Marine Raiders

Former Marine strategist and defense expert calls for disbanding Marine Raiders

Dakota Wood spent 20 years in uniform as a U.S. Marine. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2005 and entered the world of academic defense analysis.Now a senior fellow at the Center for National Defense at the Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, Wood used his experience in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and as a researcher to field a surprising recommendation for the American defense apparatus: get rid of the Marine Raiders. In a 60-page report released March 21^st, Wood—who once served as a strategist at Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command—said the USMC needs to reevaluate where it spends its money in order to be highly effective in a 21^stcentury conflict. One key area of wasted funding, he claims, is on the Marine Corps’ Special Operations command known as the Marine Raiders, or Marines Special Operations Command (MARSOC).Wood’s report, published by The Heritage Foundation, reads:

MARSOC was established because of a shortage of special operations teams, not because the Marine Corps wanted a special operations force. U.S. Special Operations Command was hard-pressed to meet the operational demand for its capabilities as U.S. global war on terrorism efforts expanded in Afghanistan, Iraq, and many other locations worldwide.Consequently, the 2,700 Marines committed to MARSOC benefit SOCOM, performing special operations tasks in specific locations in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. MARSOC has little direct value for the Corps, especially with regard to the Corps’ primary mission as stipulated in 10 U.S. Code and DOD [U.S. Department of Defense] directive.”

Wood contends that Marines already assigned to MARSOC are doing important work for the America’s national security, but counters with concerns about how much of the branch’s resources are devoted to special operations.”The Corps’ commitment to MARSOC, while a boon to SOCOM [United States Special Operations Command] and the good work it does for the country, is an opportunity cost for the Corps and the work that only it can do, as opposed to SOCOM’s role and the contributions long made to its mission by the Army, Navy and Air Force,” he said.The USMC was the most recent branch to add personnel to SOCOM’s stable. MARSOC (later dubbed Raiders) first established approximately 13 years ago. Since then, Marine special operators have proven to be a valuable asset in combat operations the world over. However, Wood posits the resources being allocated to these efforts could be better used improving the USMC’s overall conventional combat capabilities, especially in the face of what has been a high operational tempo and decades’ worth of budget concerns.MARSOC spokesman Maj. Nicholas Mannweiler said in an official statement that the command is aware of Wood’s report, and pointed out his recommendations pertaining to special operations are a part of a bigger issue of which the USMC and the Pentagon are already aware:

The recommendations made in the paper are one aspect of a much broader conversation on Marine Corps and joint operations in response to our evolving national security challenges,” he said. “MARSOC will continue to partner with our fellow Marines in enhancing lethality, interoperability, integration and interdependence as well as with our rich network of [special operations forces] and interagency partners.”

However, former members of the Marine Corps’ special operations community are publicly critical of Wood’s conclusions, saying his assessments are based on a dated concept of warfare that doesn’t accurately reflect the modern landscape of battle.”If there’s a major theater war with China or Iran, it’s not going to look like the Second World War,” Elliot Ackerman, a Marine with five combat deployments, told Military.com. “To say these 2,700 guys will be better suited in [any other] Marine regiment belies a lack of understanding of what Marine Raiders have contributed in the last 10 years.” He’s not the only objector quoted.

This would set us back two decades, if not more,” said Nick Koumalatsos, a former Marine Raider. “It’s not the world we live in anymore. We’re not lining up tanks and we’re not lining up in trenches to fight a conventional battle.”

The debate really boils down to how best to fight a near-peer war in the Pacific. Wood contends that the USMC is allocating too much of its limited money and resources toward fielding a fairly small number of highly-skilled operators. If a conflict with China were to break out, those resources could be better allocated toward the amphibious warfare that the Marines trade on.”Up until 2006, the Marine Corps had pushed back against having an elite force and being a part of the special operations community because they were fully busy doing Navy-Marine [amphibious] sorts of things,” Wood said. “It was only because they were forced to create a special operations service component by then-Secretary of Defense [Donald] Rumsfeld because SOCOM was extraordinarily short on teams.”Yet special operators contend that it’s precisely because of the possibility of a high-end conflict in places like the Pacific that there’s a growing need for Marines in the special operations community.

