The Netherlands Maritime Special Operations Forces (NLMARSOF, also simply referred to as MARSOF) is the

special 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 ...

unit of the

Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...

of the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...

. It is one of the three principal units tasked with

special operations Special operations or special ops are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment." Special operations ma ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

(the other being the

Korps Commandotroepen The (KCT) () is the elite special forces unit of the Royal Netherlands Army. The KCT traces its origins to the Second World War with the founding of No. 2 (Dutch) Troop, and the founding of the during the Indonesian War of Independence. At pre ...

and 300SQN). The unit can be deployed worldwide to conduct

, including

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to co ...

both overseas and domestically, with a maritime focus. Its operations are planned and coordinated by the

Netherlands Special Operations Command The Netherlands Special Operations Command (NLD SOCOM) is a joint command of the Netherlands Armed Forces which is responsible for the planning, command and control, execution and evaluation of all operations conducted by the Dutch special operati ...

(NLD SOCOM). The unit was created in 2013 with the merger of the

Unit Interventie Mariniers M-Squadron, formerly the ''Unit Interventie Mariniers'' (Marine Intervention Unit, UIM), and before that known as the ''Bijzondere Bijstandseenheid'' (Special Support Unit, BBE), is an elite Dutch special forces unit which is tasked with conducti ...

(UIM) and the Maritime Special Operations (MSO)-

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

History

Until 2008, the Dutch maritime special forces capability consisted of three distinct units: the Dutch Frogmen Platoon, the Mountain Leader Reconnaissance Troop, and the

. The Dutch Frogmen Platoon has historically had a strong connection with the United Kingdom's

Special Boat Service The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Roy ...

, and was informally often named "7th Troop SBS". The Mountain Leader Reconnaissance Troop (ML Recce Troop), was established in 1990 and modeled after the

Brigade Patrol Troop The Brigade Patrol Troop is a reconnaissance troop of the United Kingdom's Royal Marines and is part of the Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron (SRS) within 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group. History The troop can trace its histor ...

of the United Kingdom's

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

. The

(UIM), named Bijzondere Bijstandseenheid (Special Support Unit) until 2006, was formed on 22 February 1973, in response to a rising threat of terrorist attacks in both Europe and domestically. The main goal of this unit is the countering of large scale and/or complex domestic terrorist attacks. Since 2006 the operational command of UIM is executed by the

Dienst Speciale Interventies The ''Dienst Speciale Interventies'' (''Special Intervention Service''), commonly abbreviated DSI, is the elite police tactical unit of the Dutch Law enforcement in the Netherlands, National Police Corps and was formally established on 1 July 20 ...

of the

Dutch National Police The National Police Corps (), colloquially in English as Dutch National Police or National Police Force, is the centralised, national law enforcement agency of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and its sole police force. Constituted under the prov ...

. In 2008, the Dutch Frogmen Platoon and the ML Recce Troop merged into the Maritime Special Operations Company (MSO-Coy) and were tasked with all amphibious operations for the Royal Netherlands Navy. While commencing in an informal manner in 2009, since 2013 NLMARSOF was officially established as a new operational unit. The MSO-Coy was renamed Conventional-Squadron (C-Squadron), and is tasked with the full spectrum of special operations outside of the Netherlands. UIM was renamed Maritime-Squadron (M-Squadron), and is dedicated to national counter-terrorism missions under operational command of the DSI. Training-Squadron (T-Squadron) will support both M-Squadron and C-Squadron, and is responsible for all training and the recruitment of new operators.

Structure

NLMARSOF currently consists of three operational squadrons, and one dedicated operational support group: * Conventional Squadron (C-Squadron): Tasked with executing the full spectrum of special operations outside of the Netherlands, with an emphasis on long-range reconnaissance patrols. Consists of conventional operators, Mountain Leaders and

Frogmen A frogman is someone who is trained in scuba diving or swimming underwater. The term often applies more to professional rather than recreational divers, especially those working in a tactical capacity that includes military, and in some Europea ...

. * Maritime Counter-Terrorism Squadron (

M-Squadron M-Squadron, formerly the ''Unit Interventie Mariniers'' (Marine Intervention Unit, UIM), and before that known as the ''Bijzondere Bijstandseenheid'' (Special Support Unit, BBE), is an elite Dutch special forces unit which is tasked with conducti ...

