November 3, 2005: The U.S. Marine Corps has officially assigned its 2,600 strong Marine Special Operations Command, to SOCOM (Special Operations Command.) When SOCOM was formed in 1986, to control all the special operations units in the American military, there was resistance from all the services, except the army (which had the most special operations troops, mainly in its Special Forces.) But the Secretary of Defense overruled the services, and, by 1990, the navy and air force had assigned their special operations units to SOCOM control. The marines resisted, and got away with it by insisting they didnât have any âspecial operationsâ troops (or that âall marines are special operations troops,â depending on what day you asked them.)
But by late 2001, it was obvious even to the marines that SOCOM was where the action was, and the marines wanted in. After four years of haggling and negotiation, the marines are in, with a combination of traditional commandoes, long range recon and ârangerâ type forces. The marines may add more forces in the future, or perhaps the entire Marine Corps will join SOCOM and take it over. |