Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit

the smallest of the uniformed services in terms of size and budget. And some would tell us that Marines are dumb? Like a fox.

In this book, I'm going to take you on a tour of the most 'Marine' unit left in the Corps today: the Marine Expeditionary Unit — Special Operations Capable (MEU [SOC]). In the seven MEU (SOC)s currently in existence, the Corps has placed the bulk of its amphibious and airmobile assault capability, and packaged them into battalion-sized MAGTFs that are forward deployed into trouble areas of the world. In this way, national leaders and regional commanders have a 'kick-in-the-door' (the Marine leadership likes to call it 'Forced Entry') capability that is right where it needs to be. We'll be looking at the 26th MEU (SOC), which is one of three such units in the East Coast rotation. Along the way, I think that you will be able to get a feel for the people and equipment that make up the 26th, and the Corps in general. You should, when finished, have a much better understanding of why I believe in Marines: their missions, their people, and their traditions. America's '911 Force.'

Marine 101: Ethos

From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli,

We will fight our country's battles in the air, on land and sea.

First to fight for right and freedom, and to keep our honor clean,

We are proud to claim the title of United States Marines.

— Marine Corps Hymn

'Marine.' Say the word to any American, and you can count on a strong reaction. The word brings a vivid image to the mind of every American listener — perhaps John Wayne in The Sands of Iwo Jima or Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men. Outside the United States, there are equally strong reactions, both positive and negative. Like other American icons such as Harley Davidson, Disney, and FedEx, the United States Marine Corps (USMC) is known as an institution that works. When the world throws problems at an American President, it is often Marines who are sent to make them right.

This book will focus on one of the basic building blocks of today's Marine Corps, the Marine Expeditionary Unit — Special Operations Capable, or MEU (SOC). It is a rapid-response unit, patrolling a dangerous world while waiting for the President of the United States to get a '911' call for armed intervention. Currently, the USMC maintains seven MEU (SOC)s: three on each coast, and one on Okinawa. Two or three of these units are deployed aboard ship into forward areas at any one time. Each MEU (SOC) is a self-contained naval/air/ground task force, capable of putting a reinforced Marine rifle battalion (over one thousand men) ashore. For decades, MEUs have provided U.S. Presidents with the ability to project power from the sea. MEUs (they were then known as Marine Amphibious Units or MAUs) led the way into Grenada and Beirut in 1983, and were among the first forces sent to Saudi Arabia when the 1990 Persian Gulf Crisis erupted. They were there when the first peacekeeping and relief forces went into Somalia in 1992, and were there again for the evacuation two years later. And MEUs are out there right now as you read this, training and staying ready, just in case they are needed.

This book will take you inside one of these units, and through it, inside the USMC as a whole. As you meet the people in the MEU and examine their equipment, I think you will learn why they represent an irreplaceable asset for the United States, an asset that's even more important today than it was just five years ago. You will come to understand how they work, their dedication and the personal sacrifices they make. For these are truly the people who stand guard on the walls of freedom, while the rest of us sleep safely in our homes.

^{Marines practice at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Regular exercises keep these Sea Marines some of the best combat infantry in the world today.}

^{JOHN D. GRESHAM}

The Marine Corps Edge: Ethos

In my earlier books Armored Cav and Fighter Wing, the first chapter was devoted to an examination of critical technologies that give a particular service its combat edge. But in this book, things have to be a bit different. This is because most of the Marine Corps technology base is shared with the other three services. In fact, except for amphibious vehicles and vertical/short-takeoff-and-landing aircraft design (VSTOL), virtually every piece of equipment Marines use was developed by, and even bought for the Army, Navy, or Air Force. From rifles and uniforms to bombs and guided missiles, the Marines know how to get the most out of a Department of Defense dollar.

You might ask why we even have a Marine Corps, if all they do is use other folks' equipment and wear their clothes. Well, the answer is that Marines are more than the sum of their equipment. They are something special. They take the pieces that are given to them, arrange them in unique and innovative ways…and throw in their own distinctive magic. There is more to military units than hardware. There is the character of the unit's personnel: their strengths, experience, and knowledge, their ability to get along and work together amid the horrors of the battlefield. There is an almost undefinable quality. That quality is the Marine Corps' secret weapon. Their edge. That quality is their ethos.

Ethos is the disposition, character, or attitude of a particular group of people that sets it apart from others. It is, in short, a trademark set of values that guides that group towards its goals. The Corps has such an ethos, and it is unique. And it explains, among other things, why the Marines' reputation may well frighten potential opponents more than the actual violence Marines can generate in combat. Now, you may be thinking that I've gone off the deep end, comparing an abstract concept like ethos to hard-core technologies like armored vehicles or stealth fighters, but the 'force-multiplier' effect on the battlefield is similar — an overmatch between our forces and those of an opponent. Trying to quantify such a concept is a little like trying to grab smoke in midair. To say that it is 'X' percent training or 'Y' percent doctrine is to trivialize what makes Marines such superb warriors. It is also probably inaccurate. Therefore, I think it is quite appropriate to explore what makes a Marine, any Marine, different from an Army tanker or an Air Force fighter pilot.

Though most Marines are unable to fully explain this mystical power, the Marine ethos is a combination of many different shared values and experiences. And it comes from what all Marines have in common, much like the brothers and sisters of a large family. In fact, this is how they refer to each other: as brother and sister Marines. Marines are unique among American service personnel in that they all must pass the same tests, no matter whether they are officers or enlisted personnel. This is in stark contrast to the other services, which rigidly separate their officers and enlisted personnel, maintaining separate career tracks, professional responsibilities, and even standards of performance and behavior to which they are held. In the Corps, everyone is a Marine!

This means that the leadership of the Corps works hard to give every Marine a common set of core skills, capabilities, and values to draw upon when they face the emotional crucible of combat. For example, once a year every Marine from the guards on American embassy gates to the Commandant of the Corps has to pass a physical fitness test (running and various other exercises), or be drummed out. In addition, every Marine always has to be fully qualified as a rifleman with the M16A2 5.56mm combat rifle; and officers also have to be fully qualified with the M9 9mm pistol. You might consider such standards petty, but when the call of 'Enemy sappers on the wire!' is shouted, you want everyone from cooks to fighter pilots armed and ready to fight, shoulder to shoulder. This is the Marine way of doing things, and it has been for over 220 years.

Along with common standards and skills, every Marine shares a common heritage. This is more than just textbook history, for the Corps leadership believes that Marines need to know they are part of a team with a past, a present, and a future. What they do today is based upon the lessons of the past, just as the future should be based on a firm foundation of present experience. For Marines, their rich past is a living, ever-present reality. The Marines,