): Tasked with conducting domestic counter-terrorist operations under the command of the DSI. M-Squadron trains extensively on the neutralisation of complex terrorist attacks, for example on off-shore oil platforms. * Training Squadron (T-Squadron): Tasked with training of both C- and M-Squadron and the recruitment of new personnel within the

Netherlands Marine Corps The Royal Netherlands Marine Corps () is the elite naval infantry corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy, one of the four Netherlands Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The marines trace their origins to the establishme ...

ranks. * Special Operation Forces Support Group (SOFSG): Tasked with providing material and logistical support for all operations conducted by NLMARSOF.

Tasks

NLMARSOF carries out four main types of operations: *

Direct Action Direct action is a term for economic and political behavior in which participants use agency—for example economic or physical power—to achieve their goals. The aim of direct action is to either obstruct a certain practice (such as a governm ...

(DA): Conducting small-scale offensive operations such as raids, ambushes and sabotage. * Military Assistance (MA): Supplying military support to foreign military units. This support can consist of both providing training and providing assistance during actual operations. *

Special Reconnaissance Special reconnaissance (SR) is conducted by small units, such as a recon team, made up of highly trained military personnel, usually from special forces units and/or military intelligence organizations. Special reconnaissance teams operate behind ...

(SR): Conducting special reconnaissance behind enemy lines, for example monitoring hostile troop movements, while avoiding direct contact with the enemy. *

Counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to co ...

(CT): Conducting both national and international counter terror operations, where NLMARSOF, compared to its army counterpart

, emphasises training for operations in a maritime setting.

Recruitment and training

All new personnel for NLMARSOF is recruited from within the

ranks, there is no possibility for civilians or military personnel from other branches to join NLMARSOF. The training starts with a three-week pre-selection course, the Aptitude. Recruits must endure this pre-selection to qualify for the twenty-week MSOF-course, which will transform the recruits into NLMARSOF-operators. After the MSOF-course, all recruits must complete the fourteen-week Nationale Interventie Opleiding (National Intervention Course), which focuses on domestic counter-terrorist scenarios. The operators that have completed both of these courses are then fully operational to serve in M-Squadron. Operators bound for C-Squadron will have to complete the Mountain Leader or the twelve-week Frogmen course to obtain operational status within C-Squadron.

Units

M-Squadron

M-Squadron was founded as the Bijzondere Bijstandseenheid (BBE, Special Support Unit) in 1972 and was the first dedicated counter-terrorism unit in the Netherlands. Its establishment was deemed necessary after a rise of the terrorist threat level in Europe, such as the Munich Massacre, and domestically, such as the terrorist attacks committed by

Moluccans Moluccans are the Melanesian- Austronesian and Papuan-speaking ethnic groups indigenous to the Maluku Islands (also called the Moluccas). The region was historically known as the Spice Islands, and today consists of two Indonesian provinces o ...

. Domestic operations conducted by M-Squadron take place under the command of the Dienst Speciale Interventies (DSI) of the Dutch National Police since 2006. While the operational command resides with the DSI, M-Squadron continues to be an organisational unit of NLMARSOF and the Netherlands Marine Corps.

C-Squadron

C-Squadron conducts operations outside of the Netherlands and consists of regular NLMARSOF-operators that have completed the MSOF- and NIO-training, and operators that have completed the additional Mountain Leader and/or

training. * The Mountain Leader troop consists of operators who have successfully completed the nine-month training provided by the

Mountain Leader Training Cadre The Mountain Leader Training Cadre is a training element of the United Kingdom's Royal Marines which provides instruction in mountain warfare, arctic warfare, cold weather survival and operations, and cliff assault. The En cadre, cadre has a perma ...

of the

3 Commando Brigade United Kingdom Commando Force (UKCF), previously called 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), is the UK's special operations-capable commando formation of the Royal Marines. It is composed of Royal Marine Commandos and commando qualified personnel f ...

of the United Kingdom's

. This intense course, which partly takes place in northern Norway, trains the aspiring operators in conducting operations in high altitude and arctic environments. * The Frogmen troop consists of operators that have successfully completed the twenty-three-week Kikvorsman (Frogman) course which is provided by the Defensie Duikgroep (Defence Diving Group). During this course, the aspiring frogmen receive extensive training on conducting underwater assaults, reconnaissance, demolition and operating from one of the s of the

Operations

Since its establishment M-Squadron, and its predecessors BBE and UIM, and C-Squadron, and its predecessor MSO-Company, have conducted various famous operations. An overview of some notable operations the units have been involved in: *

1977 Dutch train hijacking On 23 May 1977, a train was hijacked near the village of De Punt, Netherlands. At around 9am, nine armed Moluccans, Moluccan Moluccan diaspora, nationalists pulled the Emergency brake (train), emergency brake and took over 50 people hostage. T ...

