Force Reconnaissance (FORECON) is one of the United States Marine Corps' special operations capable forces (SOC) 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.
A parachutist badge is a military badge awarded by the armed forces of many states to soldiers who have received parachute training and completed the required number of jumps. It is difficult to assess which country was the first to introduce such an award.
A parachute rigger is a person who is trained or licensed to pack, maintain or repair parachutes. A rigger is required to understand fabrics, hardware, webbing, regulations, sewing, packing, and other aspects related to the building, packing, repair, and maintenance of parachutes.
The Radio Reconnaissance Platoon is a specially trained Marine Corps Intelligence element of a United States Marine Corps Radio Battalion. A Radio Reconnaissance Team (RRT) was assigned as the tactical signals intelligence collection element for the Marine Corps Special Operations Command, Detachment One. Regular RRTs also participate in SOC operations during Marine Expeditionary Unit, or MEU(SOC), deployments.
The 1er Régiment de Parachutistes d'Infanterie de Marine or 1er RPIMa is a unit of the French Army Special Forces Command, therefore part of the Special Operations Command.
The McGuire Rig was used to extract soldiers from the jungles of Vietnam. It would be suspended from a helicopter and used to extract soldiers from areas without a suitable pick-up zone. It was simple, inexpensive, and effective. Although less comfortable than the STABO harness, it did not require the soldiers to carry any special equipment. It was designed by Sergeant Major Charles T. McGuire, a member of Project DELTA, a Special Forces reconnaissance project.
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 detection by the enemy. As a role, SR is distinct from commando operations, but both are often carried out by the same units. The SR role frequently includes covert direction of airstrikes and indirect fires, in areas deep behind enemy lines, placement of remotely monitored sensors, and preparations for other special forces. Like other special forces, SR units may also carry out direct action and unconventional warfare, including guerrilla operations.
The Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen is a United States Naval Special Warfare Command team that operates and maintains small craft for special operations missions, particularly those in support of the U.S. Navy SEALs.
Project DELTA was the first of the Reconnaissance Projects, which were special reconnaissance (SR) units named with a Greek letter. The Reconnaissance Projects were formed by the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) during the Vietnam War to collect operational intelligence in remote areas of South Vietnam.
The Marine Corps Test Unit 1, or MCTU #1, was an experimental testing unit of the United States Marine Corps. It was established outside the Fleet Marine Force for the development of specialized tactics, techniques and organizational concepts, and to evaluate its tangible employment in the nuclear age. It reported directly to the Commandant of the Marine Corps.
The United States Marine Corps is tasked by Department of Defense directive to "conduct complex expeditionary operations in the urban littorals and other challenging environments" and "conduct amphibious operations, including engagement, crisis response, and power projection operations to assure access." Before 2006, the Marine Corps was the only branch of the Armed Forces that did not have any of its special warfare elements participating in the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), due to confining its special operations capabilities only for the purpose to the Fleet Marine Force.
The Special Operations Training Group, or SOTG, is a training section of the United States Marine Corps providing Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) commanders with training facilities and a liaison for Marine Expeditionary Units (MEU). The SOTG provides special operations training for various branches and also participates in the MEUs' Special Operations Capable Certification by acting as the "Training and Evaluation Board" for the exercises and events during the MEU annual training cycles.
The United States Marine Corps Reconnaissance Training Company trains Marines in the amphibious environment as a Reconnaissance Marine, MOS 0321. It is under the Advanced Infantry Training Battalion (AITB) of the School of Infantry (West), Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California.
1st Force Reconnaissance Company conducts deep reconnaissance and direct action raids in support of I Marine Expeditionary Force requirements across the range of military operations to include crisis response, expeditionary operations and major combat operations. 1st Force Recon Company was deactivated 26 October 2006 and the majority of the personnel were used to create 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion.
Helicopter Rope Suspension Technique (HRST) is a military term for techniques and methods of rappelling, fast roping, Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction (SPIE) and Jacob's Ladder operations. Helicopter Rope Suspension was developed as a means to insert and/or extract, by helicopter, ground forces into or from rough terrain, urban areas or water. HRST is designed to be used in situations wherein aircraft landings are impractical due to terrain or tactical situation.
The STABO extraction harness was a device which allowed military personnel to be rescued from field locations which prevented the conventional landing and boarding of a helicopter.
A SOT-A is a signals intelligence–electronic warfare (SIGINT-EW) element of the United States Army Special Forces. They are low-level SIGINT collection teams that intercept and report operational and technical information derived from tactical threat communications through prescribed communications paths. The mission of a SOT-A is to conduct SIGINT/EW in support of information operations to support existing and emerging SOF missions worldwide.
The two amphibious/ground reconnaissance assets of the United States Marine Corps, Division and Force Reconnaissance, are generally trained in the same aspect and environment of intelligence collection for a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Commander, regardless of their difference in tactical area of responsibility (TAOR). However, in light of their distinctive responsibilities in their assigned areas of operations—whereas Division Recon conducts close and distant operations, Force Recon conducts deep operations—these two separate reconnaissance assets manage their own training protocols to fit their mission-oriented objectives.
Aircrew survival equipmentmen are survival equipment specialists and certified parachute riggers who oversee valuable life saving equipment, parachutes, and other special gear used by U.S. Naval and Marine Corps special operations forces, Naval Air Department, and the United States Navy Parachute Team known as the "Leap Frogs". They perform a wide range of duties, which include inspecting, maintaining, and repairing parachutes, search and rescue equipment, along with survival kits, medical kits, flight clothing, protective wear, night vision equipment, aircrew oxygen systems, liquid oxygen converters, anti-exposure suits, and g-suits. PRs operate and maintain carbon dioxide transfer and recharge equipment, operate and repair sewing machines as well as train aircrew and other personnel in parachute rigging and the use of safety and survival equipment.
