Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit

by Tom Clancy

  MEU (SOC) Missions

  Today, MEU (SOC)s on both coasts and Okinawa are trained to a single set of standards and missions, which are constantly reviewed and examined to assess their validity in a changing and dangerous world. To support this effort, in 1989 the Marine Corps implemented a set of standard MEU (SOC) training handbooks. These provide a common training syllabus for all MEU (SOC)s. The key to understanding the operations of a MEU (SOC) is to look at its various missions. A quick note about definitions: In the Marine vernacular, "assault" means to forcibly take an objective and hold it until relieved or reinforced. "Raid," on the other hand, means to enter an area, destroy or capture specified targets and equipment, and then return to wherever you started from.

  Amphibious Assaults

  This mission is the traditional amphibious/vertical-envelopment assault so fundamental to the Marine Corps ethos. In the case of a MEU (SOC), this mission could be executed on behalf of follow-on forces, such as Army airborne and/or fly-in units, or perhaps Marine MPSRONs/Army AWR-3 units. This is a forced-entry, "kickin-the-door" kind of operation, and would likely be done very quickly (a matter of days) after the outbreak of a crisis. Meanwhile, the National Command Authorities would likely rush additional amphibious ships with extra Marines to beef up the MEU (SOC).

  Amphibious Raids

  In amphibious raids the MEU (SOC) would use its landing capability to move rapidly across a hostile beach to temporarily take an objective, and then render it useless to an enemy. Examples might include strikes at power plants, industrial areas, or military bases. Another possibility is the destruction of weapons facilitates capable of manufacturing or storing chemical, nuclear, or biological munitions. Airfields are also viable targets for an MEU (SOC) raid, as are ports.

  Limited Objective Attack/Deception Raid

  A specific kind of raid, the limited objective attack is defined as a short-duration raid or assault designed to divert the attention of an enemy away from a larger or more vital operation. This operation is designed to cause a lot of noise and "flash," after which the unit scoots away before the bad guys figure out which attack is the real one. Such a raid might be composed of a single big attack along a narrow front, or a series of smaller simultaneous operations spread over a wider area.

  Maritime Reinforcement/Assault/Inspection

  One of the many reasons for having a Navy and Marine Corps is to provide protection for the world's sea lanes. This is more than just a fancy-sounding way of saying, "Get off of my road." Maintaining freedom of navigation in the world's sea lanes is a shared responsibility of all naval powers. Therefore, one of the missions of the MEU (SOC)/ARG team is to help protect shipping against piracy and/or capture by terrorists, such as happened to the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in the 1980s. These maritime support missions come in several varieties: First, the MEU (SOC) can provide a security or reinforcement detachment to protect a vessel during passage through troubled or threatening waters. Second, the MEU (SOC) can execute an assault type of mission, to take back a ship which has been captured by pirates or terrorists. Third (quite common in the last few years) is maritime inspection in support of an international embargo. In the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Adriatic, Marines have been the key to enforcing a number of maritime embargoes, like the one that helped strangle Iraq back in 1990/91.

  Show of Force

  Sometimes, when you want to make a point, you act like a "big dog" (large with a nasty growl), show your teeth, and let everyone in the neighborhood know you are bad. This mission is all about acting like a big dog. General Chuck Krulak will tell you that a traditional "Show of Force" is the single most valuable service that an ARG/MEU (SOC) force can perform. Nothing other than a modern version of what was once called "gunboat diplomacy," it is a unique and effective form of deterrence against small dictators and warlords who have more ambition than common sense. When an ARG or carrier battle group decides to park itself just outside the territorial waters of a nation, it sends a message that is both loud and clear. Stay put and keep to your own borders! It worked for Teddy Roosevelt, and it still works today.

  Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel (TRAP)

  Though TRAPs come in a variety of configurations--from simple repairs and recovery of damaged aircraft in a benign environment to full-blown raiding forces equipped to forcibly enter hostile territory to recover injured personnel--most TRAPs occur under peaceful conditions in friendly territory. All the same, MEU (SOC) Marines treat every TRAP like the O'Grady rescue, just in case.

  Clandestine Recovery Operations

  This mission is a variation of the TRAP mission, with the specialized requirement that it is done covertly with deniability. For instance, such an operation might be run in a short-of-war situation, where the National Command Authorities wish to avoid armed conflict. Under such conditions, stealth and patience will probably be more important than speed and firepower. In any case, if the mission is to be successful, the nation whose sovereignty is violated would have to remain blind and dumb.

  Non-Combatant Evacuation Operations (NEOs)

  In the last decade, evacuations have been probably the most common operations that MEU (SOC)s were called upon to execute. A crisis occurs in some far-off land like Liberia or Somalia--a civil war or some other event that breaks apart the fabric of local society. Nothing bad has happened to the Americans in the country yet, but clearly something can or will. With their organic transport helicopter force, hospital facilities aboard ship, and Marines for security, the MEU (SOC) becomes the perfect instrument to extract "non-combatants" from the danger. "Non-combatants" is the military term for civilians, be they tourists or embassy personnel (there are exceptions).

