MCSOCOM Detachment One
Encyclopedia
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
United States Special Operations Command
The United States Special Operations Command is the Unified Combatant Command charged with overseeing the various Special Operations Commands of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps of the United States Armed Forces. The command is part of the Department of Defense...

. It was commanded by Col. Robert J. Coates, former commanding officer of 1st Force Reconnaissance Company
1st Force Reconnaissance Company
The First Force Reconnaissance Company was the deep reconnaissance/direct action unit of the United States Marine Corps, that was assigned to the Fleet Marine Force, Pacific and its subordinate elements of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force...

. Det One 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 United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, which is to be a 2700-person command.

Personnel

The unit consisted of 81 Marines and 5 Navy Corpsmen divided among 4 sections:
  • reconnaissance element (30 men)
  • intelligence element (29 men), containing a headquarters element and
  • a Radio Reconnaissance Team (RRT), (9 men)
  • a human intelligence (HumInt) exploitation team (HET), (6 men)
  • an all-source fusion team (12 men)
  • fires element (7 men)
  • headquarters element


The original Marines picked to form the detachment were hand-picked from over 500 personnel records. Despite common misconception, Det One was not a beefed up Force Reconnaissance
United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance
The Force Reconnaissance Companies , are one of the United States Marine Corps's special operations "capable" forces that provide essential elements of military intelligence to the command element of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force ; supporting the landing or joint task force commanders, and...

 platoon. While the reconnaissance element was composed mostly of Force Recon
1st Force Reconnaissance Company
The First Force Reconnaissance Company was the deep reconnaissance/direct action unit of the United States Marine Corps, that was assigned to the Fleet Marine Force, Pacific and its subordinate elements of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force...

 Marines, they made up only 24 of the 86 members of the detachment. The detachment, though lacking organic aviation, operated under the Marine Air-Ground Task Force
Marine Air-Ground Task Force
The Marine Air-Ground Task Force is a term used by the United States Marine Corps to describe the principal organization for all missions across the range of military operations. MAGTFs are a balanced air-ground, combined arms task organization of Marine Corps forces under a single commander that...

 philosophy of leveraging integrated, complementary capabilities to be more effective than the sum of its parts.

Insignia

Detachment One's Insignia comes from the World War II Marine Raider's patch, a blue patch with a skull and stars. The insignia was created by Warrant Officer (then-GySgt
Gunnery Sergeant
Gunnery Sergeant is the seventh enlisted rank in the United States Marine Corps, just above Staff Sergeant and below Master Sergeant and First Sergeant, and is a staff non-commissioned officer...

) Anthony Siciliano. The scarlet, blue, and gold disk represents the unit's joint Navy-Marine Corps origins. The crossed stiletto/lightning bolt represent the unit's special operations mission, and its global communications reach. The parachute wings represent airborne
Parachutist Badge (United States)
The Parachutist Badge, also commonly referred to as "Jump Wings" or "Snow Cone", is a military badge of the United States Armed Forces awarded to members of the United States Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy...

-qualified status and the mask above it represents the combatant diver
Frogman
A frogman is someone who is trained to scuba diving or swim underwater in a military capacity which can include combat. Such personnel are also known by the more formal names of combat diver or combatant diver or combat swimmer....

 qualification.

History

Although Detachment One was a relatively new unit its heritage can be traced back to the World War II Marine Raiders
Marine Raiders
The Marine Raiders were elite units established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct amphibious light infantry warfare, particularly in landing in rubber boats and operating behind the lines...

. In World War II, the Marine Raiders were formed to seize key beaches and hills and also conduct guerrilla-style strikes against Imperial Japanese Forces. After two years the Raiders were disbanded but they set the stage for other raider-style units like Detachment One.

In 1986, when the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

 established the new joint Special Operations Command
United States Special Operations Command
The United States Special Operations Command is the Unified Combatant Command charged with overseeing the various Special Operations Commands of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps of the United States Armed Forces. The command is part of the Department of Defense...

, the Marine Corps opted not to participate. Then Commandant Paul X. Kelley
Paul X. Kelley
General Paul Xavier Kelley was the twenty-eighth Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, from July 1, 1983 to June 30, 1987....

 expressed the belief popular in the Corps that Marines should support Marines, and that the Corps should not fund a special warfare capability that would operate independently of the Fleet Marine Force. The Corps wanted to retain the Corps' Force Reconnaissance
United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance
The Force Reconnaissance Companies , are one of the United States Marine Corps's special operations "capable" forces that provide essential elements of military intelligence to the command element of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force ; supporting the landing or joint task force commanders, and...

 units within the MAGTF command structure and prevent the development of an "elite" within the Marine Corps. Marine Corps leadership believed would be at the expense of the effectiveness of the Corps as a whole. However, following the September 11 attacks and the current global war on terror
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...

