1st Force Reconnaissance Company
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1st Force Reconnaissance Company was a marines special operations-capable forces unit that conducted amphibious reconnaissance, commando style raids, deep reconnaissance, irregular warfare, long-range penetration, and special reconnaissance in support of
I Marine Expeditionary Force The I Marine Expeditionary Force ("I" pronounced "One") is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) of the United States Marine Corps primarily composed of the 1st Marine Division, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and 1st Marine Logistics Group. It i ...
requirements across the range of military operations to include crisis response, expeditionary operations and major combat operations. 1st Force Recon Company was deactivated on 26 October 2006 and the majority of the personnel were used to establish the 1st Marine Raider Battalion (1st MRB). On deactivation, General
James Mattis James Norman Mattis (born September 8, 1950) is an American military officer who served as the 26th United States secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. A retired Marine Corps four-star general, he commanded forces in the Persian Gulf War, th ...
, the MEF Commanding General at the time, transferred two Force Recon platoons to 1st Reconnaissance Battalion to establish Delta Company. In 2008 Delta Company, 1st Recon Company was redesignated the I MEF Force Reconnaissance Company and given its own Marine Command Code (MCC). It continues to provide
I Marine Expeditionary Force The I Marine Expeditionary Force ("I" pronounced "One") is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) of the United States Marine Corps primarily composed of the 1st Marine Division, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and 1st Marine Logistics Group. It i ...
and its subordinate MAGTFs with
Corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...
level reconnaissance, battlespace shaping and direct action raids.


Mission

The 1st Force Reconnaissance Company of the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
(USMC) was a
United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance Force Reconnaissance (FORECON) are United States Marine Corps reconnaissance units that provide amphibious reconnaissance, deep ground reconnaissance, surveillance, battle-space shaping and limited scale raids in support of a Marine Expeditiona ...
(FORECON) unit that organized, trained, and equipped reconnaissance units to support the I Marine Expeditionary Force. 1st Force Recon Company conducted nine Mission Essential Tasks (METs). *MET 1: Plan, coordinate and conduct amphibious / ground reconnaissance and surveillance to observe, identify and report enemy activity, and collect other information of military significance *MET 2: Conduct specialized reconnaissance. Assist in specialized engineer, NBC, radio, mobile and other unique reconnaissance missions *MET 3: Conduct Initial Terminal Guidance (ITG) for helicopters, landing craft and parachutists *MET 4: Designate and engage selected targets with Force Fires and other operations to support battlespace shaping. This includes terminal guidance of precision-guided munitions *MET 5: Conduct post-strike reconnaissance to determine and report battle damage to a specific target or area *MET 6: Conduct counter-reconnaissance *MET 7: Conduct limited scale raids *MET 8: Conduct insertion / extraction of reconnaissance forces in support of recon operations *MET 9: Conduct other operations as directed by the supported commander


Organization

1st Force Recon Company's table of organization consisted of a headquarters and service platoon and six Force Reconnaissance platoons. 1st Force would often be augmented by reserve forces from 3rd Force Reconnaissance Company (3rd Force Recon) and 4th Force Reconnaissance Company (4th Force Recon) for combat deployments.


