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.
The 59 day Scout Sniper Basic Course provides the operating forces with qualified Scout Snipers with the MOS 0317, who are proficient with advanced scouting and marksmanship skills.
This is the platoon that all junior Marines go to while preparing for RTAP. It is an intensive workout program that develops the Marines to the standards needed to successfully complete RTAP. It also provides manpower for working parties around the RTC barracks and training facilities. Marines in this platoon typically do a pool based workout in the morning followed by a land based workout in the afternoon. They are supervised by the Instructors, as well as by “Ropers”, i.e. Marines who have completed RTAP but are waiting to pickup with a BRC course.
RTAP (formerly known as BRC Primer Course) is a 5 week course (25 training days) designed to select Marines that are physically and mentally able to attend and pass the Basic Reconnaissance Course (BRC). Candidates must pass a Reconnaissance Selection Aptitude Test on day 1 which includes a minimum 8 pullups, crunches, pushups, 3 mile run in maximum time of 22 minutes and 30 seconds and a 500 meter swim in 20 minutes wearing camouflage utilities [1] RTAP focuses the students mental strength and physical fitness on land as well as in the water. Students can expect daily running, swimming and calisthenics required for the Basic Reconnaissance Course. Students receive training and evaluations on knots/management of mountaineering equipment, water survival advanced, combat conditioning, and land navigation practice/test. Any student can Drop on Request (DOR) and will be reassigned usually back to original unit or MOS. All students regardless of rank must attend and complete RTAP prior to attending the Basic Reconnaissance Course.
BRC is a 12 week course (69 training days) with an average training day of 15.5 hours and introduces the students to the amphibious reconnaissance environment. During this tenure, they gain working knowledge of the reconnaissance doctrines, concepts and techniques that emphasize ground and amphibious reconnaissance missions. They also learn the fundamentals of all types of weapons (air, sea, and land) that are employed in supporting arms such as calling and adjusting naval gunfire, artillery, and close air support.
The BRC was relocated in 2007 from the Amphibious Reconnaissance Schools (ARS) on Fort Story at Little Creek, Virginia and Expeditionary Warfare Training Group at Coronado, California to the School of Infantry (West) on MCB Camp Pendleton. This facilitated the reconstruction of the course's training protocol and to meet the demands of 600 more recon Marines per year. [2]
Candidates are issued a 12-foot (3.7 m) rope; at any time instructors will demand candidates tie knots of the instructor's choice. Due to that practice, the candidates are often known as "ropers". The term "ropers" was borrowed from the Reconnaissance Indoctrination Platoon (indoc platoon) which was dissolved in 2004.
Students practice day and night learning to operate behind enemy lines and how to conduct immediate action drills. Surveillance and reconnaissance skills such as photography with field and underwater cameras are taught along with field sketching and range estimations. In addition, Recon students learn insertion/extraction techniques in Combat Rubber Raiding Craft (CRRC) and Helicopter Rope Suspension Training (HRST). [3]
Even though every Marine has learned to read a map and compass and to patrol beginning in boot camp, BRC training is more in depth to ensure that the candidates will operate efficiently in small 4 to 6 man recon teams. Candidates will need to complete a 12-mile, three-hour march with more than 50-pounds of equipment and an hour long, 1 ¼-mile open-water swim with fins. Upon graduation, Marines receive the 0321 MOS, Reconnaissance Marine. For those Marines who are already qualified as parachutists and combatant divers, particularly recon Marines assigned to Force Reconnaissance companies, the special "B" 0326 MOS, Reconnaissance Marine, Parachutist/Combatant Diver Qualified is assigned.
The course encompasses:
Force Reconnaissance (FORECON) are United States Marine Corps deep reconnaissance companies that supply 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 School of Infantry (SOI) is the second stage of initial military training for enlisted United States Marines after recruit training. The ITB now called IMC went from a 59 day course to 14 week course. Since the initial training pipeline is divided between coasts, Marines from areas east of the Mississippi River usually graduate from MCRD Parris Island and move on to SOI at SOI East, while those from the western half of the nation attend MCRD San Diego and move on to SOI West at the Camp San Onofre area of Camp Pendleton in California. Female Marines are trained at both SOI East and SOI West. The School of Infantry's training mission ensures "Every Marine is, first and foremost, a Rifleman". At SOI, Marines with the Military Occupational Specialty of infantry are trained at the Infantry Training Battalion (ITB), while all non-infantry Marines are trained in basic infantry and combat skills at the Marine Combat Training Battalion. SOI marks a transition in the professional training of entry-level students from basically trained Marines to combat-ready Marines.
