Lets see...we have MARSOC being formed which traces its roots back to the Marine Raider Concept of WW2 so what's missing?
Or perhaps who else should they trace their lineage to?
I contend it would be the Para-Marines.
Although they never performed an Airborne operation in concert with an Amphibious Landing the concept still intrigues. In some ways heliborne ops have negated the need for airborne ops in this regard, but I still wonder if one battalion of Marine Airborne Infantry could be of use in this day and age. I can easily see this battalion that I propose being stationed in Australia and being deployed by Air Force C-17 in ultra rapid deployment situations. Maybe Guam would be a better location? Anyway, read the document below.
Silk Chutes and Hard Fighting US Marine Corps Parachute Units in WWII
With today's air defense systems it would very hard for C-17s to drop Para-Marines into enemy territory. It also might be a bit of a stretch for Corps as your have griped in the past about the Marines setting up their on kind of SOCOM, and this is the mission of the 101st and the 82nd.
ReplyDeleteyeah but 82nd is designed for worldwide operations and i was talking about an ultra quick reaction force based around a battalion of Marines.
ReplyDeletebut you're right. i have griped about SOCOM and the Marine component of it...but i'm talking about clawing back the capability lost to SOCOM and making it organic to the Marines. we have various forces that are airborne qualified and could fill the billets in this Marine Corps specific Para-Marine outfit. an expanded Sniper detail...attach LAR Battalion for lapes drops...CAAT to it as well in some tricked out humvees...
maybe it could work...but most likely not.
you're probably right.
It's not worth losing a battalion for a specialized force that wouldn't do the mission better than the 82nd or 75th. While Marines might be capable of anything they can't be tasked for everything. Marines should remain primarily oriented to operate from the sea.
ReplyDeleteSo if you need an objective taken down quickly, like an airfield, either the Corp does it from the sea or drop the Rangers from the C-17's.
It could certainly "work". I'd just question the loss of resources from other core tasks. Same argument applies to the SOCOM tax paid through MARSOC.
well said.
ReplyDeletei totally withdraw the proposal...
My grandfather was apart of 1st para bn in Guadalcanal, it was my honor to be pinned with his jump wings, the same wings my father and his older brothers have worn before me.
ReplyDeleteAs great as it would be to see this kinda of unit in the meu, we just don't have the money or resources to stand up this sort of bn. We have Marsoc, Force/Recon, and anglico that do what little we need for airborn oprations. Keep to the sea, and fix our damn AAVs