The Netherlands Maritime Special Operations Forces (NLMARSOF, also simply referred to as MARSOF) is the

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

unit of the

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

of the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

. It is one of the three principal units tasked with

special operations Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

(the others being the

Korps Commandotroepen The (KCT) ( en, Commando Corps) is the elite special forces unit of the Royal Netherlands Army. The KCT traces its origins to the Second World War with the founding of No. 2 (Dutch) Troop, and the founding of the during the Indonesian War of I ...

(KCT) of the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dutc ...

and the

Brigade Speciale Beveiligingsopdrachten The ''Brigade Speciale Beveiligingsopdrachten'' (BSB) ( en, Special Security Missions Brigade) is the elite police tactical unit of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. Its missions include counter-terrorism, protection of government and military ...

(BSB) of the

Royal Marechaussee The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee ( nl, Koninklijke Marechaussee, abbreviated to KMar) is the national gendarmerie force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, performing military and civilian police duties. It is also one of the two national pol ...

). The unit can be deployed worldwide to conduct

, including

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 ...

both overseas and domestically, with a maritime focus. Its operations are planned and coordinated by the

Netherlands Special Operations Command The Netherlands Special Operations Command (NLD SOCOM) is a joint command of the Netherlands Armed Forces which is responsible for the planning, command and control, execution and evaluation of all operations conducted by the Dutch special operatio ...

(NLD SOCOM), as are the operations of the KCT. The unit was created in 2013 with the merger of the

Unit Interventie Mariniers M-Squadron, formerly the ''Unit Interventie Mariniers'' (Marine Intervention Unit, UIM), and before that known as the ''Bijzondere Bijstandseenheid'' (Special Support Unit, BBE), is an elite Dutch special forces unit which is tasked with conducti ...

(UIM) and the Maritime Special Operations (MSO)-

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

History

Until 2008, the Dutch maritime special forces capability consisted of three distinct units: the Dutch Frogmen Platoon, the Mountain Leader Reconnaissance Troop, and the

. The Dutch Frogmen Platoon has historically had a strong connection with the UK

Special Boat Service The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Roya ...

, and was informally often named "7th Troop SBS". The Mountain Leader Reconnaissance Troop (ML Recce Troop), was established in 1990 and modeled after the

Brigade Patrol Troop The Brigade Patrol Troop is a reconnaissance troop of the United Kingdom's Royal Marines and is part of the Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron (SRS) within 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group. History The troop can trace its history ...

of the UK

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

. The

(UIM), named Bijzondere Bijstandseenheid (Special Support Unit) until 2006, was formed on 22 February 1973, in response to a rising threat of terrorist attacks in both Europe and domestically. The main goal of this unit is the countering of large scale and/or complex domestic terrorist attacks. Since 2006 the operational command of UIM is executed by the

Dienst Speciale Interventies The ''Dienst Speciale Interventies'' ( en, Special Intervention Service), commonly abbreviated DSI, is the elite police tactical unit of the Dutch National Police Corps and was formally established on 1 July 2006. The DSI is tasked with neutralisin ...

of the

Dutch National Police National Police Corps ( nl, Korps Nationale Politie), colloquially in English as Dutch National Police or National Police Force, is divided in ten regional units, a central unit, the police academy, police services center, and national control ...

. In 2008, the Dutch Frogmen Platoon and the ML Recce Troop merged into the Maritime Special Operations Company (MSO-Coy) and were tasked with all amphibious operations for the Royal Netherlands Navy. While commencing in an informal manner in 2009, since 2013 NLMARSOF was officially established as a new operational unit. The MSO-Coy was renamed Conventional-Squadron (C-Squadron), and is tasked with the full spectrum of special operations outside of the Netherlands. UIM was renamed Maritime-Squadron (M-Squadron), and is dedicated to national counter-terrorism missions under operational command of the DSI. Training-Squadron (T-Squadron) will support both M-Squadron and C-Squadron, and is responsible for all training and the recruitment of new operators.

Structure

NLMARSOF currently consists of three operational squadrons, and one dedicated operational support group: * Conventional Squadron (C-Squadron): Tasked with executing the full spectrum of special operations outside of the Netherlands, with an emphasis on long-range reconnaissance patrols. Consists of conventional operators, Mountain Leaders and

Frogmen A frogman is someone who is trained in scuba diving or swimming underwater in a tactical capacity that includes military, and in some European countries, police work. Such personnel are also known by the more formal names of combat diver, comb ...

