United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance information
USMC special operations unit
This article is about the reconnaissance element at the task force level. For reconnaissance element at the division level, see United States Marine Corps Reconnaissance Battalions.
"Force Recon" redirects here. For the album by Virus, see Force Recon (album).
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Force Reconnaissance
Force Recon insignia
Active
June 19, 1957 – present
Country
United States of America
Branch
United States Marine Corps
Type
Special operations forces[a]
Role
Direct support of Marine Air-Ground Task Force
Joint Task Force
Special Reconnaissance
Deep Reconnaissance
Long-Range Reconnaissance
Direct Action
Hydrographic Reconnaissance
Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS)
Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO)
Size
835 (consisting of five 167-member companies: three active duty (one in each Marine expeditionary force) and two Marine Forces Reserve[1]
Part of
Fleet Marine Force (FMF)
Atlantic (FMFLant)
Pacific (FMFPac)
Nickname(s)
Force Recon, FORECON
Patron
Dion Williams James L. Jones Sr. Bruce F. Meyers Joseph Z. Taylor
Motto(s)
Celer, Silens, Mortalis ("Swift, Silent, Deadly")
Engagements
Vietnam War Operation Urgent Fury Operation Just Cause Operation Desert Storm Operation Restore Hope Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Iraqi Freedom Operation Inherent Resolve
Military unit
Force Reconnaissance (FORECON) is a United States Marine Corps special operations forces[a] which supplies military intelligence to the command element of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF). Force Reconnaissance companies unlike USMC division reconnaissance report to the Marine expeditionary force (MEF) and provide direct action and deep reconnaissance during large-scale operations.
The Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) Raider Battalions were originally composed of Marine Special Operations Teams formed from Force Recon platoons (Det One) in 2006. MARSOC now has its own separate training pipeline. Force Recon companies continue to operate and focus primarily on direct action, intelligence gathering and maritime raid operations in the visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) role.
A FORECON detachment had since the mid 1980s formed part of the Maritime Special Purpose Force (MSPF) a specialized sub-unit of a Marine expeditionary unit (special operations capable) MEU(SOC).[8][9] MEU(SOC) has been obsolete since 2013.[10] A Marine expeditionary unit (MEU) now has a Maritime Raid Force (MRF) built around a FORECON detachment.[11][12][13][14]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^"Organization of Marine Corps Forces MCRP 5-12D" (PDF). marines.mil. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
^ abPietrucha, Nicholas J (5 December 2019). United States Marine Corps Training, Doctrine, and Strategy(PDF) (Dissertation thesis). California State University Maritime Academy. p. 5. Retrieved 3 July 2023. Marines have sported one of the most elite special operations forces, United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance..Force Recon was not and still is not a component of USSOCOM
^ abSouthworth, Samuel A; Tanner, Stephen (2002). U.S. Special Forces: a guide to America's special operations units: the world's most elite fighting force. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo. p. 144. ISBN 073943019X. the Marine's own "elite". Though no one in the Corps uses that word, the rest of the Special Operations world recognizes that it applies to Marine Force Recon.
^McNab, Chris (2013). America's Elite: US Special Forces from the American Revolution to the present day. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. p. 280. ISBN 9781435155176. the stress is now placed on the force reconnaissance unit and direct-action as a special operations unit.
^Cawthorne, Nigel (2008). The mammoth book of inside the elite forces : training, equipment, and endeavours of British and American elite combat units. London: Constable & Robinson. p. 85. ISBN 9781845298210. Force Recon Companies..they are special-purpose units, widely recognized as the Special Operations Force of the United States Marine Corps.
^Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) (16 July 2014). Special Operations(PDF). Joint Publication 3-05. Washington, DC: Department of Defense. pp. ix–x, I-3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2016. Designated Special Operations Forces..US Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command is designated the Marine Corps component of USSOCOM
^United States Marine Corps (25 November 2015). Ground Reconnaissance Operations(PDF). MCWP 2-25. United States Marine Corps. 2–6. PCN 14300006100. Retrieved 12 July 2023. Marine Corps ground reconnaissance units are not special operations forces (SOF), although they do share many of the same TTP, terms, and equipment.
^Barrett, Sean (December 2018). Always Faithful, Always Forward: Marine Corps Culture and the Development of Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command(PDF) (Master's thesis). US Navy Postgraduate School. pp. 139–148. OCLC 1088435853. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
^Walker, Robert G. (December 1998). SPEC FI: The United States Marine Corps and Special Operations(PDF) (Master's thesis). US Navy Postgraduate School. pp. 80–81. OCLC 227886937. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
^United States Marine Corps (19 August 2013). Marine Corps Supplement to the Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms(PDF). MCRP 5-12C. United States Marine Corps. Section I-24. PCN 144 000056 00. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2022.
^Cpl. Joshua Brown 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (22 June 2015). "Maritime Raid Force, 26th MEU Conducts VBSS Training". U.S. Marine Corps (Press release). Retrieved 24 August 2022.
^United States Marine Corps (13 September 2019). "Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Pre-deployment Training Program (PTP)" (PDF). Marine Corps Order 3502.3C. Department of Navy. 6-1. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
^Lance Cpl. Timothy Childers (13 April 2012). "Maritime Raid Force develops key skills". U.S. Marine Corps. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
^Carr, MAJ Bradford R (13 March 2012). Force Reconnaissance: A Key Enabler in the Marine Air Ground Task Force and Beyond(PDF) (Master's thesis). United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College. p. 17. OCLC 913586369. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
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Global Information
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