The Basic School (TBS) is where all newly commissioned and appointed United States Marine Corps officers are taught the basics of being an "Officer of Marines." The Basic School is located in Stafford County, Virginia to the south-west of the Marine Corps Base Quantico complex. Each year, over 1,700 new officers are trained, representing such commissioning sources as the U.S. Naval Academy, Navy ROTC, Officer Candidates School, and Marine Corps Limited Duty Officer (LDO) and Warrant Officer, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy accession programs.
The United States Marine Corps Reconnaissance Battalions are the special operations assets of Marine Air-Ground Task Force that provide division-level ground and amphibious reconnaissance to the Ground Combat Element within the United States Marine Corps. Division reconnaissance teams are employed to observe and report on enemy activity and other information of military significance in close operations. The Military Occupational Specialty code for Reconnaissance Marine is 0321.
The United States Army Airborne School—widely known as Jump School—conducts the basic paratrooper training for the United States Armed Forces. It is operated by the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 507th Infantry, United States Army Infantry School, Fort Moore, Georgia. The Airborne School conducts the Basic Airborne Course, which is open to troops from all branches of the United States Department of Defense, Reserve Officer Training Corps, and allied military personnel.
United States Marine Corps Scout Sniper is a secondary MOS designator of U.S. Marine Corps infantrymen and reconnaissance Marines that have graduated from a U.S. Marine Corps Scout Sniper School. Scout Snipers must earn the rank of Lance Corporal, be selected by their battalion to join the scout-sniper platoon, and complete an approved scout-sniper course in order to receive this designation.
The 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion conducts amphibious and ground reconnaissance in support of the 3rd Marine Division and Marine Forces Pacific (MarForPac), operating in the commander's areas of influence. The battalion is based out of Camp Schwab, a satellite base of Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler. It is geographically located on the Okinawa Prefecture in Japan.
1st Reconnaissance Battalion is a reconnaissance battalion in the United States Marine Corps. It is a stand-alone battalion with no parent regiment. Instead, it falls directly under the command of the 1st Marine Division. 1st Recon Bn is located at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California.
The 4th Reconnaissance Battalion is a reserve reconnaissance battalion in the United States Marine Corps. It falls under the 4th Marine Division and Marine Forces Reserve.
In the United States Marine Corps, the ground combat element (GCE) is the land force of a Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF). It provides power projection and force for the MAGTF.
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.
A Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsman (SARC) is a United States Navy hospital corpsman who provides MARSOC and other USSOCOM units advanced trauma management associated with combatant diving and parachute entry. Traditionally, they are attached to the Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance companies to help support the Command Element of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force in special reconnaissance missions.
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 reconnaissance mission within the United States Marine Corps is divided into two distinct but complementary aspects; Marine Division Recon and Force Reconnaissance.
The United States Marine Corps Scout and Sniper companies and the Scouts (Tank) companies of the tank battalions were the first among the division's reconnaissance assets. They existed around the same exact moment when 1st and 2nd Marine Division were created. In 1941, each regiment had a scout and sniper platoon. They were assigned to the regimental Headquarters and Service Company. These companies were used in variety of tasks and, on occasion in severe combat, were used as "spare" rifle companies. When 6th Marine Division deactivated after the end of World War II, its recon assets also deactivated. Only the current Marine Division Recon Battalions that exist today hold history reference to the Scout and Sniper Companies.
1st Force Reconnaissance Company conducted 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 on 26 October 2006 and the majority of the personnel were used to establish the 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion.
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.
Ground Intelligence Officer is a primary military occupation code of a U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer. Ground intelligence officers serve as staff officers and commanders in the operating forces and are responsible for analyzing intelligence and planning, deployment and tactical employment of ground surveillance and reconnaissance units. The Ground Intelligence Officer can be a Recon Marine after their training is done.
The Namibian Special Forces is a special operations command of the Namibian Defence Force responsible for special forces and special operations capable units. The command consists of Army commandos, Army Airborne paratroopers and the Marine Corps amphibious special operations unit. The Army commandos specialize in airborne and land borne insertion while the Marine Corps amphibious special operations unit specialize in small-unit maritime operations that originate from a river, ocean, swamp and delta. The army units receive training assistance from former South African Special Forces (Recces) and the marine corps from the Brazilian Marine Corps. The units regularly participate in Southern African Development Community (SADC) special forces exercises.
The Reconnaissance Battalion or RECON is an elite reconnaissance battalion in the Royal Thai Marine Corps, falling under the Royal Thai Marine Division. A special operations forces unit, it is capable of conducting land, maritime, and air operations.
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