History

First Force Reconnaissance Company was activated on 19 June 1957 at Camp Margarita (Area 33),
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by O ...
, California. It was formed from the Reconnaissance Platoon of Marine Corps Test Unit#1 that was assigned to take over the guideon of 1st Amphibious Reconnaissance Company, that was under command of Captain "Cycle" Michael Sparks. Many Marines from the amphib recon company and 1st Reconnaissance Battalion augmented the new
Fleet Marine Force The United States Fleet Marine Forces (FMF) are combined general and special forces within the United States Department of the Navy that perform offensive amphibious or expeditionary warfare and defensive maritime employment. The Fleet Marine ...
-''level'' reconnaissance capabilities to force commanders.Bruce F. Meyers, ''Fortune Favors the Brave: The Story of First Force Recon,'' (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2000). The company's first
company commander A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a captain. Most companies are made up of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and struc ...
was Major Bruce F. Meyers, with Captain Joseph Z. Taylor as his
executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...
. Meyers was MCTU#1's project test officer that led the development and refinement of submarine insertions/extractions techniques, low level static line and military free fall parachute insertion, the closed-circuit SCUBA procedures and capabilities developed the initial
deep reconnaissance A long-range reconnaissance patrol, or LRRP, is a small, well-armed reconnaissance team that patrols deep into enemy-held territory.Ankony, Robert C., ''Lurps: A Ranger's Diary of Tet, Khe Sanh, A Shau, and Quang Tri,'' revised ed., Rowman & Li ...
capability within the
Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...
. 1st Force Recon pioneered the High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) parachuting technique in 1958 that allowed for a more secure and accurate insertion of a deep reconnaissance team. By 1958, approximately half of the 1st Force Reconnaissance Company was reassigned and transferred to
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune ( or ) is a United States Armed Forces, United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for Amphibious warfare, amphibious assault training, an ...
,
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
to form the
2nd Force Reconnaissance Company The Second Force Reconnaissance Company was the deep reconnaissance/direct action that was assigned to the Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic and its subordinate elements of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force. Mission The company augmented active-dut ...
; under command of Joseph Z. Taylor, promoted to Major. 1st Platoon, Sub Unit #1, embarked onto the USS ''Cook'' (APD-130) and sailed for southern
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, to the
Royal Thai Navy The Royal Thai Navy (Abbreviation, Abrv: RTN, ทร.; , ) is the Navy, naval warfare force of Thailand. Established in 1906, it was modernised by the Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse (1880–1923) who is known as the father of the Royal N ...
base of Sattahip, in December 1964. The 1st Platoon conducted reconnaissance patrols with the
Royal Thai Marine Corps The Royal Thai Marine Corps or RTMC ( are the marines of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN). The Royal Thai Marine Corps was founded in 1932, when the first battalion was formed with the assistance of the United States Marine Corps (USMC). It was expanded ...
, with one Thai Marine attached to each of the 4-man force recon teams. By the end of January, they finished their recon operations in Thailand and sailed for Vietnam for the planned amphibious landings in March 1965.


Vietnam War

Prior to the first Marine amphibious landings made by the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade in March 1965, 1st Platoon, Sub Unit #1, 1st Force Reconnaissance Company (-) led by Captain David Whittingham, conducted preliminary reconnaissance of the planned amphibious beach landing sites from 23-7 February 1965. By early May 1965, the 2nd Platoon had joined 1st Platoon with the Subordinate Unit #1 and both platoons were assigned to the United States Special Forces A-Team, A-103, conducting specialized reconnaissance and combat raiding missions. They operated from
Da Nang Da Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons (, ) is the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the Western Pacific Ocean of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one of Vietnam's most important p ...
, Phu Bai,
Chu Lai Chu Lai is a seaport, urban and industrial area in Núi Thành District, Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam. The city is served by Chu Lai International Airport. It is also the site of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone (Vietnamese: ''Khu Kinh Tế Má ...
, Gia Vuc and Kham Duc, in the I Corps Tactical Zone (ICTZ). Their mission was to collect any enemy intelligence in the mountain approaches to the Marines' tactical
area of operation In U.S. armed forces parlance, an area of operations (AO) is an operational area defined by the force commander for land, air, and naval forces' conduct of combat and non-combat activities. Areas of operations do not typically encompass the entire ...
along with the
Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
border, and to report any findings directly to the
general staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...
of the III Marine Amphibious Force. November 1965, 2nd Platoon was attached to the Special Forces team A-106 at Ba To. A combined patrol from Ba To was attacked on the night of 16 December and three Marines, a Green Beret Sergeant, and 10 members of the Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) were killed. By mid-December 1965, 3rd platoon arrived in the Republic of Vietnam and was attached to Special Forces team A-107 at Tra Bong. The rest of the Force Recon Company (its remaining two platoons, 4th and 5th Plt.) arrived in June 1965. The company departed South Vietnam in August 1970. They conducted more than 2,200 reconnaissance patrols and participated in numerous operations, including the battle for Hue City. 1st Force was deactivated on 30 September 1974 and its personnel rolled into the deep reconnaissance company of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion.


Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) MEU(SOC)

1st Force was reactivated in 1986.
General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
Alfred M. Gray, the 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps, pioneered a Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) (SOC) concept in 1987. On 11–13 November 1994, the Force Recon Marines aboard the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit conducted a Maritime Interdiction Operation/Visit Board Search and Seizure (MIO/VBSS) mission aboard the Honduran-flagged merchant vessel Ajmer, which was in violation of United Nations sanctions on Iraq. The 11th MEU Force Reconnaissance Platoon supported a
Non-combatant evacuation operation A Non-combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) is an operation conducted to Emergency evacuation, evacuate civilians from another country, generally due to a deteriorating security situation. Australia *2021 - Fall of Kabul (2021), Afghanistan Chin ...
in Asmara, Eritrea, on 6 June 1998. Operation Safe Departure was conducted as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of American citizens in the midst of a heated border dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia. All total, 172 persons, including 105 Americans, were safely evacuated to Amman, Jordan, via KC-130 aerial transport. The Force Recon platoon provided embassy reinforcement and security for the MEU forward command element. Force Reconnaissance Marines on the 11th MEU, 13th MEU and 15th MEU supported humanitarian assistance operations in East Timor in 1999 and 2000.


Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm

In 1990 1st Force Reconnaissance company was deployed to Kuwait in support of
Operation Desert Shield , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
. Force Reconnaissance Marines established observation posts and conducted motorized patrols along the Kuwaiti Border.
Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
was launched in January 1991. Force Recon teams located enemy armored units and utilized artillery and Close Air Support to interdict themMarine Force Recon, Fred J. Pushies


Operation Restore Hope

In 1993 7th Platoon deployed with the 15th MEU and conducted amphibious reconnaissance along the Somali coastline. Two teams infiltrated the Mogadishu port facility, established observation positions at the Mogadishu airport, and supported a raid company from 2nd Bn, 9th Marines with fire support. The remainder of 1st Force flew into the airport and conducted reconnaissance and raids in support of the United Task Force (UNITAF). They also provided Personal Security Detachments for high-ranking officials to include General Johnston, the UNITAF Commanding General, and Colonel Wilhelm who commanded the Marine component of UNITAF.


Global War on terrorism

In 2001, 2nd Platoon was deployed in support of the 15th MEU and participated in the invasion of Afghanistan, In 2003, 1st Force Recon Company, augmented with platoons from 3rd Force Reconnaissance Company and 4th Force, participated in the
invasion of Iraq An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives ...
. 3rd Platoon, deployed in support of the 15th MEU went ashore during the invasion and participated in the
battle of Nasiriyah The Battle of Nasiriyah was fought between the US 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade and Iraqi forces from 23 March to 2 April 2003 during the US-led invasion of Iraq. On the night of 24–25 March, the bulk of the Marines of Regimental Comb ...
and supported the rescue of PFC
Jessica Lynch Jessica Dawn Lynch (born April 26, 1983) is an American teacher, actress, and former United States Army soldier who served in the 2003 invasion of Iraq as a private first class. On March 23, 2003, she was serving as a unit supply specialist ...
In 2004 a Force Recon Platoon deployed in support of the 11th MEU participated in the Battle of Najaf and a platoon was attached to Regimental Combat Team 1 for Operation Phantom Fury, commonly known as the Battle of Fallujah. In 2005–2006, 1st Force Recon Company, augmented with platoons from 3d and 4th Reconnaissance BN, participated in the
Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...
. Platoons participated in numerous campaigns during this time to include Operation Matador in the city of Al Qaim, and Operation Sword in the town of Hit. To note: After 2006, 1st Force Recon was deactivated and formed 1st Marine Raider Battalion, in 2008 a Force Company was stood up under "Delta" Company in 1st Recon Battalion to serve as IMEF's Deep Recon capability, it was later renamed to Force Company, 1st Recon Battalion and carried on the legacy of 1st Force Recon


