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Subject:
Marine Corps Detachment 1
Shack
1/7/2004 8:53:51 PM
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June 24, 2003
Special operations unit goes to work
By Gidget Fuentes
Special to the Times
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - It?s official ? the Marine Corps? new special-operations force is up and running.
Known as ?Marine Corps Detachment 1,? the unit was activated in Friday afternoon ceremony here, marking the start of a test that eventually could make Marines a permanent part of the elite world of U.S. special operations.
Though they will be working with Navy SEAL commandos for the time being, the unit will be attached to the U.S. Special Operations Command, the unified command that is home also to the Army?s Special Forces, Army Rangers and Air Force special operations teams.
The Marine detachment in October will join the SEALs of Naval Special Warfare Squadron 1 at Coronado Naval Base, Calif., where they will train alongside their Navy counterparts before the joint unit deploys overseas in April.
The Marine Corps? top officer in the Pacific region, Lt. Gen. Earl B. Hailston, presided over the Friday activation ceremony, held at a small parade ground framed by a trio of temporary buildings and surrounded by a security fence.
The commander of Marine Forces Pacific said the detachment ?takes the first step? in developing a newly forged relationship between the Marine Corps and the special-ops command ?by providing a light, fast and more mobile ready to deploy with enhanced capability force than we?ve had in the past.?
As the concept for a Marine special-ops detachment began taking shape in late 2001, Marines already were working with special operators in Afghanistan, where Task Force 58 was scouring southern Afghanistan for al-Qaida terrorists and Taliban militia.
As a test unit that ultimately could lead to a larger Marine presence at Special Operations Command, ?this unit will be closely watched every step of the way,? Hailston said.
?The Marines and sailors in this detachment understand that in this profession, there are no points for second place,? Hailston said, later telling the men: ?Good hunting.?
The unit will be commanded by Lt. Col. Robert J. Coates, a colonel-select. Coates? men will hit the ground running, first training at their team and platoon levels before joining with the Navy SEALs and naval special-warfare crews this fall for joint training.
About 200 people attended the activation ceremony, including Michael A. Westphal, a former Marine now serving as deputy assistant secretary of defense for special operations and combating terrorism; Rear Adm. Bert Calland, the top Navy SEAL and commander of Naval Special Warfare Command; and former Marine Commandant Gen. P.X. Kelley.
Lt. Col. Giles Kyser, who was the point man in developing the concept, said the assessment will decide ?what it will turn into.? Kyser is with the Marine Air Ground Task Force special-operations section of the plans, policy and operations branch of Marine Corps headquarters in Washington.
The unit has more than 21 ?core capabilities,? including deep ground reconnaissance, human intelligence exploitation, underwater and parachute operations, counterintelligence and imagery collection.
Master Sgt. Jim Rutan, the detachment?s senior enlisted Marine, is optimistic that the reconnaissance Marines he became familiar with while serving as a reconnaissance Marine assignments coordinator at Marine Corps headquarters will play a key role in special operations in the future
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