scouting, designating, and damage assessment for offshore ships and artillery, as well as attack helicopters and aircraft. In an age when many of the traditional Marine fire-support assets have been retired or cut back, proper use and direction of what is left will be crucial to the success of the overall Marine mission.
MEU (SOC) Training and Qualifications
It is easy to see that an ARG/MEU (SOC) team can accomplish a large number of missions. Still, this number is — and has to be — limited. The MEU (SOC) concept is successful because MEU (SOC) units stick to doing what they do well! Reaching the level of proficiency required for these missions is hard on a MEU (SOC)'s personnel, and expensive for the taxpayers. Nevertheless, few people who understand a MEU (SOC)'s capabilities would ever question the costs. Especially, someone like Scott O'Grady.
Preparing a MEU (SOC) for a cruise takes time. Each cruise lasts six months, and it takes three MEU (SOC) s/ARGs to keep one forward-deployed full-time. This is why three are on each coast. To support this requirement, the MEU (SOC)/ARG teams work on a fifteen-month cycle that looks like this:
• Refit/Basic Refresher Training (Months 1 through 3)-If there is a period of rest for the personnel of the various MEU (SOC)/ARG components, this is it. During this time the ships can squeeze in a dockyard period to repair and upgrade equipment and systems. This is also the time when new personnel rotate in to replace outgoing ones. Meanwhile, everyone else has an opportunity to take some leave and/or spend some time with the family. Life in an expeditionary unit is tough on the people in it; any time they can get away is treasured. When they're not on leave, or with their families (such time is all too short!), they get 'back-to-basics,' so they can have their primary skills down pat for the coming workup period.
• MEU (SOC) Workup/Qualification Period (Months 4 through 9)-During this period, the various MEU (SOC) component units come together and learn to work as a team. The ships of the ARG are then added to the training exercises, so that by the end of the process, the entire force functions as a team. Meanwhile, the MEU (SOC) goes through a complete workup and qualification process that is carefully supervised by specialists from the Marine Corps Special Operations Training Group (SOTG).
• Deployment (Months 10 through 15)-The whole process pays off in the deployment phase-when the MEU (SOC)/ARG teams are out on cruise. Because there are seven MEU (SOC)s in service (the 11th, 13th, and 15th on the West Coast, the 22nd, 24th, and 26th on the East Coast, and the 31 st at Okinawa), two or three will be at sea at any given time. For the National Command Authorities, this translates to having one MEU (SOC) always in the Mediterranean, one always in the Western Pacific, and one occasionally in the Persian Gulf.
The key to making this all happen is the MEU (SOC) Workup/Qualification Period. For the MEU (SOC), this is the functional equivalent of a National Training Center (NTC) or Red/Green Flag rotation for an Army or Air Force unit-with the added dimension that it lasts six months! That is a long time to prepare for a cruise that will last half a year, and it takes a toll on the personnel and equipment. Still, the old saying goes, 'The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in war.' It is true. The training and examination during this period are incredibly intense. Training and evaluation periods are round-the-clock, and it is rare for the personnel of the MEU (SOC) and ARG to get more than four to six hours of sleep a night. In fact, most Marines 1 spoke with would claim that the workup/qualification period is actually tougher than actual combat operations!
The actual standards and syllabus for this process are spelled out in a document called Marine Corps Order 3502, which was issued in 1995. It lays out the step-by-step procedure for taking a BLT, an HMM, an MSSG, and other Marine units, and turning them into a fully qualified MEU (SOC). At the end of the process, there is a final examination called a Special Operations Capability Exercise or SOCEX. To gain the (SOC) designation for their unit, the MEU must pass every single point in the book to the satisfaction of some very tough judges — both their regular evaluators and folks from the Marine Special Operations Training Group (SOTG), the keepers of the MEU (SOC) syllabus. According to Marines and sailors who have done it before, the qualification process is six months of pure hell, with two really bad weeks at the end!
The initial training phase is designed to pull the various Marine and Navy component units together. The process is much like a pro football mini-camp at the start of training where rookies and veterans can get to know each other. Major events in this phase include:
• ARG/MEU (SOC) Workshop—A '101-level' course for the various component and ships staffs.
• Special Skills Courses—These classes are the specialized training courses that provide the essential technical skills for the various SOC-type missions.
• Initial At-Sea Training — This phase represents the first at-sea merger of the various Navy and Marine components. Much of the time is dedicated to 'bread-and-butter' skills like quickly and safely loading helicopters and landing craft, as well as basic amphibious and helicopter assault techniques. There are also several training exercises during a workup, depending upon ship and training range availability.
• Fire Support Coordination Exercise—Since one of the most important and difficult skills required for the full range of MEU (SOC) missions is calling in supporting fire from ships, artillery, and aircraft, there is a special live-fire exercise run to hone these skills.
All of these activities are designed to provide the ARG and MEU (SOC) personnel with a foundation of skills and experience for the Intermediate Phase of training. Much like learning how to walk before you run, the Initial Phase gives you the confidence to do simple things, so that more difficult tasks are possible.
The Intermediate Phase turns the basic MEU into a truly dangerous weapon, the MEU (SOC). The emphasis is on taking the teamwork and synergy developed in the Initial Phase and combining these with the missions spelled out in Marine Corps Order 3120.9. It is a tough period, over three months in length. The Marines and sailors of the various components and ships spend most of their time in the field or at sea. By the time the phase is over, the personnel of the ARG/MEU (SOC) team will be a fully functional — and keenly sharp — combat unit. The following events make up the Intermediate Phase:
• Maritime Special Purpose Force (MSPF) Interoperability Training— This training is for fifty or so members of the MEU (SOC)'s Maritime Special Purpose Force (MPSF — a specially formed team of Marine Force Reconnaissance personnel trained in the more extreme forms of special operations). These tasks include small boat and underwater insertions, demolitions, mountain warfare, and close-quarters fighting.
• TRUE Training/Exercise — TRUE training provides the opportunity for tactical training in unfamiliar urban environments. To enhance its realism and effectiveness, actual cities around the U.S. (such as San Francisco, New Orleans, etc.) are used to provide the Marines with a real-world environment to practice this difficult set of mission skills.
• Marine Expeditionary Unit Exercise (MEUEX)—The MEUEX is the first real opportunity for the ARG and MEU (SOC) commanders to evaluate how well their units are performing. With the assistance of the SOTG, they run the sailors and Marines through a week of continuous operations, one mission after another. It is the functional equivalent of running an O'Grady-type TRAP mission and an amphibious raid on alternate days.
• Gas/Oil Platform and Maritime Interdiction Operational Training — In former years only the West Coast MEU (SOC)s were trained for these maritime missions. Now all MEU (SOC) units are qualified to deal with them.
• Long Range Night Raid Training— Long a Marine specialty, raids against enemy targets are a valuable tool for national decision makers. This particular part of Intermediate Phase training emphasizes night raids with long transits to and from the target.
• Intermediate At-Sea Training Phase — There are one or more at-sea training periods, which are used to practice various missions. The exact mix of missions and training is at the discretion of the ARG/MEU (SOC) staff, and is limited mainly by ship and training range availability.
By the time the Intermediate Phase is completed, the ARG/MEU (SOC) team is almost ready for their final examination, the SOCEX. Before that begins, they are given a short break to catch their breath, do required
