MARSOC RAIDERS TO DEPLOY IN SMALLER, TECH-LOADED TEAMS AS CONFLICT GETS MORE COMPLEX

[rangerrebew]

MARSOC RAIDERS TO DEPLOY IN SMALLER, TECH-LOADED TEAMS AS CONFLICT GETS MORE COMPLEX
Hope Seck | July 17, 2023

The Marine Corps’ special operations forces have already embarked on initiatives aimed at building “Cognitive Raiders” who excel at problem-solving and mental agility and adaptability. Now, the Marines are revealing plans to deploy these elite troops in smaller, capability-dense teams that can be customized for the region and the conditions they’ll face.

At the Modern Day Marine Expo at the end of June, MARSOC Commander Maj. Gen. Matthew Trollinger discussed the “Next-Generation Raider Force,” which aims to give the command the flexibility it needs to accomplish a spectrum of global missions. Nestled within the MARSOC concept of Strategic Shaping and Reconnaissance, or SSR, Next-Gen Raider will take a hard look at MARSOC critical skills operators’ training and technological needs to maximize their effectiveness, even with a small footprint.
 

This emphasis is driven by a changing world and the expectation that the U.S. may soon find itself in conflict with a near-peer competitor and operating in an environment as complex and geographically challenging as the Pacific. It’s also informed by MARSOC’s tradition of punching above its weight class: Trollinger said the command executes nearly 9% of U.S. Special Operations Command’s (SOCOM’s) missions with under 5% of SOCOM’s total force strength and less than 2% of its budget.

https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/marsoc-raiders-to-deploy-in-smaller-tech-loaded-teams-as-conflict-gets-more-complex/

[rangerrebew]

I have nothing against high tech, but if there is a lot of it to carry the Raiders will, in essence, become forward observers, won't they?

[sneakypete]

Not knowing a lot of FACTS about USMC Raider operations,but SUSPECTING that the "wear red and march in a straight line" USMC brass have a tendency to stick their clumsy noses in where they don't belong and can't even buy a clue,I consider this as probably a good thing.

Like all the other Special Operations people in every other branch of the service,you can bet your bippy the USMC Raiders are some of the smartest and most dedicated Marines in the USMC,and they do NOT need "babysitters".

The US Army did their damndest to try to turn Special Forces into a toy to be managed by the "Wear Red and March  IN A STRAIGHT LINE" unit THEY  could control,and they absolutely HATED to see SF guys wearing berets. In fact,the Commanding General of Fort Bragg back then forbid the wearing of Green Berets because they weren't army issue and because HE wanted control over them so he could make them his personal "Ranger Detachments".

The Senior Officers and  NCO's in SF were the people who ran guerilla operations in Europe and Asia during WW-2,and the last thing they needed was a "Wear Red and March In A Straight Line" Airborne  General telling them what to do,so when JFK was president and visited Ft.Bragg,SF put on a show for him,WHILE WEARING GREEN BERETS.

This was long before my time,but I have heard from old-timers as well as read that the CO at Bragg went  a little nuts when he saw them,but there was no way he could "stop the show" with the President sitting next to him.

I was told that when JFK got back to the WH and learned about the Bragg General having fits over the "unauthorized wearing of non-regulation headgear",he signed a Presidential Proclamation that authorized the Green Beret as the official headgear for Special Forces Soldiers,ending THAT nonsense. 

Now,of course,female jeep drivers wear berets.

[sneakypete]

I have nothing against high tech, but if there is a lot of it to carry the Raiders will, in essence, become forward observers, won't they?

@rangerrebew

Maybe on operations specifically formed to view and report enemy activity.

These things are just tools,and tools are useless without "good mechanics" to operate them,and in Special Operations "good mechanics" are defined as people who are capable of thinking for themselves and doing what they think is right,even if it is not exactly what they were told to do.

You just can't try to micro-manage recon teams from the rear. You have to let the people on the  ground "run the show",and do your best to try to  give them the help  they need and ask for. If you do try to micro-manage from the rear or even an orbiting helo,those teams will get wiped out because they just don't have the firepower of "Regular Army/Regular USMC" on hand and the situations in recon are just too fluid for remote control management.

[rangerrebew]

@sneakypete

Thanks for all the feedback!