Special Operations: MARSOC Central

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September 20, 2007: The U.S. Marine Corps is spending $218 million to build a base for its 2,000 Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MARSOC) troops at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. MARSOC has 2,600 personnel, organized into a headquarters, a two battalion Special Operations Regiment, a Foreign Military Training Unit, and a Marine Special Operations Support Group.

The marines basically lost two of their four Force Recon companies (one of them a reserve unit) in order to build MARSOC. Meanwhile, more troops have been added to division level reconnaissance units, to take up some of that slack. The Special Operations companies (with about 120 personnel each) can provide Force Recon capabilities to marine units they are attached to.

The two Special Operations Battalions provide a combination of services roughly equal to what the U.S. Army Special Forces and Rangers do, as well as some of the functions of the Force Recon units. Eventually, there are to be nine companies in the two Special Operations Battalion. So far, only four of those companies have been formed.

Construction of the new complex will be completed next year.

 

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