MARSOC Battle Rattle
Elite Leathernecks get the latest “pre-Afghanistan surge” combat training and gear.
What do you mean by “MARSOC?”
The very idea of a “special Marine” is anathema to the core of the Corps, which holds that all Marines are riflemen. How can you be “special” if you’re already among the few, the chosen, the proud?
When (SOCOM was formed in 1986, there were no Marines involved. The Leathernecks already had their Force Reconnaissance units, specially trained and equipped to handle the same sort of direct action missions that would become the forte of SOCOM. The feeling was that Force Recon was already an elite infantry component and it should stay within the Marine command structure.
However, after 9/11 the Marines began plans to integrate into SOCOM. The first unit to stand up was Detachment One, a pilot program composed mostly of Force Recon Marines from 1st and 2nd Reconnaissance Companies that fell under Naval Special Warfare Group 1. “The Det,” as it was known, distinguished itself in Iraq in a variety of missions, validating the selection and training process that the Marines had implemented to hand-pick “special” Marines.
The Det was disbanded in 2006 when the Marines became a fully integrated component of SOCOM. Today the same hand-chosen Marines, again mostly from Force Recon companies, make up MARSOC—Marine Special Operations Command, a part of SOCOM.
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