Feature image courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps

SOF Video of the Day: Special Warfare Combatant-craft Tactical Boat Teams

Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen from Special Boat Team 12, stationed at Naval Base Coronado, Calif., with the help of aviators from 4th Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., conducted a Maritime External Air Transportation System training evolution in Moses Lake, Wash., May 21. MEATS is a way to move a watercraft from a point on land or water to somewhere else using an Army MH-47G Chinook helicopter. The crewmen rig the boat to the helicopter as it hovers above, and then climb a rope ladder to board the helicopter before moving to the final destination, where they will slide down a rope to the boat before the helicopter disconnects the hoist cables.

U.S. Army photo and caption by Sgt. Christopher Prows, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Learn more about Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen in the video below:

The Mali Green Beret Murder Case is a Stain on All of SOF

The murder case of SSG Logan Melgar of the 3rd Special Forces Group (3rd SFG) is another tough scenario for the SF Group’s soldiers to bear. The unit lost four of its members in a deadly ambush in Niger and then to find out that one of its finer NCOs was murdered in US Embassy housing while stationed in Mali was worse. But worst of all was the fact that SSG Melgar wasn’t murdered by terrorists but reportedly at the hands of his fellow US Special Operations warriors from the Navy SEALs and Marine Corps Raiders. That is a stain regardless of the outcome of the court-martial on all of SOCOM that won’t soon fade.

While we’re not going to argue the merits of the case, this much is clear. Melgar shared an apartment with two members of SEAL Team Six, operators identified as Petty Officer Adam Matthews and Petty Officer Anthony DeDolph. Both SEALs admitted to breaking into Melgar’s room while he was asleep. Melgar died of asphyxiation and DeDolph has admitted to putting Melgar in a chokehold. The SEALs stories have changed several times which raised red flags which triggered a further investigation.

Last week, the military has said that they are charging the two SEALs and two Marine Raiders who are still unnamed with felony murder, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, burglary, hazing, and involuntary manslaughter in the strangulation death of Melgar in June of 2017. A preliminary hearing is set for December 10.

How this came to be is still a source of speculation but the military has obviously found enough evidence to proceed. Melgar was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Mali as part of a six-man intelligence cell in support of counterterrorism efforts against al-Qaeda’s local affiliate, known as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The Daily Beast had a source with knowledge of the situation stating that Melgar was put off by the unprofessional behavior of the two members of SEAL Team Six.

The two had several lapses of operational security, bringing prostitutes to the safe house in the capital of Bamako. Worse, Melgar reportedly found evidence of the two skimming cash out of the operational fund to recruit informants about illicit Islamic activity in the area. Melgar reported his concerns to the chain of command. That had to have gotten back to the SEALs.

On the night of June 4, 2017, Melgar was invited to an Embassy party but the other four members had not. That, according to the Daily Beast was the final straw. They decided to plan an attack on him later that evening. According to the source, they planned for hours.

The SEALs went to the place where the Marines were staying for duct tape to restrain him. Shortly before 5:00 a.m. they kicked open his door, used the duct tape and then DeDolph put Melgar in a chokehold. When they saw he wasn’t breathing, they covered their tracks by doing first CPR and then a tracheotomy. They took him to a French hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Here is where the stories began to come apart. The story in the DB stated that the SEALs then began a coverup which included returning “to the safehouse, they engaged in a cover-up, according to several witnesses—including cleaning up evidence and coaching witnesses. The charge sheet accuses the members of the conspiracy with “providing a false timeline of events to the Navy chain of command,” and “purposefully” left out the duct tape when making their statements on Melgar’s death. They as well allegedly “disposed of the alcohol” they kept in the shared Army-Navy quarters and lied to investigators.”

The same sources told the DB that the SEALs filed two operational reports of the incident and this is where things began to go awry. In one report, the Navy operators said that the men were wrestling and Melgar was drunk. But Melgar didn’t drink alcohol and blood alcohol levels taken during a toxicology report showed zero in his system.

And the report that the men were just “playfully wrestling” left out that the SEALs used the duct tape to restrain him. Plus DeDolph as an MMA fighter knows the difference between when a chokehold would incapacitate another fighter or do serious harm.

This incident will have long-lasting implications. The very nature of Special Operations Forces and units like JSOC is the fact that all of the units in all of the services have to have one another’s back. And the trust factor to watch out over one another has to be supreme in SOF.

Melgar’s widow Michelle, was briefed on this case twice in the past month, first in Norfolk, Virginia and later again at Ft. Bragg, NC. While she declined to address specific aspects of the case, she uttered support for the prosecution but also feels that she doesn’t want to cause a rift between the Special Forces and SEALs and Marine Raiders.

