Special Operations Capable refers to special tasks that the tangible Marine Air-Ground Task Force units are capable in providing to the Fleet Marine Force (FMF), or foreign uniformed services of maritime regions worldwide. These task are similar to the roles that the United States Special Operations Forces are operationally responsible in providing the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).
Traditionally, the United States Marine Corps has been at the forefront of the United States's exceptional elite warriors. The special operations-type units within the Marine Corps eschewed the idea of being referred or compared to the traditional special operations forces (SOF) of the United States Special Operations Command due to the ad hoc idealism the Marines are traditionally known to carry—being special operations capable is temporary to their protocol.
The Marine Corps's specialized units have always yielded performance and mission plans that distinguish them from the United States Special Operations Forces. One significant detail is that the Marine Corps solely manages their battlespace shaping methods mainly in the aspect of conventional warfare. Most of the SOFs involved in USSOCOM however are more directed in unconventional warfare. Every SOC unit that existed in the Marine Corps are versatile enough to be capable in conducting special operations under 'unconventional' methods while engaging on a 'conventional' battlefield. While not specifically a Secretary of Defense-designated U.S. Special Operations Force, when directed by the National Command Authority and/or the force commander, the Fleet Marine Force may conduct special operations under circumstances where designated special operations forces are not available.
In February 2006, the Marine Corps made its first commitment to the USSOCOM community in cause of the establishment of the Marine Special Operations Command, or MARSOC. This new commitment allowed MARSOC to form the Marine Special Operation Teams (MSOT), assigned under the Marine Special Operation Battalions, or MSOBs. The MSOTs are the Marine Corps's first SOF unit to be trained and reserved for missions specifically regarding unconventional methods, which consequently disbanded the FMF's Force Reconnaissance companies to make way for the MSOTs' fully committed direct action capabilities. Many force reconnaissance operators were used to form the MSOTs, the rest were folded into the division-level recon units. The Deep Recon Platoons (DRP) were created to maintain the deep reconnaissance capabilities for the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) commanders.
Therefore, the joint-Navy/Marine Corps's Fleet Marine Force is the proponent service for all special operations missions involving maneuverability from the sea. Historians can trace the evolution of the Corps’s specialized amphibious warfare since its formation, traditionally being tasked in conducting specialized missions conformed to maritime environments. The U.S. Marines and sailors are already equipped and well-prepared because of their expeditionary capabilities that are well-known to the community.
Read more about Special Operations Capable: Concept, Special Operations Capable (SOC), Pre-deployment Training Program (PTP), See Also
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