  In addition to "civilian" NEOs, we are sometimes asked to evacuate military forces from a hopeless situation in a civil war or other kind of armed insurrection. A good example was the evacuation of the UN peacekeeping force from Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1994. The National Command Authorities usually request this kind of operation after an official diplomatic request. The NEO force then inserts itself into the danger area, makes contact with the unit to be evacuated, and secures a safe perimeter. Once the unit to be evacuated has been reached, transportation is arranged, and the operation is concluded as quickly as possible.

  In-Extremis Hostage Rescue

  Hostage rescue is probably the toughest operation that a MEU (SOC) can be asked to conduct. If this happens, it will be roughly like the planned rescue of the hostages in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran back in 1980. Though this kind of operation is usually the specialty of units like the Army's Delta Force, if time is critical, an MEU (SOC) may be the only unit that is forward-deployed. Marines therefore train for this mission, utilizing their big, long-legged CH-53E Super Stallions to provide transport. Should tanker support be available (such as a forward-deployed detachment of Marine KC-130Fs), then the mission can be run virtually non-stop thanks to in-flight refueling.

  Security Operations

  Security operations are like crowd control. You're trying to keep an area safe and operating normally. From the MEU (SOC) point of view, this kind of mission would normally involve the "beefing up" of an existing Marine or other military detachment. Usually this would be a Marine embassy detachment or airfield security force. The ill-fated deployment to Beirut in the 1980s was just such an operation. The difference today is that such a job would probably not be so open-ended, with much more of a "big dog" kind of presence out in the open, where everyone can see it.

  Humanitarian Relief Operations

  Humanitarian operations are becoming a significant priority in the post-Cold War world. Given what a force like a MEU (SOC)/ARG team is capable of delivering in the way or food, water, and medical supplies and services, such a unit is the perfect mobile relief force. Of late, we have seen a host of such operations worldwide. And soon, disaster-relief operations in our own country may become one of the major missions of the MEU (SOC)/ARG teams. As we have seen, when they are in port, t
he LHDs of the Atlantic Fleet represent the sixth largest hospital facility in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Should a major disaster such as a hurricane or earthquake strike a coastal community in the next few years, don't be surprised if you see a MEU (SOC)/ARG team leading the relief effort.

  Civil Support/Training Operations

  Back in the Cold War, we used to call this "winning hearts and minds." This rather broad category of mission covers a range of activities designed to build better relations between the U.S. and other governments and peoples. For example, joint training and exercises with local military forces help promote understanding and goodwill with our allies. Or, while making a port call, the ARG commander might open the medical department of an LHD or LHA, with the support of the MEU (SOC) medical department, to the local population to provide inoculations or dental services. Other options include assisting in the building of bridges, roads, and other basic infrastructure and services.

  Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT)

  Infantry hates fighting in built-up urban areas. House-to-house fighting is quite dangerous. It can tear the guts out of an infantry force if it is not extremely well trained and very methodical. Marines, with their considerable experience rooting enemies out of caves and urban areas, have a healthy respect for such operations. The Corps' predeployment training program is designed to teach MEU (SOC) Marines how to take an edge into such situations. Called Training in an Urban Environment (TRUE), it covers everything from demolishing walls between buildings to proper movement through built-up urban areas.

  Initial Terminal Guidance

  Once upon a time this used to be called a pathfinding or pioneer mission. In today's context, the Initial Terminal Guidance mission is designed to provide navigational support to another, larger mission. Usually the task involves inserting onto a beach or into a helicopter landing zone (HLZ) a small team carrying specialized direction finding and navigation gear that assists incoming landing craft or helicopters in making a safe and accurate approach and landing. Even in an era when GPS allows for pinpoint accuracy with split-second timing, there is nothing like someone coaching you in personally.

  Signals Intelligence (SIGINT)/Electronic Warfare (EW) Collection

  It goes without saying that having a tap on your enemy's phone is desirable in a war. For this reason, the ships of PHIBRON 4 and the 26th MEU (SOC) have a robust capacity to conduct intelligence gathering of communications and other electronic signals. But sometimes more information is needed. Both the SSES on the ships and SIGINT/EW teams deployed by the MEU (SOC) can generate a vast amount of useful intelligence for decision makers from the tactical level to the National Command Authorities. While much of their equipment and techniques are highly classified, the 26th MEU (SOC)/PHIBRON 4 team can listen to virtually the entire electromagnetic spectrum.

  Clandestine Reconnaissance and Surveillance/ Counterintelligence

  Because of its heavy complement of Marine Force Reconnaissance personnel, SEALs, and ship-based sensors (both active and passive), a MEU (SOC) is an extremely capable force for collecting intelligence. Covert missions of this type might include insertion of teams into hostile territory, perhaps in short-of-war conditions. When the mission is complete, these teams can be picked up without the hostile forces becoming aware that they have been watched. As currently configured, the MEU (SOC) is set up to collect information in any number of other ways. Among these: It can observe terrorist groups (through national intelligence sources); it can monitor enemy road convoys with the Pioneer UAV detachment of the ARG; or it can go in and take human sources.

