The Marine Corps Special Operations Command Detachment One, also simply known as Det One, was a pilot program of attaching a permanent unit of the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
to the
United States Special Operations Command
The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Arm ...
. It was commanded by Col. Robert J. Coates, former commanding officer of
1st Force Reconnaissance Company. Det One was activated on 19 June 2003 and had its headquarters at Camp Del Mar Boat Basin in
Camp Pendleton, California
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by O ...
. It was disbanded in 2006 and succeeded by the permanent
United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command
United States Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) is a component command of the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) that comprises the United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps' contribution to SOCOM. Its core capabili ...
(MARSOC).
Personnel
The unit consisted of 81 Marines and 5 Navy
Corpsmen
A hospital corpsman (HM r corpsman is an enlisted medical specialist of the United States Navy, who may also serve in a U.S. Marine Corps unit. The corresponding rating within the United States Coast Guard is health services technician (HS) ...
divided among 4 sections:
*reconnaissance element (30 men)
*
Marine Corps Intelligence
Marine Corps Intelligence is an element of the United States Intelligence Community. The Director of Intelligence supervises the Intelligence Department of HQMC and is responsible for policy, plans, programming, budgets, and staff supervision o ...
element (29 men), containing a headquarters element and
:*a
Radio Reconnaissance Team (RRT), (9 men)
:*a SIGINT support team (3 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 that formed the detachment were hand-picked from over 500 superior candidates. Despite common misconceptions, Det One was not a beefed-up
Force Reconnaissance
Force Reconnaissance (FORECON) is one of the United States Marine Corps' special operations capable forces (SOC) which supplies military intelligence to the command element of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF). Force Reconnaissance compa ...
platoon. While the reconnaissance element was composed mostly of
Force Recon
Force Reconnaissance (FORECON) is one of the United States Marine Corps' special operations capable forces (SOC) which supplies military intelligence to the command element of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF). Force Reconnaissance compa ...
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 philosophy of leveraging integrated, complementary capabilities to be more effective than the sum of its parts.
More than half of Det One's Recon Marines were trained
Scout Snipers.
[Martin, Chris, ''Modern American Snipers: From The Legend to The Reaper---on the Battlefield with Special Operations Snipers'', St. Martin's Press, 2014 ]
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 LtCol (then-
GySgt) Anthony Siciliano, USMC. The scarlet, blue, and gold disk represents the unit's joint Navy-Marine Corps origins. The crossed stiletto/lightning bolt represents the unit's special operations mission, and its global communications reach. The parachute wings represent
airborne
Airborne or Airborn may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis
* ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film
* ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...
-qualified status and the mask above it represents the
combatant diver qualification.
History
Although Detachment One was a relatively new unit its heritage can be traced back to World War II
Marine Raiders
The Marine Raiders are special operations forces originally established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct amphibious light infantry warfare. " Edson's" Raiders of 1st Marine Raider Battalion and " Carlson's" Ra ...
. 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 Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
established the new joint
Special Operations Command, the Marine Corps opted not to participate. Then Commandant
Paul X. Kelley 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
Force Reconnaissance (FORECON) is one of the United States Marine Corps' special operations capable forces (SOC) which supplies military intelligence to the command element of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF). Force Reconnaissance compa ...
units within the
MAGTF
Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF, pronounced MAG-TAF) 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 ar ...
command structure and prevent the development of an "elite" within the Marine Corps. Marine Corps leadership believed that such a development would be at the expense of the effectiveness of the Corps as a whole. However, following the
11 September attacks and the current
global war on terror, that view began to shift. Defense Secretary
Rumsfeld immediately directed the Marine Corps and
USSOCOM
The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Ar ...
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
The Meu () is an long river in the Côtes-d'Armor and Ille-et-Vilaine '' départements'', north western France. Its source is at Saint-Vran, west of the village. It flows generally southeast. It is a right tributary of the Vilaine into which i ...
Maritime Special Purpose Force
A Maritime Special Purpose Force (MSPF) was a United States Marine Corps specialized sub-unit of a Marine expeditionary unit (special operations capable) (MEU(SOC)). A MSPF was deployed to give the commanders low profile, two-platoon surgical em ...
s – sit on the sidelines during the early stages of
Operation Enduring Freedom
Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...
while other special warfare units led 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, relegated to supporting roles where SOF lacked manpower.
In October 2002, Commandant
James L. Jones
James Logan Jones Jr. (born December 19, 1943) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general and consultant who served as the 21st United States National Security Advisor from 2009 to 2010. During his military career, he served as th ...
