User:RekonDog/United States Marine Corps Special Operations Capable Forces

Air & Naval Gunfire Liaison Company
The Air/Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, or ANGLICO, are small Marine units that provide artillery, naval gunfire, close air support for the United States Armed Forces, as well to allied foreign armed forces worldwide. The ANGLICO teams are specialized in forward observance, Joint terminal attack controlling, and forward air controlling. They give the Marine Air Ground Task Force commanders a liaison capability with foreign area expertise to plan, coordinate, employ and conduct radio communications for air, sea and land support fire for joint, allied and coalition forces.

Special Reaction Teams
The Provost Marshal’s Special Reaction Teams are specialized military policemen that are trained in all aspects of special weapons and tactics. They have the ability to handle special threat situation surpassing normal law enforcement capabilities, such as: isolating a crisis scene, providing proficient marksmanship support, conducting tactical movement and building entry, and clearing of buildings in a variety of light and weather conditions.

Chemical and Biological Incident Response Force


The Chemical and Biological Incident Response Force is a rapid response force that is capable of being deployed to Department of the Navy and Department of State legations and installations, and, when directed by the National Command Authority, anywhere in the world that is affected by chemical weapons and biological terrorist threats. The force is completely self-contained and self-sufficient, and may also provide coordinating initial relief efforts, security, detection, identification, expert medical advice, and limited decontamination of personnel and equipment.

This response force will respond to chemical or biological incidents affecting to assist local civilian and military agencies in order to assist the on-scene commander in providing initial post incident consequence management. The CBIRF consists of specially trained personnel and specialized equipment suited for operations in a wide range of contingencies. Through detection, decontamination and emergency medical services, the CBIRF capabilities are intended to minimize the effects of a chemical or biological incident.

Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team


The Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Teams, or FAST, are units of the Marine Security Forces that are primarily designed to conduct defensive combat operations, military security operations, and rear area security operations. They are capable of rapidly deploying to any US governtment and/or military installations worldwide, at the discretion of the Chief of Naval Operations. The FAST Marines are usually employed to improve security at when the primary and auxiliary security forces of the Marines are unable to adequately respond to a security crisis.

MAGTF Reconnaissance
The recon Marines are specialized teams that are proficient in special reconnaissance to collect intelligence for the commanders within a Marine Air-Ground Task Force to shape their battlespace. The division recon assets conduct recon for battalions and regiments by operating ahead of the forces to scout enemy and other pertinent information. The force recon assets are reserved for the high-echelon of the force commander. Force recon also may be directed to perform direct action operations or other special assignments to the Marine Expeditionary Force.

The missions that are performed by both of the MAFTF recon assets are unlike those performed by other USSOCOM operators. Such that the Marine Corps's reconnaissance units all support the ground forces, the infantry, in conventional warfare. The recon Marines initially do not operate in the boundaries of unconventional warfare, but been moments they had been assigned for which they were capable of performing.

Marine Special Operations Command


The Marine Special Operations Teams, or MSOTs, are the Marine Corps's only special operations unit that soley operates in unconventional warfare. Their initial role is to provide the Marine Special Operation Command (MARSOC) in direct action, counter-terrorism, and foreign internal defense. It first began as MCSOCOM Detachment One and consequently was reformed into a Marine Special Operations Battalion (MSOB). Most of the experienced personnel were from the disbanded FMF Recon companies of 1st and 2nd Force Recon and from a Naval Special Warfare Group; forming the 1st and 2nd MSOB.

Maritime Special Purpose Force
The United States Marine Corps' Maritime Special Purpose Force, or MSPF are a specialized sub-unit of the Marine Expeditionary Units. They are deployed to give the commanders low profile, two-platoon surgical emplacement in the accessible littoral regions. The MSPF provides the MEU in rapid direct action capabilities, to augmenting or replace the unavailable Fleet Marine Force's recon platoons. It enables the Marine Corps's only deep recon unit, Force Recon, to continue providing FMF-level intelligence without delay. However, the MSPF can't operate independently of its parent MEU, they soley rely on the MEU for logistics, intelligence, communications, transportation, and fire support.

Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion


The Amphibious Reconnaissance Company (and later Battalion) were a small group of men that conducted preliminary D-Day amphibious reconnaissance of the planned littoral beaches occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army and Special Naval Landing Forces in the Central Pacific during World War II. They were infantry Marines highly skilled in combat swimming, topography, and hydrographic survey that provided the V Amphibious Corps, which subsequently was redesignated under the Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, vital military intelligence of the enemy forces of Imperial Japanese Army and Special Naval Landing Forces.

The Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion was formed from the Marine Corps's Observer Group commander and his intelligence and operations staff preliminary 'pre-'D-Day reconnaissance, commanded by then-Captain James Logan Jones, the father of the 32nd Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James L. Jones, Jr. The moment after World War II ended, the FMFPAC Amphib Recon Battalion was deactivated as it discontinued providing amphibious reconnaissance to the FMF-level intelligence staff personnel. This left the Marine Division Reconnaissance assets to determine the future of modernizing the Marine Corps' role in amphibious reconnaissance.

The conflicts later during the Korean War persuaded both the forces on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts to revitalize the FMF-level reconnaissance asset. The FMF, Atlantic (FMFLant) created a 'second' amphib recon battalion. In January 1957, both amphibious reconnaissance battalions on the west and east coast were subsequently demantled by an 'experimental' deep reconnaissance platoon from Marine Corps Test Unit #1; forming the 1st and 2nd Force Reconnaissance Companies.

Anti-Terrorism Battalion
Anti-Terrorism Battalion is a specialized-infantry force that possesses organic capabilities such as military intelligence and counter-intelligence cells, combat engineers, enhanced nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) teams, and riflemen trained in advanced urban warfare.

Combined Action Program


The Com­bined Action Program, or CAP, was a unit that was assembled as a foreign internal defense during the Vietnam War. They were jointly allied with the South Vietnamese Popular Force, providing 'civil protection force' for local villages from the Viet Cong's influence of ter­rorism, recruiting, and taxation.

Later, they were subsequently renamed the Civil Action Platoons. The foreign relations between the two allied forces confided the villagers of in-sourcing information. It became one of the major sources of reliabe intelligence from allies throughout the war.

Joint Assault Signals Company
The Joint Assault Signals Company, or JASCO, were a tri-service of the Army and the Fleet Marine Force (United States Navy/Marine Corps) that provided supporting arms coordination for ground artillery, ships, and aircraft in delivering ordnance. They were highly-specialized fire support coordinators for close air and naval gunfire support.

Marine Special Operations Command Detachment One


Marine Corps Special Operations Command Detachment One (MCSOCOM Detachment One or Det 1), was a pilot program to assess the value of Marine special operations forces permanently detached to the United States Special Operations Command. It was commanded by Col. Robert J. Coates, former commanding officer of 1st Force Reconnaissance Company. Det 1 was activated on June 19, 2003 and had its headquarters at Camp Del Mar Boat Basin. It was disbanded in 2006 and succeeded by the permanent Marine Forces Special Operations Command, which is to be a 2700-person command.

Marine Corps Test Unit #1
The Marine Corps Test Unit, or MCTU #1, was a battalion-sized unit that was formed out the boundaries of the Fleet Marine Force to test and evaluate innovative methods in maneuvering ground forces that are prone to operating in areas subject to nuclear attacks. They initially developed the techniques for the heliborne assaults that are used today.

The Test Unit's infantry battalion participated in Desert Rock IV during shot 'Bee'. The reconnaissance platoon in MCTU #1 revolutionized the modern methods of parachute insertions and extractions. They invented the special purpose insertion/extraction harness and its techniques. The Recon Platoon subsequently became the beginning of Force Reconnaissance.

Observer Group
The Observer Group (precursor to Amphibious Reconnaissance Company) was a joint-United States Army/Marine Corps unit that was the first in the United States and Fleet Marine Force to be organized and trained specifically for amphibious reconnaissance. The Observer group experimented in the methodology and equipment in projecting reconnaissance from the sea before the establishment of the OSS, (the precurser to the Central Intelligence Agency), the Underwater Demolition Teams, and before the Army Special Forces and Air Commandos. It was also the birth of naval amphibious intelligence.

Parachute Battalions


The Paramarines (also known as Marine paratroopers) were specialized units that was trained in parachuting into combat. The first Paramarines were trained in October 1940. The Parachute battalions have jumped into perilous hostile territory. In retrospect, the parachutists have the most toughest missions. They lack heavy mortar and machine gun support due to the amount of equipment the are able to carry, plus the manpower. They were lightly-equipped for many of the missions in the pacific campaigns during World War II.

By 1944, the Parachute Battalions was disbanded, becoming another special operations unit deactivated under the Fleet Marine Force just as the ill-fated Marine Raiders. Because of the interservice rivalry, the Army felt that the Marine Corps were taking over the role of the XVIII Airborne Corps.

Raider Battalions


The Marine Raiders were elite units established in 1942 by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct amphibious, light-infantry operations, particularly in landing in rubber boats and operating behind the lines. "Edson's Raiders of 1st Marine Raiders Battalion and "Carlson's" Raiders of 2nd Marine Raiders Battalion are said to be the first United States Special Operations Forces to form and see combat.

Many modern direct action methods in the Marine Corps were derived and adopted by both Carlson's and Edson's Raiders, which subsequently the division-level recon scouts continued its use long after they were disbanded in 1944. Most of the experienced Raiders, along with the Paramarines, then soon filled the ranks of division recon companies.