  Seizure and/or Destruction of Offshore Platform Facilities

  Over the last half century, offshore facilities that exploit the resources of a continental shelf have become quite common around the world. Oil production platforms of various configurations have also been commonly used by nations like Iran and Iraq as sensor and weapons platforms. Luckily, offshore operations are a MEU (SOC) specialty. To provide a capability to hold these platforms at risk, MEU (SOC)s are trained to assault and, if necessary, render such a facility unusable. By the way, doing this is quite simple. Damage the well head assembly in such a way that it requires complete replacement (which takes time and money), but does not cause a spill of raw crude oil into the environment. It is a touchy job, but one that the Marines have already executed successfully in combat, where it really counts.

  Specialized Demolitions

  In the Marine Corps there is an old saying: "There is no problem that can't be solved by an appropriately sized, placed, and fused charge of high explosive." It is true. Marines have a gift for blowing things up, which makes this kind of mission one of their favorites. As with offshore platform operations, the key is to destroy a particular target without damaging the rest of the neighborhood...or the neighbors.

  Fire Support Coordination

  A MEU (SOC) must be able to accurately call down fire on targets of interest. Modern fire support involves scouting, designating, and damage assessment for offshore ships and artillery, as well as attack helicopters and aircraft. In an age when many of the traditional Marine fire-support assets have been retired or cut back, proper use and direction of what is left will be crucial to the success of the overall Marine mission.

  MEU (SOC) Training and Qualifications

  It is easy to see that an ARG/MEU (SOC) team can accomplish a large number of missions. Still, this number is--and has to be--limited. The MEU (SOC) concept is successful because MEU (SOC) units stick to doing what they do well! Reaching the level of proficiency required for these missions is hard on a MEU (SOC)'s personnel, and expensive for the taxpayers. Nevertheless, few people who understand a MEU (SOC)'s capabilities would ever question the costs. Especially, someone like Scott O'Grady.

  Preparing a MEU (SOC) for a cruise takes time. Each cruise lasts six months, and it takes three MEU (SOC)s/ARGs to keep one forward-deployed full-time. This is why three are on each coast. To support this requirement, the MEU (SOC)/ARG teams work on a fifteen-month cycle that looks like this:* Refit/Basic Refresher Training (Months 1 through 3)-If there is a period of rest for the personnel of the various MEU (SOC)/ARG components, this is it. During this time the ships can squeeze in a dockyard period to repair and upgrade equipment and systems. This is also the time when new personnel rotate in to replace outgoing ones. Meanwhile, everyone else has an opportunity to take some leave and/or spend some time with the family. Life in an expeditionary unit is tough on the people in it; any time they can get away is treasured. When they're not on leave, or with their families (such time is all too short!), they get "back-to-basics," so they can have their primary skills down pat for the coming workup period.

  * MEU (SOC) Workup/Qualification Period (Months 4 through 9)-During this period, the various MEU (SOC) component units come together and learn to work as a team. The ships of the ARG are then added to the training exercises, so that by the end of the process, the entire force functions as a team. Meanwhile, the MEU (SOC) goes through a complete workup and qualification process that is carefully supervised by specialists from the Marine Corps Special Operations Training Group (SOTG).

  * Deployment (Months 10 through 15)-The whole process pays off in the deployment phase-when the MEU (SOC)/ARG teams are out on cruise. Because there are seven MEU (SOC)s in service (the 11th, 13th, and 15th on the West Coast, the 22nd, 24th, and 26th on the East Coast, and the 31 st at Okinawa), two or three will be at sea at any given time. For the National Command Authorities, this translates to having one MEU (SOC) always in the Mediterranean, one always in the Western Pacific, and one occasionally in the Persian Gulf.

  The key to making this all happen is the MEU (SOC) Workup/Qualification Period. For the MEU (SOC), this is the functional equivalent of a National Training Center (NTC) or Red/Green Flag rotation for an Army or Air Force unit-with the added dimension that it lasts six months! That is a long time to prepare for a cruise that will last half a year, and it takes a toll on the personnel an
d equipment. Still, the old saying goes, "The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in war." It is true. The training and examination during this period are incredibly intense. Training and evaluation periods are round-the-clock, and it is rare for the personnel of the MEU (SOC) and ARG to get more than four to six hours of sleep a night. In fact, most Marines 1 spoke with would claim that the workup/qualification period is actually tougher than actual combat operations!

  The actual standards and syllabus for this process are spelled out in a document called Marine Corps Order 3502, which was issued in 1995. It lays out the step-by-step procedure for taking a BLT, an HMM, an MSSG, and other Marine units, and turning them into a fully qualified MEU (SOC). At the end of the process, there is a final examination called a Special Operations Capability Exercise or SOCEX. To gain the (SOC) designation for their unit, the MEU must pass every single point in the book to the satisfaction of some very tough judges--both their regular evaluators and folks from the Marine Special Operations Training Group (SOTG), the keepers of the MEU (SOC) syllabus. According to Marines and sailors who have done it before, the qualification process is six months of pure hell, with two really bad weeks at the end!