. *

1978 Dutch province hall hostage crisis On the morning of Monday 13 March 1978, at 10:15, three South-Moluccans seized the Province Hall in Assen, Netherlands. Some of the people inside escaped by jumping out of the window, including the Queen's Commissioner of the Drenthe province. 1 ...

. * 2004 Siege and arrest of terrorists of the Hofstad Network *

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

(2005-2006): NLD Special Forces Task Group Orange as part of

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

. * 2006-2007

: NLD Special Forces Task Group Viper as part of

International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...

. * 2009-2010

: Special Operation Task Group, TF-55, as part of

. * 2010 Liberation of MV Taipan. * 2015-2017

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

: NLD Special Operations Land Task Group as part of

MINUSMA The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (, MINUSMA) was a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali. MINUSMA was established on 25 April 2013 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2100 to stabilise ...

. * 2015-present

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

: Providing advice and assistance (A&A) to

i and

Peshmerga The Peshmerga () are the internal security forces of Kurdistan Region. According to the Constitution of Iraq, regional governments are responsible for "the establishment and organization of the internal security forces for the region such as p ...

troops together with the Belgian SFG, as part of CJTF-OIR. * 2018-present

: NLD Special Operations Advisory Team, providing advice and assistance (A&A) to Afghan Territorial Force 888 (ATF-888) in cooperation with the German KSK as part of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Resolute Support Mission Resolute Support Mission (RSM) or Operation Resolute Support was a NATO-led multinational mission in Afghanistan. It began on 1 January 2015 as the successor to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was completed on 28 Dece ...

. * 2019 Manhunt for the Utrecht tram shooter.

Equipment

Weaponry

NLMARSOF operators have access to a wide variety of weapons. These include the following:

Watercraft

Diver propulsion vehicle A diver propulsion vehicle (DPV), also known as an underwater propulsion vehicle, sea scooter, underwater scooter, or swimmer delivery vehicle (SDV) by armed forces, is an item of diving equipment used by scuba divers to increase range underwa ...

: Underwater scooters are used for clandestine manoeuvres under water, and can be launched from one of the ''Walrus''-class submarines of the Royal Netherlands Navy. * Fast Raiding Interception Special Forces Craft (FRISCs): FRISC watercraft are used for tactical insertions and boarding operations. * Water scooter: Modified

Sea-Doo Sea-Doo is a Canadian brand of personal watercraft (PWC) and boats manufactured by Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP). All Sea-Doo models are driven by an impeller-driven waterjet. All Sea-Doo PWC models are produced at BRP's plants in Quer ...

water scooters are used for clandestine reconnaissances, and for dropping off and/or picking up operators.

Vehicles

* Suzuki KingQuad: Used for long-range reconnaissance patrols that require a higher grade of maneuverability and approachability. Can be fitted with the

FN MAG The FN MAG (, , ) is a Belgian 7.62 mm calibre, 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries and it h ...

general purpose machine gun A general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) is an air-cooled, usually belt-fed machine gun that can be adapted flexibly to various tactical roles for light and medium machine guns. A GPMG typically features a quick-change barrel design calibered for ...

. *

Snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

: Used for operations in mountainous and/or arctic environments. * Defenture VECTOR: Dutch-made special operations vehicle developed for, and in co-operation with the

. Currently part of joint NLD SOCOM vehicle pool. *

Toyota Land Cruiser The , also sometimes spelt as LandCruiser, is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. It is Toyota's longest running series of models. , the sales of the Land Cruiser totalled more than 1 ...

: Armored tactical vehicle that is used by

for domestic counter-terrorism operations.

References

{{reflist Netherlands Marine Corps Special forces of the Netherlands Military counterterrorist organizations