. * Maritime Counter-Terrorism Squadron (

M-Squadron M-Squadron, formerly the ''Unit Interventie Mariniers'' (Marine Intervention Unit, UIM), and before that known as the ''Bijzondere Bijstandseenheid'' (Special Support Unit, BBE), is an elite Dutch special forces unit which is tasked with conduct ...

): Tasked with conducting domestic counter-terrorist operations under the command of the DSI. M-Squadron trains extensively on the neutralisation of complex terrorist attacks, for example on off-shore oil platforms. * Training Squadron (T-Squadron): Tasked with training of both C- and M-Squadron and the recruitment of new personnel within the

Netherlands Marine Corps The Netherlands Marine Corps ( nl, Korps Mariniers) is the elite naval infantry corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The marines trace their origins back to the establishment of the on 10 December 1665, by the then grand pensionary of the Dut ...

ranks. * Special Operation Forces Support Group (SOFSG): Tasked with providing material and logistical support for all operations conducted by NLMARSOF.

Tasks

NLMARSOF carries out four main types of operations: *

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): Conducting small-scale offensive operations such as raids, ambushes and sabotage. * Military Assistance (MA): Supplying military support to foreign military units. This support can consist of both providing training and providing assistance during actual operations. *

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 detect ...

(SR): Conducting special reconnaissance behind enemy lines, for example monitoring hostile troop movements, while avoiding direct contact with the enemy. *

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): Conducting both national and international counter terror operations, where NLMARSOF, compared to its army counterpart

, emphasises training for operations in a maritime setting.

Recruitment and training

All new personnel for NLMARSOF is recruited from within the

ranks, there is no possibility for civilians or military personnel from other branches to join NLMARSOF. The training starts with a three-week pre-selection course, the Aptitude. Recruits must endure this pre-selection to qualify for the twenty-week MSOF-course, which will transform the recruits into NLMARSOF-operators. After the MSOF-course, all recruits must complete the fourteen-week Nationale Interventie Opleiding (National Intervention Course), which focuses on domestic counter-terrorist scenarios. The operators that have completed both of these courses are then fully operational to serve in M-Squadron. Operators bound for C-Squadron will have to complete the Mountain Leader or the twelve-week Frogmen course to obtain operational status within C-Squadron.

Units

M-Squadron

M-Squadron was founded as the Bijzondere Bijstandseenheid (BBE, Special Support Unit) in 1972 and was the first dedicated counter-terrorism unit in the Netherlands. Its establishment was deemed necessary after a rise of the terrorist threat level in Europe, such as the Munich Massacre, and domestically, such as the terrorist attacks committed by

Moluccans Moluccans are the Austronesian-speaking and Papuan-speaking ethnic groups indigenous to the Maluku Islands (also called the Moluccas), Indonesia. The region was historically known as the Spice Islands, and today consists of two Indonesian provin ...

. Domestic operations conducted by M-Squadron take place under the command of the

(DSI) of the

since 2006. While the operational command resides with the DSI, M-Squadron continues to be an organisational unit of NLMARSOF and the Netherlands Marine Corps.

C-Squadron

C-Squadron conducts operations outside of the Netherlands and consists of regular NLMARSOF-operators that have completed the MSOF- and NIO-training, and operators that have completed the additional Mountain Leader and/or

training. * The Mountain Leader troop consists of operators who have successfully completed the nine-month training provided by the

Mountain Leader Training Cadre The Mountain Leader Training Cadre is a training element of the United Kingdom's Royal Marines which provides instruction in mountain warfare, arctic warfare, cold weather survival and operations, and cliff assault. The cadre has a permanent staf ...

of the

3 Commando Brigade 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), previously called the 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces. It is composed of the Royal Marine Commandos, alongside commando qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen f ...

of the UK

. This intense course, which partly takes place in northern

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, trains the aspiring operators in conducting operations in high altitude and arctic environments. * The Frogmen troop consists of operators that have successfully completed the twenty-three-week Kikvorsman (Frogman) course which is provided by the Defensie Duikgroep (Defence Diving Group). During this course, the aspiring frogmen receive extensive training on conducting underwater assaults, reconnaissance, demolition and operating from one of the

Walrus-class submarine The ''Walrus''-class submarine is the only submarine class currently in operation in the Royal Netherlands Navy. The boats have been in service since 1990 and are all named after sea mammals. History In 1974, the Royal Netherlands Navy announce ...

s of the

Operations

Since its establishment M-Squadron, and its predecessors BBE and UIM, and C-Squadron, and its predecessor MSO-Company, have conducted various famous operations. An overview of some notable operations the units have been involved in: *

1977 Dutch train hijacking On 23 May 1977, a train was hijacked near the village of De Punt, Netherlands. At around 09:00 that morning, nine armed Moluccan nationalists pulled the emergency brake and took over 50 people hostage. The hijacking lasted 20 days and ended wit ...

