Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit

The Ground Component: BLT 2/6 Marines

The GCE of the 26th MEU (SOC) is the heavy combat element of the MAGTF. Composed of a reinforced BLT, it is designed to provide Colonel Battaglini and his CE with the necessary personnel and equipment for anything from making a forced-entry amphibious assault, to attempting a non-combatant evacuation of an embassy or other facility. The 26th MEU (SOC)'s GCE is made up of BLT 2/6 out of Camp Lejeune. It is a proud unit, with a long history of service to the nation. The 2/6's combat record dates back to Belleau Wood in World War I, and includes service in such varied actions as Shanghai, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, and Beirut. The 2/6 is currently commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John R. Allen, a Naval Academy graduate of the Class of 1976, who also carries around a pair of master's degrees in government and strategic intelligence studies. A native of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, he has the distinction of having served on the very first MEU (SOC) deployment by the 26th back in 1985. It almost killed him. Injured in a CH-46 crash during the unit's workup, he recovered and has stayed with the Corps. Colonel Allen is a cerebral sort of Marine who is always considering new ways to use the force that the Corps has given him to command. Whether it's exploring the use of AAV-7A1 amphibious tractors as gunboats for riverine warfare, or figuring out new means of deception to help cover his reconnaissance elements in the field, John Allen is thinking all the time. His senior enlisted advisor is Sergeant Major James Rogers, who looks after the enlisted personnel of the BLT.

^{An organizational chart showing the breakdown of Battalion Landing Team (BLT) 2/6 (2nd Battalion/6th Marines).}

^{JACK RYAN ENTERPRISES, LTD., BY LAURA ALPHER}

BLT 2/6 is a standard Marine rifle battalion, with some extras added to help conduct landing operations. To understand this, we need to have a look at the building blocks of the BLT. As mentioned earlier, the basic Marines combat unit is the four-man fire team. The team leader (usually a corporal equipped with an M16A2 with a clip-on M203 grenade launcher), is assigned two riflemen (also with M16A2s) and an automatic rifleman (with a M249 Squad Automatic Weapon — SAW). By matching up three fire teams with a sergeant, you get a squad. Three squads, with a second lieutenant and platoon (staff) sergeant in command, make up a platoon. From here things get a bit more complicated. By combining three infantry platoons with a heavy weapons platoon (M240G machine guns, M224 60mm mortars, and Mk 153 SRAWs), you get a Marine rifle company, under the command of a captain and his first sergeant. These company and platoon-sized units are the basic elements of the BLT, and are combined as follows:

• BLT Headquarters and Headquarters & Service Company— The BLT headquarters is structured much like that of the MEU (SOC), with 'S'-style staff branches to support administration, operations, intelligence, etc.

• Rifle Companies (3)—There are three of the companies, each with about 150 personnel. Each company is designated by a phonetic letter name, based upon its order within the regiment that it is assigned to. For example, the 1/6 BLT is assigned Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie as their infantry companies. Thus, the 2nd BLT's three infantry companies are designated Echo, Fox, and Golf.

• Heavy Weapons Company (1)—This is the very lethal big brother of the weapons platoons organic to the infantry companies. This company is composed of three platoons: the 81mm Mortar Platoon (eight M252 81mm mortars), the Heavy Weapons Platoon (eight TOW II launchers, six Mk 19 40mm automatic grenade launchers, and six M2 .50-caliber machine guns on armored HMMWVs), and the Anti-Armor Platoon (eight M-47 Dragon launchers). The Heavy Weapons Platoon is organized in three Combined Anti-Armor Teams (CAAT) which combine the high mobility of the HMMWV with the effects and capabilities of the three weapons. In a pinch, these weapons can be mounted on the BLT's six Fast Attack Vehicles (FAVs-black-painted 'dune buggies') which can be carried internally and inserted by the MEU's heavy lift helicopters.

• Artillery Battery (1)—This is a battery of six M 198 towed howitzers, with 5-ton trucks as their prime movers. Additional trucks provide support and ammunition carriage for the battery.

• Light Armored Reconnaissance Platoon (1)—Also known as Task Force Mosby (after the famous Confederate guerrilla fighter) when combined with armed HMMWVs from the heavy weapons company in the 2/6, this is a mixed platoon of wheeled Light Armored Vehicles (LAVs), which are used as an armored reconnaissance and trip-wire force. It usually includes four LAV-25s (with 25mm Bushmaster cannons), two LAV- ATs (with TOW anti-tank missiles), and a LAV-R recovery vehicle.

• Assault Amphibian (AAV) Platoon (1)—The AAV platoon consists of thirteen AAV-7 amphibious assault tractors, along with one each of the recovery and command versions of the AAV-7.

• Surface Rubber Boat Raid and Cliff Assault Company (1)—In addition to the LCACs, LCUs, and AAVs, the BLT can use twenty F470 Zodiac combat rubber raiding craft to support landings, riverine operations, or special insertions into enemy territory.

• Tank Platoon (1)—For the first time in many years, a heavy tank platoon has been included in a MEU (SOC). Composed of four M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks and an M88A1 tank recovery vehicle, it is designed to provide a heavy direct-fire punch for the BLT.

• Combat Engineer (Sapper) Platoon (1)—To support breaching of obstacles, building of causeways, emplacements, and bunkers, as well as other civil engineering functions, BLT 2/6 has been assigned a small but capable combat engineering platoon. Equipped with a bulldozer and other equipment, the sappers provide a variety of engineering and construction services for Lieutenant Colonel Allen and his Marines.

• Reconnaissance Platoon (1)—In addition to the other Force Reconnaissance units that are part of the 26th MEU (SOC), the BLT has its own reconnaissance platoon, which can be combined with the scout/sniper platoon from the BLT headquarters. This concentration of reconnaissance assets is no coincidence, but a planned inclusion. It is based upon the hard-won knowledge that you can never have too many eyes on the battlefield.

• Shore Fire Control Party (1)—This is a small, but vital unit which controls the critical task of planning and executing naval gunfire support. Composed of Marines and sailors, this platoon is capable of rapidly calling for fire, even during the confusing first moments of an amphibious assault

^{Lieutenant Colonel John Allen, the commander of BLT 2/6 during 1995/96, with the author (right). Allen was a junior officer on the first MEU (SOC) cruise back in 1985, and is currently assigned as General Krulak's aide at the Pentagon.}

^{JOHN D. GRESHAM}

All of these assets make BLT 2/6 a highly mobile and compact striking force, with the ability to do a variety of exciting things. For example, by combining the tanks, LAVs, and AAVs, you can rapidly assemble a reinforced armored infantry task force, which can be used for everything from assault operations to rapid response in peacekeeping operations. At the same time, the Marines of BLT 2/6 can be delivered any number of ways to its targets. They can ride on helicopters, LCACs, LCUs, AAVs, or rubber raider boats to get ashore. Maybe more importantly, the ARG and MEU (SOC) have the necessary lift to bring all of the combat power of the BLT ashore nearly simultaneously. This means that BLT 2/6 can hit in many different ways, all at the same time. If there is a weakness, it is that the BLT is mostly composed of 'leg' infantry; it is short on vehicles to help it move about the battlefield. It is also only a single battalion. So Colonel Allen and his staff must carefully pick their fights, maneuvering for position and opportunity to get the most of their limited resources.

Flying Leathernecks: HMM-264

The 26th MEU (SOC)'s ACE is a composite organization, much like the 366th Wing that we visited in Fighter Wing. But unlike that unit, the primary mission of this ACE is the transport and support of operations by the 26th's GCE, BLT 2/6. The 26th's ACE is commanded by Lieutenant Colonel David T.