, after consultation with
USSOCOM
The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Ar ...
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 19 June 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
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
. 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 originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...
(DA) and special reconnaissance
Special reconnaissance (SR) or Recon Team is conducted by small units of highly trained military personnel, usually from special forces units or military intelligence organizations, who operate behind enemy lines, avoiding direct combat and detec ...
(SR). It is reasonable to suggest that the Detachment could also conduct or support foreign internal defense
Foreign internal defense (FID) is a term used by the military in several countries, including the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, to describe an integrated, and possibly multi-country, approach to combating actual or threatened i ...
(FID), counter-terrorism
Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...
(CT), special activities, selected theater security cooperation plans (TSCP), and other tasks as required.
Det One was dubbed as "Task Unit Raider" and deployed alongside US Navy SEAL task units contained within Naval Special Warfare Task Group - Arabian Peninsula, which was part of CJSOTF-AP (Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Arabian Peninsula). As the deployment took shape, the operators of the Task Unit Raider and Task Unit Thunder (built around
GROM
Grom may refer to:
Military
* JW GROM, a Polish special forces unit
* ORP ''Grom'', several ships of the Polish Navy
* Grom (missile), a Polish anti-aircraft missile
* A Yugoslav/Serbian version of the Kh-23 (AS-9 'Kyle') air-to-surface missi ...
) would become the task force's primary direct action assets, operating in conjunction on multiple occasions.
Det One's first "real" mission - a close target reconnaissance operation - was aided by a GROM sniper, in which the target (a suspected insurgent sniper) was apprehended by the GROM sniper. Task Unit Raider first operated in and around Baghdad before being ordered by CJSOTF-AP to send its snipers to
al-Najaf (a stronghold for the
Mahdi Army
The Peace Companies ( ar, سرايا السلام, or Saraya al Salam) are an Iraqi armed group linked to Iraq's Shia community. They are a 2014 revival of the Mahdi Army ( ''Jaysh al-Mahdī'') that was created by the Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada a ...
) to relieve pressure on the
11th MEU. Det One proceeded to demoralize the militiaman by "wiping out" dozens of enemy combatants, confusing them as to the point of origin of the unrelenting lethal fire. In addition, Det One kept their marksman on their
SR-25
The SR-25 (Stoner Rifle-25) is a designated marksman rifle and semi-automatic sniper rifle designed by Eugene Stoner and manufactured by Knight's Armament Company.
The SR-25 uses a rotating bolt and a direct impingement gas system. It is loose ...
s around the clock-providing no respite for the militia. Det One's Scout snipers also carried out two successful countersniper operations, obliterating Shia insurgent positions and the snipers themselves with
.50-caliber Barret M82 fire.
In preparation for the
Second Battle of Fallujah
The Second Battle of Fallujah, codenamed Operation al-Fajr ( ar, الفجر, ) and Operation Phantom Fury, was an American-led offensive of the Iraq War that lasted roughly 6 weeks, starting 7th November, 2004. Marking the highest point of the ...
, Marines from the Det One, along with Green Berets from the 5th SFG, SEALs, and Marine Force Recon, were heavily involved in shaping operations prior to the 7 November D-DAY when coalition forces entered the city.
[Neville, Leigh, '' Special Forces in the War on Terror (General Military)'', Osprey Publishing, 2015 , p. 178]
However, the deployment also revealed interservice tensions. The Navy commander of
Naval Special Warfare 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
United States Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) is a component command of the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) that comprises the Marine Corps' contribution to SOCOM. Its core capabilities are direct action, spe ...
organization, it was disbanded on 10 March 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
*
Force Reconnaissance
Force Reconnaissance (FORECON) is one of the United States Marine Corps' special operations capable forces (SOC) which supplies military intelligence to the command element of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF). Force Reconnaissance compa ...
*
Radio Reconnaissance Platoon
The Radio Reconnaissance Platoon is a specially trained Marine Corps Intelligence element of a United States Marine Corps Radio Battalion. A Radio Reconnaissance Team (RRT) was assigned as the tactical signals intelligence collection element fo ...
*
Marine Forces Special Operations Command
United States Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) is a component command of the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) that comprises the Marine Corps' contribution to SOCOM. Its core capabilities are direct action, spe ...
*
Strider SMF
*
Critical skills operator
References
External links
{{US Marine Corps navbox
Detachment One
Inactive units of the United States Marine Corps