“While I have faith that the military court will handle this situation in the best possible way, I also understand that the mission continues,” she said. “Our men must work well together, and we need to support them in doing so.”

She reiterated much the same feelings in a statement that she released to NEWSREP. “I fully support SOCOM, NCIS, and the prosecutors. It is important to me that we continue to support all of our Special Operators and their efforts to work together. The actions of these individuals is not a direct reflection on the organizations themselves. I am grateful for the continued support that SOCOM has shown me and my family throughout the investigation.

The U.S. Special Operations Command’s (SOCOM) spokesman, Navy Captain Salata said the command honored Melgar’s memory and kept his loved ones in its thoughts. He pledged unity among the U.S.’ elite forces that probably none of them are feeling right now.

“We will not allow allegations or substantiated incidents of misconduct to erode decades of honorable accomplishments by the members of U.S. Special Operations Command. Ours is a culture of professionalism and accountability, which prides itself in being a learning organization that uses critical self-examination in a relentless dedication to improvement,” Salata said.

While all of what Salata said is absolutely true, it takes only one incident such as this one to erode what decades of dedicated Special Operators have accomplished. The command has a lot of work to do in this regard. The services have their jobs cut out for them in regards to this incident. They will have to tread very carefully here. The troops will smell B.S. in a second. But they must get everyone pulling in the same direction again.

Trust is very hard to build and it can be lost in a split second. Even if these charges are proved false, the damage has been done. And the losers are everyone in the SOCOM community.

Photo of Logan Melgar and his father: US Army

Two Marines May Have Been Present at the Murder of Green Beret in Mali

The murder investigation of Green Beret SSG Logan Melgar has taken another twist. Military investigators are now stating that two Marine Raiders from the Special Operations Command may have been present. Two Navy SEALs are already under investigation for the strangling death of Melgar last June.

Melgar died from asphyxiation after the SEALs claimed that they engaged in “horseplay” at 4 a.m. that the apartment that the men shared in Bamako while assigned to the embassy in Mali.

The military is investigating whether two special forces Marines played a role in the choking death of a Green Beret in Mali last year and the possible cover-up of how it occurred, according to five U.S. defense officials.
September 2017 Army Criminal Investigative Division report about the incident quotes Navy SEAL Tony DeDolph saying he and Army Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar were wrestling at 4 a.m. when a fellow SEAL Adamcranston Matthew came in and joined in the horseplay. According to the SEALS, the men fell down together and when they stood up Melgar wasn’t breathing.
The SEALs say they attempted CPR and tried to open an airway, but Melgar died of asphyxiation.
The same report, however, says a witness told investigators that DeDolph and Matthews were among a group of people angry at Melgar, and had made comments about getting back at him.
According to that witness, “DeDolph admitted … that he ‘choked [Melgar] out.’ ” and had used duct tape on him.
Now forensic evidence uncovered during a Navy investigation indicates two Marines may have been present at some point during the night, say five U.S. defense officials.

While military investigators refuse to comment on an ongoing investigation, the more information that is learned about this incident, the more it is clear that there was no horseplay involved. The military is dragging its feet on this, it has been nearly a year since Melgar’s death and questions are now growing about how this happened and why there is no moving forward with it.

To read the entire article from NBC News, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

MARSOC Critical Skills Operators Worthy of Their WWII Lineage

The Marine Corps hadn’t had a Special Operations unit since World War II, but all of that changed in 2003 when on June of that year, the Marine Corp and USSOCOM formed Marine Corps Special Operations Command Detachment One (MCSOCOM Det 1) to explore unit level Marine Corps participation in USSOCOM. Prior to this, Marine Corps brass were vocal against an “elite within an elite” as they considered all Marine Corps units elite.

MCSOCOM Det One deployed with a Naval Special Warfare unit in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004.

After the deployment, the Marine Corps contributions were studied, and in October 2005, the Secretary of Defense directed the formation of a Marine component of U.S. Special Operations Command. It was determined the Marine Corps would initially form a unit of approximately 2,500 to serve within the Special Operations Forces (SOF) community.

On Feb. 24, 2006, MARSOC was activated at Camp Lejeune, N.C. MARSOC initially consisted of a small headquarters staff and a battalion level unit which had been formed to train, advise, and assist partner nation militaries by conducting the mission of Foreign Internal Defense.

