I'm still trying to get a handle on exactly what the Maritime Raid Force (MRF) is actually suppose to be. Is it an in house Special Ops Unit...Is it a in house enabler for the Battalion Landing Team or is simply an evolution of what the MEU is soon to be.
I personally think that its a feeble attempt for the Marine Corps to maintain a "Special Ops" Capable in house unit.
If that's the case then its bound to fail.
First its duplicating capabilities found in SOCOM.
Second its a waste of limited resources.
Third it relegates the MEU to the worst of worlds. It takes boat spaces from the Infantry and essentially allocates them to SOCOM (lets be honest...Force Recon is a feeder to MARSOC) yet carries them on the Marine Corps books.
A better solution would be to establish a working relationship with SOCOM to have either a MARSOC, SEAL or even Green Beret Team attached to each MEU and have the BLT provide supporting units. That would allow the Marine Corps to establish closer ties to SOCOM, save boat spaces AND allow the Marine Corps BLT to re-achieve its Special Operations Capable designation again...as blocking forces, reinforcement or even logistical support for the attached unit or other units ashore.
What is the cost? Force Recon would go away. We would instead retask Scout Snipers to a Direct Action and Scouting role by simply reorganizing its structure. They're already moving toward a Force Recon look (structurally) all it will take is to simply designate a few school spots to make this a reality.
On a similar note Sol, something of interest to you that you might have already seen. The French hit Somalia yesterday and lost 2 men and a hostage in the action.
ReplyDeleteyeah but i don't know what to make of it. it seems like every time i turn around we're seeing a different country thats being threatened by islamic extremist. i wonder if its worth the effort anymore.
DeleteAll your assumptions are wrong. They assume the MRF has no mission or is in search of 1.
ReplyDelete1st, the MRF was created at the request of Regional Commanders, who's needs don't always align with SOCOM, as a Commander's In-Extremis Force. Having SOF deploy inplace of MRF would defeat the purpose.
2nd, a ”feeble attempt”, Force has been conducting Direct Action & Special Reconnaissance since 1957. SOCOM's own report said the MSPF, the forerunner of the MRF, has capabilities on par with & routinely deploy w/assets not seen outside Tier I SMU's.
3rd, MRF takes no boat spaces, being a recreated version of the MSPF deploys w/units organic to the MEU.
your argument has no basis in fact.
Delete1. i saw no request from Regional Commanders for MRF. additionally i haven't heard of any regional commander that didn't align with SOCOM. that entire statement is fantasy filled.
2. i'm well aware of when Force recon was created, i'm aware of its fore runners and MRF IS reinventing the wheel. Force Recon lives in MARSOC. MARSOC is a parasite that's dining on the Corps.
3. as i said in item 2. Force is simply a feeder to MARSOC. its very existence is to provide personnel for that unit.
if the Marine Corps was smart it would have done this move to SOCOM differently. the best way to have done it would have been to simply have Marines that wanted to go Special Ops attend BUDS and become a part of Naval Special Warfare. NSW would have enlarged its headquarters, supply chain etc and all the Marine Corps would have done is simply provide bodies.
but its more than that now. its a welfare system for flag officers needing a command, for junior officers that need to punch tickets and for the Marine Corps to grow even more.
i'm still not convinced that this current setup doesn't do anything but duplicate missions already done by others. answer me this. what does the MARSOC do that's unique. why is Force Recon allowed to continue in the MEU when Scout Sniper teams do the same darn thing that Force Recon is suppose to specialize in (deep recon) but no longer do? face it. Marine Infantry is fully capable of doing the direct action mission in extremis. it did for a long time and was trained to that standard. is Marine Infantry suddenly deficit?
two examples. the O'Grady rescue and the rescue of the F-15 pilots in Libya. regular infantry did the TRAP mission for O'Grady and Force Recon in Libya. why was Force Recon needed when its been demonstrated that regular infantry can get it done? is it ticket punching?
Both CENTCOM & EURCOM requested the USMC reconstitute their theater reserve CIF that was left void when the MSPF folded.
DeleteCorrect, currently FR is a feeder for MarSoc but: A) that's not necessarily a bad thing, & B) Force & MarSoc don't necessarily attract/recruit the same type of Marine.
The MRF doesn't reinvent the wheel, it reconstitutes the MSPF which SOCOM's own report states deploys w/capabilities not seen outside Tier I SMUs. All components are already organic to the MEU: Force Recon DAP, Amphib Recon Plt, ANGLICO Det, RRT, HumInt Exploitation Team (HET), EOD, & Intel Fusion.
A T-SOC is the 3-star SOCOM rep subordinate their individual 4-star Theater Cmdrs. Him & his units are subordinate in all areas except CT & Counter Proliferation where the T-SOCs have autonomy over their units.. W/that said if a SOF unit was deployed in place of an MRF & the T-SOC would constantly pull them away to conduct SOF taskings. What happens when a SOF team is committed to a long duration CT-mission but the MEU goes on 6 hr Crisis Response alert status (R2P2) the mission tasking of the T-SOC supersedes the needs of the CoCom in that instance..the MRF by extension of the MEU's mission is Theater Reserve/Crisis Response as shown in the In-Extremis Hostage Rescue of the crew of the Magellan Star.
TRAP is an Infantry mission conducted by the 82mm Plt in Weapons Co. FR did the TRAP in Libya b/c the entire BLT had been committed to Kajaki to press a short term advantage in A'stan. FR stayed afloat as CIF, that was a one off event.
While the S/S Plt can operate in space much Deeper than before its far fr/the Deep Space FR Ops in & not even as deep as a BN Recon Plt.
Also K.I.M. Up until the mid 90's the FR DAP & SEALs used to deploy together in a joint strike package on the PHIBRON (Commanded by a Navy O-6 CAPT) & the FR DAP was the primary DA element the SEALs were secondary/trailer element. So why would MarSoc Marines go thru BUD/S. Read up on Det-1, the Seals had never deployed w/that robust a force package. The Det made up less than 10% of deployed SOF in Iraq but conducted 20% of the successful raids, brought 20% of the HVT's, & accounted for 29% of the Actionable Intel.
MarSoc units are leading the effort in SOF AOBs in A'stan, the Marines SOTF-West operates the largest AO in A'Stan over 100,000sq miles. SF & Seals who deploy under SOTF-W describe it as one of their best deployments. So why would they form under NSW when they have different philosophies?