United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) is a component command of the United States Special Operations Command that comprises the Marine Corps' contribution to SOCOM. Its core capabilities are direct action, special reconnaissance and foreign internal defense. MARSOC has also been directed to conduct counter-terrorism, and information operations. The first Marine Special Operations Company was stood up in June 2006, shortly after the creation of MARSOC. It was deployed supporting the Global War on Terrorism in December 2013 alongside the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) where they conducted various special operations missions, ranging from Direct action (military), reconnaissance and other mission sets. The first Marine Special Operations Individual Training Course began at Camp Lejeune on 6 October 2008.[4] MARSOC's stated end-goal is 850 CSOs.
On August 6 of 2014, MARSOC was renamed the Marine Raiders after the fabled and elite World War II unit.
The legendary Raiders existed for a short, kinetic period between 1942 and 1944. During those years, the four Raider battalions conducted amphibious raids in the Asia-Pacific region as one of the first U.S. special operations contingents to fight in the war. They were later disbanded, and the battalions were re-purposed under 4th Marine Regiment. Those units remain active across the Marine Corps. The Marines' reconnaissance battalions can also lay claim to the Raiders bloodline. Prior to MARSOC's activation, the elite recon units were the Marines' closest connection to the special operations world. When MARSOC was created in 2006, its first personnel came from 1st and 2nd Force Reconnaissance Companies, which were briefly deactivated due to a lack of manpower. The Raiders influence can be seen in the insignias used by all these units. The 1st Battalion, 4th Marines emblem uses a version of the Raiders' Southern Cross, while the Marines' four reconnaissance battalions — three active and one Reserve — all feature an adaptation of the iconic skull. MoD analysts in this report further note that although the “official” Marine Raider designation patch does not contain the “death’s head skull”, substituting it for a dagger, it is allowed to be worn unofficially, and as reported by the US Marine Corp News Service: “Regardless of philosophy and lineage, however, MARSOC’s Raiders will continue to sport the vintage skull patch, albeit in an unauthorized capacity. Though not formally approved for uniform use, MARSOC troops have made a habit of donning the patch during deployments. “That insignia is a source of pride and has been a source of pride,” said Maj. Ed Norris, the commanding officers of 3rd Marine Raider Support Battalion. “It is something that Marines have identified with T-shirts, with hats, really just to honor the Marines that have gone before us. And now to officially have that is an honor.”.
The Afghan National Army (ANA) is the main branch of the Afghan Armed Forces, responsible for ground warfare. It is under the Ministry of Defense in Kabul and is being heavily assisted by the United States andNATO. The ANA is divided into six regional Corps, with the 201st in Kabul followed by the 203rd in Gardez, 205th in Kandahar, 207th in Herat, 209th in Mazar-i-Sharif and the 215th in Lashkar Gah. The current Chief of Staff of the Afghan National Army is Lieutenant General Sher Mohammad Karimi. Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) comprise several units including the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police, Afghan National Civil Order Police, Afghan Border Police, General Directorate of Police Special Unit, Afghan Provincial Response Company, Afghan Local Police and Afghan Partnering Unit. Afghan National Army Commando Corps, or simply the ANA Commando Corps, was formed from existing infantry battalions of the Afghan National Army. The program was established in early 2007 with the intent of taking one conventional battalion from each of the ANA corps, giving them special training and equipment, and reorganizing based on a U.S. 75th Ranger Regiment battalion. Each battalion is assigned to one of the seven military corps. The commandos constitute about 7% of the 300,000-strong Afghan National Security Forces but conduct roughly 75% of the fighting against the Taliban and associated militant groups September 2007: The first ANA Commando Battalion graduated on July 24, 2007, with Col. Fareed Ahmadi as the battalion commander. This ANA Commando Battalion conducted its first operation, a two-day mission in September 2007, 30 miles southwest of Jalalabad in the Sherzad district of Nangarhar province. There they captured two large weapons caches, over 80 kg of opium and detained Haji Shir Khan, a known improvised explosive device maker. November 2007: 3rd Company, 1st Commando Kandak (201st), conducted an air-assault Raid at dawn on the compound of a high-level Taliban facilitator, kicking off a four-day offensive operation named Operation Commando Fury in the Tag Ab Valley, Kapisa Province, Nov. 10-14, 2007. A joint effort by the Afghan National Police and Afghan National Army assisted the Commando battalion in disrupting the Taliban hold on the Tag Ab Valley. December 2007: The second ANA Commando Battalion, originally from the 203rd Corps, conducted a series of raids throughout the Sabari district in Afghanistan's Khowst province, Dec. 27–28, 2007. During the operation, the force arrested a suspected major insurgent facilitator primarily associated with the Hizb-i-Islami Afghanistan terrorist organization and believed to have ties to the Haqqani network terrorist group, the Taliban and al-Qaida. The combined Afghan force conducted the two-day operation without a shot being fired. January 2008: The third ANA Commando Battalion, originally from the 205th Corps, along with Coalition forces, conducted a four-day operation to disrupt insurgents activity in the volatile Tag Ab Valley of Kapisa Province January 19–23, 2008. The 205th Commandos patrolled the Naghlu Reservoir to the village of Jangali in order to disrupt insurgent activities in the center of the valley as the combined force moved north. This operation served as a graduation exercise to providing confidence in the abilities of the newly formed Commando Kandak. February 2008: The second ANA Commando Battalion (203rd Corps), along with Coalition forces, captured a key insurgent facilitator in Khost Province February 9, 2008. The Ministry of Defense announced that ANA forces captured a known Taliban commander, Nasimulla, during a combined operation in the Dand Faqiran area of Yaqubi District. February 2008: 1st Company of the first ANA Commando Battalion (201st), conducted a night air-assault Raid in the Helmand Province to capture the Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Bari. Bari was one of the top remaining Taliban field commanders able to launch deadly attacks in Helmand and Uruzgan province. He led Taliban operations against the British in northern Helmand province in the Kajaki, Musa Qala, and Baghran districts. Bari was the former governor of Helmand under the Taliban regime. The operation, named "Say Laab", meaning flood, utilized multiple helicopters and put over 100 commandos onto four separate targets simultaneously. Bari and 29 Taliban fighters were killed during the five-hour-long operation. The exact date of the operation wasn't given, but was reported by CJTF-82 media center on March 1, 2008.[19][20] April 2008: one Commando Battalion (unknown designation) conducted operations in Nuristan Province on April 6, reportedly netted several members of the terrorist group Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin (HIG). The mission led to a coalition airstrike that, along with the ground fighting, left as many as 20 insurgents dead.[21] See Battle of Shok Valley In July 2012, the Afghan commandos conducted their first successful night operation. Pentagon Press Secretary George Little told the media that: "Last night in Afghanistan, US special operations joined Afghan commandos from the first special operations battalion in a full mission exercise demonstrating a night air assault. This was an Afghan plan, an Afghan-led mission. Afghan pilots flew four helicopters during the exercise, which involved more than 50 Afghan commandos, and US special operations forces acting in an advisory capacity. In the exercise, the commandos successfully discovered and apprehended a person of interest, recovered weapons and intelligence." In March 2013, U.S. special operations forces handed over their strategic base in Wardak Province to local Afghan commandos. Afghan commandos gradually began taking over the lead from NATO forces the fight against insurgents.[24] In April 2013, Afghan commandos killed 22 insurgents in Nangarhar Province and captured another 10 insurgents. On September 20, 2014, local officials in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan reported that Taliban insurgents from different regions of the country led by camouflaged men wearing black masks and captured several villages, set at least 60 homes on fire, killed more than 100 people and beheaded fifteen family members of local police officers. The masked insurgents reportedly carried the black flag of ISIL, openly called themselves soldiers of Daesh, and did not speak any local languages. Deputy Police Chief General Asadullah Ensafi reported that Taliban ambushes stopped reinforcements from the Afghan National Army and provincial police from reaching the area. Afghan commandos inserted by helicopter were able to reinforce units already defending the area and Ensafi reported that the "immediate threat to district's center had been nullified." For further information see 2014 ISIL beheading incidents