Just a couple of years ago, the MARSOC Operators decided to choose the name “Raiders” to celebrate their lineage and unconventional nature of their mission. The Raiders were back in the Corps after a long hiatus.

The Marine Raiders from World War II were only active for about 2 years between 1942 until they were officially disbanded in 1944. But they had an impressive combat record and gave the Japanese a taste of their own medicine during battles in the Solomon Islands. The modern MARSOC Special Operations draws its lineage from these Raider battalions. Perhaps the best example of a Marine Special Operations officer was Major Evans F. Carlson.

Carlson was a maverick who was an intelligence officer in China, had fought guerrillas in Nicaragua and spoken out publicly about the plight of the Chinese. When given command of the Marine 2^nd Raider Bn., he broke ranks with many of the traditional ways of doing things and operated in an entirely unconventional manner.

Every man regardless of rank would have a say in things and were expected to say what they thought. Their motto became the Chinese term “Gung-ho” which means “work together.”

Carlson was brilliantly innovative. He implemented an important change to the Raider organization where instead of the usual eight-man squad, he created a 10-man unit composed of a squad leader and three fire teams of three men each. Each fire team had good firepower with a Thompson submachine gun, a Browning automatic rifle (BAR), and a rifleman with the Garand M-1 semiautomatic rifles.

He was building an unconventional warfare unit that could operate as he envisioned like a guerrilla unit. He set up a training program that leaned heavily on long-range movement, weapons and demolitions training, hand-to-hand combat, and physical conditioning.

Today’s Raiders are even better trained than their counterparts. Once a Marine has three years of service, he or she can volunteer for the Raiders of MARSOC.

Like other Special Operations Forces, the Marines are looking for self-starters, operators with the initiative who will always seek to improve themselves. Team players who will seek the knowledge of others to make the unit much more proficient.

For Marines designated as Critical Skills Operators (CSO) with the MOS 0372, for officers 0370, they must first pass Assessment and Selection (A&S). A&S is a 21 day mentally and physically challenging evaluation. The first phase starts with a Physical Fitness Test, or PFT, a swim and an 8-mile rucksack march. It ends with another PFT, an abandon ship drill, 300-meter swim in fatigues with no boots, 11 minutes of treading water and a 12-mile rucksack march in under three hours with a 45-pound ruck.

Those Marines that successfully complete A&S attend the MARSOC Individual Training Course (ITC). Much of it is like the other Selection and Assessment courses run by the other services. It places a high premium on a candidate’s physical fitness and the ability to think on his feet while tired and under a great deal of stress.

ITC is a physically and mentally challenging course designed to provide MARSOC Raiders with a basic foundation of essential special operations skills. Some of the skills taught in the course include SERE, Medical, Communications, Small unit tactics (SMU), Amphibious Training, Special Reconnaissance, Close-Quarters Battle (CQB), Urban Combat, Combat marksmanship and Irregular Warfare.

Training and educating the Raiders does not end with ITC. Operators will continue training once assigned to their designated unit. All MARSOC Marines are required to undergo continual language training, with designated Marines attending follow-on language training at an Advanced Linguist Course.

MARSOC Marine Raiders also attend advanced-level courses in a number of subject areas such as Airborne and Static Line Jumpmaster, Military Free Fall and HALO Jumpmaster, Sniper, Breaching, and Weapons Employment as well as many others. A total of 85 Advanced Training courses are available to the MARSOC Raiders in their operational units.

The basic operating is a 14-man team consisting of 1 Officer, 4-6 Senior NCOs, 4-6 Sergeants and 2 Navy Corpsmen. The team is broken down by an HQ element and two Tactical Elements. The HQ Element is comprised of a Captain Team Leader, Master Sergeant Team Chief, Gunnery Sergeant Operations Chief, and a Staff Sergeant Assistant Operations Chief.

The two Tactical Elements consist of 4 Marines and a Navy Corpsman. The team can function as one unit or split into two smaller tactical ones. The MARSOC Raiders have conducted Direct Action, Foreign Internal Defense, Special Reconnaissance, Counter-Insurgency, Security Force Assistance, and preparation of the environment missions in over 40 countries since their inception just over a decade ago.

They are still Marines first and Special Operators next but with the changes making them a permanent part of the Marine Corps, they now have the MOS to stay in Special Operations for the remainder of their careers. It makes for a better unit with superior operators with better training. Major Carlson would approve.

Photos Courtesy US Marine Corps