Marine Force Recon

United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance, otherwise known as Force Recon, units are a special operations force under the command of the United States Marine Corps. Many Force Recon Marines have now been integrated into MARSOC, however the Corps still retains itsown dedicated Force Recon units.

Force Recon - Roles

The primary role of Force Recon marine is to gather intelligence in support of USMC operations.

amphibious operations
- scout swimming
- beach/coastline reconnaissance
- small boat operations
deep reconnaissance
unconventional warfare
foreign internal defense (FID)
special reconnaissance
direct action
counter-terrorism

Force Recon Marines are trained in parachuting, including high altitude techniques (HALO, HAHO), skiing and amphibious techniques, including working with SCUBA gear.

Force Recon - Organization

In 2006, Force Reconnaissance Marines that had not been reassigned to MSOB units within MARSOC weren integrated into 'Delta' Companies within Division Recon Battalions, (1st, 2nd and 3rd), forming Deep Reconnaissance Platoons (DRPs).

Deep Reconnaisance Platoons deploy as part of the Command Element (CE) of a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), providing a reconnaissance and direct action capability within the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) commander's area of interest.

In October 2008, by the direction of the Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC), the D companies within both 1st and 2nd Reconnaissance Battalions were redesignated as "Force Reconnaissance" companies and assigned operational control to the Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) accordingly, particularly the I MEF and II MEF. These companies will assume the traditional deep reconnaissance and supportive arms mission set and will deploy in support of current directive required by the United States Marine Corps.

The two Force Reconnaissance companies of 1st and 2nd Recon Battalions, along with 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion's DRP [formerly 5th Force Recon Company], are currently the only active components of force-level reconnaissance; whereas the 3rd and 4th FORECON are the Active Reserve component to the Fleet Marine Force.

A Force Reconnaissance Company consists of:

Company Headquarters
- Commanding Officer (CO)
- Executive Officer (XO)
- Sergeant Major
Supporting elements:
- S1 (Administrative) Shop
- S2 (Intelligence) Section
- S3 (Operations)
- S4 (Logistics and Supply)
- S6 (Communications)
5-6 Force Reconnaissance Platoons

A Force Reconnaissance Platoon typically comprises:

Platoon Headquarters
- Platoon Commander
- Platoon Sergeant
- Platoon Radio Operator
- Navy Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsman (SARC)
  (SARCs are Navy medics that are trained to the same standard as the rest of the Recon Platoon.)
- Platoon Equipment NCO (Rigger/ Armorer)
3 x 6-man Reconnaissance teams

A Reconnaissance team is made up of: