Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Inside The Navy
April 7, 2008
Pg. 1
Two years after its official stand-up in February 2006, the nascent Marine Corps Special Operations Command is heavily engaged in combat operations in Afghanistan and conducting training around the globe, MARSOC chief Maj. Gen. Dennis Hejlik said last week.
“Between February 2007 to February 2008, we’ve had over 26 Purple Hearts, two killed in action, both in Afghanistan, and we’ve had -- with no exaggeration -- 250 combat action ribbons,” Hejlik told Inside the Navy in a phone interview from his headquarters at Camp Lejeune, NC. “The guys from the [Marine Corps Special Operations Companies] have been heavily involved in combat in Afghanistan.”
The command currently has an end strength of more than 1,800 Marines -- just shy of 75 percent of its targeted end strength of 2,600 by Oct. 1. Hejlik said last week that the command should be close to reaching the 2,600 target at the start of fiscal year 2009.
“We should be fully operational by Oct. 1 this year -- that was our direction when we first started,” he said. “We’ll have about 92 percent of our personnel and about 90 percent of our equipment.”
The general explained that “fully operational” is different than being “fully mission-capable,” which will not occur until FY-10. Full mission capability refers to the ability to do all missions across the spectrum of operations, Hejlik noted.
The command will not be at full mission capability for another year because of the time it takes to build the MARSOC support forces, which include communicators, intelligence specialists and logistics personnel.
“That is because of the high-demand, low-density [military occupational specialties], specifically intelligence and communications and some logistics,” Hejlik said.
MARSOC is divided into three components: Marine Corps Special Operations Companies (MSOCs) that conduct direct action and reconnaissance missions; Marine Corps Special Operations Adviser Groups (MSOAGs) that train and advise foreign forces; and the support wing.
The adviser groups, which have deployed with a high frequency since 2006, have had a high degree of success, the general noted, but the initial MSOC deployment -- dubbed MSOC Fox Company -- did not go as well.
After an incident near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, where Marine special operators reportedly opened fire on civilians after a suicide bombing, the company was ordered out of the country.
“The hard lesson learned for us from MSOC F was a good lesson and it was twofold,” Hejlik said last week.
The first lesson was that the company did not understand combined planning with the other forces in the region, he said.
“Frankly, we just didn’t do that very well,” the general said.
The planning process was improved before the next company deployed, Hejlik noted.
“The next company that went out there, we worked a lot more closely with whichever group was on their way to Afghanistan,” he explained. “And now you’ve got the commanders from the MSOC and the [other U.S. Special Operations Command groups in theater] tied at the hip early on. They understand each other’s planning process and each other’s command-and-control and that has been a huge factor.”
The other lesson involved making sure the company had the proper support structure in theater.
“And lesson two is when you send a unit forward, you have to make sure they have sustainment and maintenance capability,” Hejlik said.
“You would think as a Marine that that comes second nature to us -- and it does -- however, we relied too heavily upon in-theater assets, ” he continued. “The ability to have support from U.S. units that are in theater, it just really wasn’t there. We learned that early on.”
In-theater assets in Afghanistan at the time were “immature,” the general explained, but he said things have improved since the first MSOC deployment.
Now, there are two MSOCs operating in Afghanistan. One operates in the western province of Herat in the northwestern part of the country and the other in the province of Helmand in the south.
Tactics, techniques and procedures for the Marine special operators downrange have not changed, according to the general.
In years to come, Hejlik -- who has been nominated for a third star and command of II Marine Expeditionary Unit -- said MARSOC will focus on improving its unconventional warfare capabilities.
“What we need to continue to work very hard on is the unconventional warfare [UW] piece,” he said. “And we’re doing that.”
This will take time, Hejlik added.
“There’s certain training that you’ve got to have and it’s experience-based, language-based, culture-based,” he explained. “That will take us a little bit longer. I would see us being proficient in UW in the next five to 10 years, somewhere in that time frame.”
-- Zachary M. Peterson
April 7, 2008
Pg. 1
Two years after its official stand-up in February 2006, the nascent Marine Corps Special Operations Command is heavily engaged in combat operations in Afghanistan and conducting training around the globe, MARSOC chief Maj. Gen. Dennis Hejlik said last week.
“Between February 2007 to February 2008, we’ve had over 26 Purple Hearts, two killed in action, both in Afghanistan, and we’ve had -- with no exaggeration -- 250 combat action ribbons,” Hejlik told Inside the Navy in a phone interview from his headquarters at Camp Lejeune, NC. “The guys from the [Marine Corps Special Operations Companies] have been heavily involved in combat in Afghanistan.”
The command currently has an end strength of more than 1,800 Marines -- just shy of 75 percent of its targeted end strength of 2,600 by Oct. 1. Hejlik said last week that the command should be close to reaching the 2,600 target at the start of fiscal year 2009.
“We should be fully operational by Oct. 1 this year -- that was our direction when we first started,” he said. “We’ll have about 92 percent of our personnel and about 90 percent of our equipment.”
The general explained that “fully operational” is different than being “fully mission-capable,” which will not occur until FY-10. Full mission capability refers to the ability to do all missions across the spectrum of operations, Hejlik noted.
The command will not be at full mission capability for another year because of the time it takes to build the MARSOC support forces, which include communicators, intelligence specialists and logistics personnel.
“That is because of the high-demand, low-density [military occupational specialties], specifically intelligence and communications and some logistics,” Hejlik said.
MARSOC is divided into three components: Marine Corps Special Operations Companies (MSOCs) that conduct direct action and reconnaissance missions; Marine Corps Special Operations Adviser Groups (MSOAGs) that train and advise foreign forces; and the support wing.
The adviser groups, which have deployed with a high frequency since 2006, have had a high degree of success, the general noted, but the initial MSOC deployment -- dubbed MSOC Fox Company -- did not go as well.
After an incident near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, where Marine special operators reportedly opened fire on civilians after a suicide bombing, the company was ordered out of the country.
“The hard lesson learned for us from MSOC F was a good lesson and it was twofold,” Hejlik said last week.
The first lesson was that the company did not understand combined planning with the other forces in the region, he said.
“Frankly, we just didn’t do that very well,” the general said.
The planning process was improved before the next company deployed, Hejlik noted.
“The next company that went out there, we worked a lot more closely with whichever group was on their way to Afghanistan,” he explained. “And now you’ve got the commanders from the MSOC and the [other U.S. Special Operations Command groups in theater] tied at the hip early on. They understand each other’s planning process and each other’s command-and-control and that has been a huge factor.”
The other lesson involved making sure the company had the proper support structure in theater.
“And lesson two is when you send a unit forward, you have to make sure they have sustainment and maintenance capability,” Hejlik said.
“You would think as a Marine that that comes second nature to us -- and it does -- however, we relied too heavily upon in-theater assets, ” he continued. “The ability to have support from U.S. units that are in theater, it just really wasn’t there. We learned that early on.”
In-theater assets in Afghanistan at the time were “immature,” the general explained, but he said things have improved since the first MSOC deployment.
Now, there are two MSOCs operating in Afghanistan. One operates in the western province of Herat in the northwestern part of the country and the other in the province of Helmand in the south.
Tactics, techniques and procedures for the Marine special operators downrange have not changed, according to the general.
In years to come, Hejlik -- who has been nominated for a third star and command of II Marine Expeditionary Unit -- said MARSOC will focus on improving its unconventional warfare capabilities.
“What we need to continue to work very hard on is the unconventional warfare [UW] piece,” he said. “And we’re doing that.”
This will take time, Hejlik added.
“There’s certain training that you’ve got to have and it’s experience-based, language-based, culture-based,” he explained. “That will take us a little bit longer. I would see us being proficient in UW in the next five to 10 years, somewhere in that time frame.”
-- Zachary M. Peterson