The history of Reconnaissance and Marine Raiders are so intertwined it can leave people feeling a bit confused on what the difference is between the units. This video gives you the history of Marine Recon and Marine Raiders (MARSOC), the requirements to get into both units, and also some very sound advice from other Recon and Raider Operators put together by YouTuber and former Recon and Raider Nick Koumalatsos
Nick Koumalatsos
He was born in Hollywood, Florida, to a Greek father and a Gypsy mother, grew up traveling the United States until settling down for High School in Panama City, Florida. Nick then joined the Marine Corps in 2000 and ended up spending 12 years deploying around the globe supporting the war on terror. He served with 2D Force Reconnaissance, 3rd Reconnaissance Bn, and as a Marine Raider with 2D Raider Bn, Marine Special Operations Command.
Source: Nick Koumalatsos Bio
US Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance:
Force Reconnaissance (FORECON) is one of the United States Marine Corps’ special operations capable forces (SOC) that provides essential elements of military intelligence to the command element of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF), by supporting their task force commanders, and their subordinate operating units of the Fleet Marine Force (FMF).
Historically, the Force Recon companies, detachments and platoons performed both deep reconnaissance and direct action (DA) operations. Some missions are now shared by the Marine Special Operations Teams (MSOT), due to the establishment of the U.S. Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC) in 2006. MARSOC was formed from Force Recon’s direct action platoons, and now are capable of performing many of the same mission sets for USSOCOM. This dual existence now allows the FORECON companies to focus on excelling in their primary intelligence-gathering mission, as well as the Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) side of the specialized raid mission.
Source: Marine Force Recon
US Marine Raiders:
The Marine Raiders were elite units established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct special amphibious light infantry warfare, particularly in landing in rubber boats and operating behind the lines. “Edson’s” Raiders of 1st Marine Raiders Battalion and “Carlson’s” Raiders of 2nd Marine Raiders Battalion are said to be the first United States special operations forces to form and see combat in World War II.
In 2014, the Marine Special Operations Regiment, serving under the United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC), was renamed the Marine Raider Regiment. This change was implemented to better show that modern Marine special operations forces trace their lineage and heritage back to the World War II Raiders. Individual Marines of the Marine Raider Regiment are once again called “Marine Raiders”.
Source: Marine Raiders
Marine Raider Counter Insurgency Training