. *

1978 Dutch province hall hostage crisis On the morning of Monday March 13, 1978, at 10:15, three South-Moluccans seized the Province Hall in Assen, Netherlands. Some of the people inside escaped by jumping out of the window, including the Queen's Commissioner of the Drenthe province ...

. * 2004 Siege and arrest of terrorists of the Hofstad Network *

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

(2005-2006): NLD Special Forces Task Group Orange as part 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 ...

. * 2006-2007

: NLD Special Forces Task Group Viper as part of

International Security Assistance Force ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , comman ...

. * 2009-2010

: Special Operation Task Group, TF-55, as part of

. * 2010 Liberation of MV Taipan. * 2015-2017

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

: NLD Special Operations Land Task Group as part of

MINUSMA The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (, MINUSMA) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali. MINUSMA was established on 25 April 2013 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2100 to stabilise t ...

. * 2015-present

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

: Providing advice and assistance (A&A) to

i and

Peshmerga The Peshmerga ( ku, پێشمەرگه, Pêşmerge, lit=those who face death) is the Kurdish military forces of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, the Peshmerga, along with their security subsidiaries, ...

troops together with the Belgian SFG, as part of CJTF-OIR. * 2018-present

: NLD Special Operations Advisory Team, providing advice and assistance (A&A) to Afghan Territorial Force 888 (ATF-888) in cooperation with the German KSK as part of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Resolute Support Mission Resolute Support Mission (RSM) or Operation Resolute Support was a NATO-led multinational mission in Afghanistan. It began on 1 January 2015 as the successor to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was completed on 28 Decem ...

. * 2019 Manhunt for the Utrecht tram shooter.

Equipment

Weaponry

NLMARSOF operators have access to a wide variety of weapons. These include the following:

Watercraft

Diver propulsion vehicle A diver propulsion vehicle (DPV), also known as an underwater propulsion vehicle, sea scooter, underwater scooter, or swimmer delivery vehicle (SDV) by armed forces, is an item of diving equipment used by scuba divers to increase range underw ...

: Underwater scooters are used for clandestine manoeuvres under water, and can be launched from one of the

Walrus class submarine The ''Walrus''-class submarine is the only submarine class currently in operation in the Royal Netherlands Navy. The boats have been in service since 1990 and are all named after sea mammals. History In 1974, the Royal Netherlands Navy announced ...

s of the

. * Fast Raiding Interception Special Forces Craft (FRISCs): FRISC watercraft are used for tactical insertions and boarding operations. * Water scooter: Modified

Sea-Doo Sea-Doo is a Canadian brand of personal watercraft (PWC) and boats manufactured by Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP). All Sea-Doo models are driven by an impeller-driven waterjet. All Sea-Doo PWC models are currently produced at BRP's plants ...

water scooters are used for clandestine reconnaissances, and for dropping off and/or picking up operators.

Vehicles

* Suzuki KingQuad: Used for long-range reconnaissance patrols that require a higher grade of maneuverability and approachability. Can be fitted with the

FN MAG The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries and it has been made under licence in several countries, inc ...

general purpose machine gun A general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) is an air-cooled, usually belt-fed machine gun that can be adapted flexibly to various tactical roles for light and medium machine guns. A GPMG typically features a quick-change barrel design calibered for ...

. *

Snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

: Used for operations in mountainous and/or arctic environments. * Defenture VECTOR: Dutch-made special operations vehicle developed for, and in co-operation with the

. Currently part of joint NLD SOCOM vehicle pool. *

Toyota Land Cruiser The (also sometimes spelled as LandCruiser) is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. It is Toyota's longest running series of models. , the sales of the Land Cruiser totalled more than ...

: Armored tactical vehicle that is used by

for domestic counter-terrorism operations.

References

{{reflist Netherlands Marine Corps Special forces of the Netherlands Counterterrorist organizations