, that view began to shift. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...

 immediately directed the Marine Corps and USSOCOM
United States Special Operations Command
The United States Special Operations Command is the Unified Combatant Command charged with overseeing the various Special Operations Commands of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps of the United States Armed Forces. The command is part of the Department of Defense...

 to work more closely together in what would be called the global war on terror. Marine resistance to special warfare units dissipated when Marine leaders watched the Corps' "crown jewels" – the 15th and 26th MEU
Marine Expeditionary Unit
A Marine expeditionary unit , formerly called Marine amphibious unit , is the smallest Marine air-ground task force in the United States Fleet Marine Force...

 Maritime Special Purpose Forces
Maritime Special Purpose Force
The United States Marine Corps' Maritime Special Purpose Force, or MSPF, are a unique specialized sub-unit that are drawn from the Marine Expeditionary Units' major subordinate elements. They are special operations capable forces deployed to give the commanders low profile, two-platoon surgical...

 – sit on the sidelines during the early stages of Operation Enduring Freedom while other special warfare units lead the way. Resistance from SOF commanders already in-country and indifference from the Navy chain of command left the MEU(SOC)s unused for over a month, and only relegated to supporting roles where SOF lacked manpower.

In October 2002, Commandant James L. Jones
James L. Jones
James Logan Jones, Jr. is the former United States National Security Advisor and a retired United States Marine Corps General....

, after consultation with USSOCOM leaders, directed the establishment of a Marine unit for permanent USSOCOM employment. Out of this came the T/O for Detachment One, officially activated aboard Camp Pendleton on June 19, 2003.

After completion of Navy special warfare (NSW) certification and other training, Det One was deployed to Iraq in March 2004 for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Operating under Naval Special Warfare Group One, Det One executed direct action, coalition support, and battlefield-shaping operations. A study conducted by the Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) found that

The trial deployment demonstrated the MCSOCOM Det could effectively conduct direct action
Direct action (military)
In the context of military special operations, direct action consists of: "Short-duration strikes and other small-scale offensive actions conducted as a special operation in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments and which employ specialized military capabilities to seize, destroy,...

 (DA) and special reconnaissance
Special reconnaissance
Special reconnaissance is conducted by small units of highly trained military personnel, usually from special forces units or military intelligence organisations, who operate behind enemy lines, avoiding direct combat and detection by the enemy. As a role, SR is distinct from commando operations,...

 (SR). It is reasonable to suggest that the Detachment could also conduct or support foreign internal defense
Foreign internal defense
Foreign internal defense is a term used by a number of Western militaries, including the United States, France and the United Kingdom, to describe an approach to combating actual or threatened insurgency in a foreign state called the Host Nation . The term counter-insurgency is more commonly used...

 (FID), counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...

 (CT), special activities
Special operations
Special operations are military operations that are considered "special" .Special operations are typically performed independently or in conjunction with conventional military operations. The primary goal is to achieve a political or military objective where a conventional force requirement does...

, selected theater security cooperation plans (TSCP), and other tasks as required.


However, the deployment also revealed interservice tensions. The Navy commander of Naval Special Warfare
United States Naval Special Warfare Command
The United States Naval Special Warfare Command was commissioned on April 16, 1987, at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in San Diego, California...

 Squadron One did not utilize Det One as a cohesive unit, but parceled its capabilities as needed. In particular, the intelligence section was parceled out to other Navy units, instead of supporting Det One operations, as the Navy lacked intelligence personnel who understood ground combat.

Following the conclusion of the deployment in September 2004, the Marine Corps and USSOCOM continued to negotiate details of the long-term relationship through 2005, while Det One trained for a possible second deployment. Though deployment proposals were rejected on the basis that Det One was to provide the nucleus of the future permanent MARSOC organization, it was disbanded on March 10, 2006 and its members dispersed throughout the Marine Corps. The experience of Det One provided critical intelligence on the organization and integration of a Marine special-operations force into USSOCOM and was instrumental to the planning of MARSOC.

See also

  • 1st Force Reconnaissance Company
    1st Force Reconnaissance Company
    The First Force Reconnaissance Company was the deep reconnaissance/direct action unit of the United States Marine Corps, that was assigned to the Fleet Marine Force, Pacific and its subordinate elements of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force...

  • Force Reconnaissance
  • Radio Reconnaissance Platoon
    Radio Reconnaissance Platoon
    The Radio Reconnaissance Platoon is a specially trained element of a United States Marine Corps Radio Battalion. A Radio Reconnaissance Team was assigned as the tactical signals intelligence collection element for the Marine Corps Special Operations Command, Detachment One...

  • Marine Forces Special Operations Command
    Marine Forces Special Operations Command
    United States Marine Corps Special Operations Command is a component command of the US Special Operations Command that comprises the Marine Corps' contribution to SOCOM. Its core capabilities are direct action, special reconnaissance and foreign internal defense...

  • Strider SMF
    Strider SMF
    The Strider MARSOC SMF is a framelock folding knife that was specifically developed for Detachment 1, the first SOCOM unit of the United States Marine Corps...


External links

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