus on the Littorals and COIN. Our companies and teams provide capabilities in special reconnaissance, direct action, and foreign internal defense and we can provide operational C2 capability. MARSOC can also act as an interoperable conduit between SOCOM and the Marine Corps.

Examiner: Were the Marine Special Operations Companies modeled on the US Army SF A-teams or Navy SEAL Platoons, or are the unit structures drawn from the Force Recon model?

MARSOC Officials: Our basic unit structures are based on what has been successful for Marines in the past while incorporating lessons learned from across SOCOM.

Examiner: With the infantry focus of the Marine Corps, is there a tendency to focus on the Direct Action (DA), Counter Terrorism (CT), and Special Reconnaissance (SR) missions over the Unconventional Warfare (UW) and Foreign Internal Defense (FID) missions?

MARSOC Officials: MARSOC's focus, much like SOCOM, is holistic. We are tasked with the core tasks of DA, SR and FID, and we emphasize on the indirect approach.

Examiner: Being a new special operations force, how much catch up work still remains in order to bring MARSOC up to par with the Army and Navy SOF units?

MARSOC Officials: We continue to build our capabilities and we take on new missions as our capabilities increase. We believe that the other services have found MARSOC to be an equal and effective operational partner.

Examiner: How much collaboration is there with other Special Operations Forces and MARSOC operationally and in bringing MARSOC up to par with other SOCOM units?

MARSOC Officials: There is collaboration between the SOF components throughout SOCOM, not unlike the collaboration that occurs on the conventional side, with the goal of increasing the effectiveness of all units.

Examiner: How closely did you work with the US Army Special Warfare Center and its Naval equivalent when setting up the Marine Special Operations School? Are there still specific skills training that are out-sourced to the Army and Navy?

MARSOC Officials: The development of MSOS was based on a variety of "inputs" some of which included certain aspects of other SOF component schools. No skills training are outsourced to the other services

Examiner: Are there any plans to setup direct dedicated intelligence and rotary wing support units for MARSOC? Or is the plan to rely on the existing structures within SOCOM?

MARSOC Officials: We won't discuss specific organizational plans. MARSOC will ensure it is organized to have the support it needs for mission success.

Examiner: Are there any plans to commission a Tier One unit as part of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC)?

MARSOC Officials: We won't discuss specific organizational plans. MARSOC will ensure it is organized to have the support it needs for mission success.

Examiner: What was the rational for creating separate Marine Special Operations Advisor Groups and Marine Special Operations Battalions? With units such as the US Army Special Forces, all those functions all reside in a single A-team.

MARSOC Officials: MARSOC structure is one Marine Special Operations Regiment with 3 Marine Special Operations Battalions beneath it. These headquarters have roles similar to an SF Group and its Battalions.

Examiner: Are there any plans to setup a special operations support infantry unit similar to the Army's Ranger Regiment?

MARSOC Officials: We won't discuss specific organizational plans. MARSOC will ensure it is organized to have the support it needs for mission success.

Examiner: How close are you being "full operational" i.e. fully setup?

MARSOC Officials: MARSOC is deploying combat capable forces to all theaters and has been for several years. We continue to build our capabilities as we do so.

Examiner: How are the prospective Special Operations Marines selected? What does the selection course look like? Which specialties/experience levels are eligible?

MARSOC Officials: We won't discuss the specifics of the selection course. It is a mentally and physically challenging evaluation held five to six times a year at an undisclosed location. The assessment enables instructors to identify Marines with the necessary attributes to complete follow-on special operations training and to conduct special operations missions.

Examiner: What would the training pipeline look like for a new Marine entering the special operations field? What about for officers? Is it similar to the SEALs pipeline or perhaps the Special Forces Qualification course?

MARSOC Officials: Marines who volunteer are first screened by the Recruiting Branch to attend the selection course and then selected based on performance at the course. They then attend the 7-month Individual Training Course. Once complete, they are assigned to their unit.

Examiner: Physical Fitness Test standards appear to be similar to what's required to show up for Officer Candidate Class or Platoon Leader Class from what I can tell?

MARSOC Officials: The minimum PFT score required to attend the selection course is 225 (out of 300). Those Marines with scores above 250 tend to do better.

Examiner: With the USMC being a sea service how much emphasis is placed on maritime operations i.e. scuba, SEAL delivery vehicle operations, Special Boat Units etc? How about on land navigations skills and HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) /HAHO (High Altitude High Opening) etc?

MARSOC Officials: We do not discuss specific capabilities, but MARSOC does train to certain maritime skills.

Examiner: What kind of gear does MARSOC use? The normal Interceptor body armor, and M-16s like regular Marines? Or have you started to use the FN SCAR rifle or HK-416?

MARSOC Officials: We won't discuss specifics but can say that MARSOC is equipped with gear that is common within SOCOM.

Examiner: Does MARSOC have any specialized vehicles or aircraft?

MARSOC Officials: We won't discuss specifics but can say that MARSOC is equipped with vehicles that are common within SOCOM.