Training

During its beginning formation within the
1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine (military), Marine Division (military), division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine E ...
, 1st Force Recon conducted sustainment training in obstacle clearing for landing zone preparation in support of early-Marine Corps helicopter-borne operations; and other mission-essential
amphibious reconnaissance Amphibious reconnaissance consists of ground and naval reconnaissance in the littoral area bordering coastal or ocean areas. History Evolution of the doctrine At the turn of the 20th century, amphibious reconnaissance was first conceived ...
, parachute insertion, and
pathfinder Pathfinder, Path Finder or Pathfinders may refer to: Aerospace * ''Mars Pathfinder'', a NASA Mars Lander * NASA Pathfinder, a high-altitude, solar-powered uncrewed aircraft * Space Shuttle ''Pathfinder'', a Space Shuttle test simulator Arts and ...
tasks. Because of the efforts made by Meyers and his other adjoining Marine and Navy parachute testers, they developed the Helicopter Rope Suspension methods, plus invented the Special Personnel Insertion/Extraction (SPIE) rigging that are widely used by
Special Operations Forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
services worldwide. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, 1st Force Recon Company trained in a variety of locations during their Unit Training Phase. These locations included: *Joint Readiness Training Center,
Fort Polk Fort Polk, formerly Fort Johnson, is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, about 10 miles (15 km) east of Leesville and 30 miles (50 km) north of DeRidder in Beauregard Parish. Named after New Yo ...
, Louisiana * Fort Lewis, Washington *
Mountain Warfare Training Center The Mountain Warfare Training Center (MWTC) is a United States Marine Corps installation located in Pickel Meadows in Mono County, California, at above sea level in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Toiyabe National Forest, northwest of Br ...
, California *
Yuma Proving Ground Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) is a United States Army series of environmentally specific test centers with its Yuma Test Center (YTC) being one of the largest military installations in the world. It is subordinate to the U.S. Army Test and Evalua ...
, Arizona * Fort Irwin Military Reservation, California *
Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake is a large military installation in California that supports the research, testing and evaluation programs of the United States Navy. It is part of Navy Region Southwest under Commander, Navy Instal ...
, California * Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, California


References

* Field Manual (FM) 7-92, ''The Infantry Reconnaissance Platoon and Squad (Airborne, Air Assault, Light Infantry)'

* Marine Corps Reference Publication (MCRP) 2-1C, ''Marine Air Ground Task Force Intelligence Dissemination'

* Marine Corps Order (MCO) 3500.20B, ''Marine Corps Parachuting and Diving Policy and Program Administration'

* Marine Corps Warfighting Publication (MCWP) 2-1, ''Intelligence Operations'

* MCO 3500.42A, ''Marine Corps Helicopter Rope Suspension Techniques (HRST) Policy and Program Administration'

* MCO 1510.125, ''Individual Training Standards (ITS) Systems for Marine Combat Water Survival Training (MCWST)'

* MCO 3502.2A, ''Marine Expeditionary Units (Special Operations Capable) (MEU(SOC)) Special Skills Certification Program'

* MCO 3502.3A, ''Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) Predeployment Training Program (PTP)''


External links


Marine widow travels to Vietnam and finds her MIA husband's F-4 jet crash site who was supporting 1st Force Recon
{{DEFAULTSORT:1st Force Reconnaissance Company United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance Companies of the United States Marine Corps