2RHPZ
05-12-2004, 06:44 PM
DETACHMENT ONE - NEW SPECIAL FORCES OPERATION GROUP
Jul 7 2003
Marines have always been known as the few and the proud. But
on Friday, the Marine Corps took its first steps toward
assembling a group of warriors even fewer and prouder as part
of the U.S. Special Operations Command.
Operating under the name Detachment One, this elite 86-man
unit "if it passes muster" will be in a league of its own
alongside the Navy Seals, Army Green Berets and Rangers, and
the Air Force's Special Operation Command.
The commando unit, housed at the Camp Del Mar Boat Basin, will
consist of a headquarters, reconnaissance, intelligence and
fire-support elements organized, trained and equipped to carry
out special reconnaissance, direct-action, limited foreign
internal defense and coalition support missions, much like
their sister special operations forces. Although the missions
are similar throughout the armed forces, Detachment One will
take advantage of Marine-specific strengths in task
organization, small-unit leadership and the application of
combined arms, officials said.
Last fall, top Pentagon officials began pouring through more
than 500 record books, ultimately hand-picking 81 Marines and
five Navy corpsmen to form the detachment. The unit consists
of seasoned sergeants, staff noncommissioned officers and
officers. Lt. Col. Robert J. Coates, a highly regarded
infantry officer with a reconnaissance background, will
command Detachment One.
"This is a phenomenal group of Marines," said Lt. Col. Giles
Kyser, head of the Marine Air Ground Task Force special
operations section of Plans, Policy and Operations at
Headquarters Marine Corps. "This is the pinnacle of their
military professions."
When the Pentagon formed the U.S. Special Operations Command
in 1987, the Marine Corps chose to march to the beat of its
own drum, developing a training program to make their
amphibious Marine Expeditionary Units "special operations
capable." After six months of rigorous training, those units
are tested on each MEU-specific mission to earn their "SOC"
qualification months before their six-month deployment,
certifying them for roughly two dozen specialized missions,
including embassy evacuations, airfield seizures and downed
pilot rescues within six hours of notice.
But ultimately, the need for a smaller, more permanent special
force in the spirit of the World War II Raiders gave birth to
Detachment One.
The Raiders were banded together to seize key hills and
beaches in guerrilla-style strikes against Japanese forces.
Disbanded two years after they were created, the Raiders wrote
an important page in the history of what are now known as
Special Operations forces.
Members of the Raiders were on hand for Friday's activation
ceremony.
"I'm ecstatic that we are living and watching the rebirth of
the Marine Raiders," said Chuck Meacham, president of the
Marine Raiders Association, proudly sporting the Raiders skull
insignia.
Detachment One has begun its rigorous training regime and will
be "closely watched and evaluated along the way," said Kyser.
"In this profession, second place is last place, so we are
going to make sure we do it right," he said.
After the evaluation period, Detachment One will fall under
Naval Special Warfare Squadron One. The detachment is expected
to begin training with a Navy SEAL team in October and
subsequently deploy in April.
After the ceremony, family members and visitors got hands-on
with the specialized gear Detachment One will use.
Members say they can't wait to get cracking on their new
assignment.
"When I got the call and found I was chosen to be a part of
Detachment One, I was so excited to get on the ground and
start running," said Sgt. Branden W. Barnett, a topographic
intelligence analyst. "I'm striving to give the detachment the
real time intel they will need."
~ Marine Corps News Service
Jul 7 2003
Marines have always been known as the few and the proud. But
on Friday, the Marine Corps took its first steps toward
assembling a group of warriors even fewer and prouder as part
of the U.S. Special Operations Command.
Operating under the name Detachment One, this elite 86-man
unit "if it passes muster" will be in a league of its own
alongside the Navy Seals, Army Green Berets and Rangers, and
the Air Force's Special Operation Command.
The commando unit, housed at the Camp Del Mar Boat Basin, will
consist of a headquarters, reconnaissance, intelligence and
fire-support elements organized, trained and equipped to carry
out special reconnaissance, direct-action, limited foreign
internal defense and coalition support missions, much like
their sister special operations forces. Although the missions
are similar throughout the armed forces, Detachment One will
take advantage of Marine-specific strengths in task
organization, small-unit leadership and the application of
combined arms, officials said.
Last fall, top Pentagon officials began pouring through more
than 500 record books, ultimately hand-picking 81 Marines and
five Navy corpsmen to form the detachment. The unit consists
of seasoned sergeants, staff noncommissioned officers and
officers. Lt. Col. Robert J. Coates, a highly regarded
infantry officer with a reconnaissance background, will
command Detachment One.
"This is a phenomenal group of Marines," said Lt. Col. Giles
Kyser, head of the Marine Air Ground Task Force special
operations section of Plans, Policy and Operations at
Headquarters Marine Corps. "This is the pinnacle of their
military professions."
When the Pentagon formed the U.S. Special Operations Command
in 1987, the Marine Corps chose to march to the beat of its
own drum, developing a training program to make their
amphibious Marine Expeditionary Units "special operations
capable." After six months of rigorous training, those units
are tested on each MEU-specific mission to earn their "SOC"
qualification months before their six-month deployment,
certifying them for roughly two dozen specialized missions,
including embassy evacuations, airfield seizures and downed
pilot rescues within six hours of notice.
But ultimately, the need for a smaller, more permanent special
force in the spirit of the World War II Raiders gave birth to
Detachment One.
The Raiders were banded together to seize key hills and
beaches in guerrilla-style strikes against Japanese forces.
Disbanded two years after they were created, the Raiders wrote
an important page in the history of what are now known as
Special Operations forces.
Members of the Raiders were on hand for Friday's activation
ceremony.
"I'm ecstatic that we are living and watching the rebirth of
the Marine Raiders," said Chuck Meacham, president of the
Marine Raiders Association, proudly sporting the Raiders skull
insignia.
Detachment One has begun its rigorous training regime and will
be "closely watched and evaluated along the way," said Kyser.
"In this profession, second place is last place, so we are
going to make sure we do it right," he said.
After the evaluation period, Detachment One will fall under
Naval Special Warfare Squadron One. The detachment is expected
to begin training with a Navy SEAL team in October and
subsequently deploy in April.
After the ceremony, family members and visitors got hands-on
with the specialized gear Detachment One will use.
Members say they can't wait to get cracking on their new
assignment.
"When I got the call and found I was chosen to be a part of
Detachment One, I was so excited to get on the ground and
start running," said Sgt. Branden W. Barnett, a topographic
intelligence analyst. "I'm striving to give the detachment the
real time intel they will need."
~ Marine Corps News Service