Commandos-By Anybody's Definition CSC 1989 SUBJECT AREA - Topical Issues Author Major Jeffery W. Bearor EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TITLE: COMMANDOS-BY ANYBODY'S DEFINITION Introduction: The Commandant of the Marine Corps has stated that U.S. Marines will become "Commandos-By anybody's definition." Although small, specialized units can be trained to the standard of "Commando", it may be impossible to train the entire Corps to such a standard. Part One: Commando Selection and Training: Commando selection and training is different and, at the same time, similar around the world. Most Commando units select only the best men and train them to an extremely high standard. Most Commando training involves very difficult tests that stress the recruits to their maximum. Part Two: U.S. Marine Commandos? The U.S. has several highly trained, elite units to perform special operations. Most Marines are not trained to these high standards even though the Marine Corps is an elite unit. Part Three: Marines as Marines: The Marine Corps has evolved through the years from basic ship's guards and naval police to a large combined arms ground and air force. Today, some Marine units are trained to perform special operations. These more extensively trained Marines may be Commandos in the full sense of the word. Part Four: U.S. Marine Commando Training: It is not possible to train 197,000 Marines to be Commandos. The Marine Corps needs its fighters and its technicians. Being a Marine is not the same as being a Commando. Part Five: What Marines Should Do Now: Marines should accept that the nation needs the unique capabilities that the USMC provides. Both the traditional amphibious and quick reaction roles, and the special operations roles are important tools for the President. The benefits of enhanced training for some units and Marines will be felt throughout the Corps. Part Six: Conclusions: The U.S. Marine Corps is one of the world's great elite military units. The Corps performs a variety of missions. The capability to provide both special purpose and general purpose forces of combined arms in forward deployed and quickly deployable units is the Corps great strength. The Corps should not get caught up in labels. Marines should focus on their missions. The ability to provide so much capability in one Corps in unique in the world. OUTLINE COMMANDOS-BY ANYBODY'S DEFINITION Major J.W. Bearor Conference Group 7 THESIS STATEMENT: The Commandant of the Marine Corps stated that Marines will become "Commandos- by anybody's definition." Although small, specialized units can be trained to the standard of "Commando", it may be impossible to train the entire Corps to such a standard. I. Introduction A. What is a Commando. B. What is the origin of Commando and elite units. C. Question: Can an organization the size of the USMC be trained to the standard of Commando? II. Commando Selection and Training A. Selection of the Commando candidate. B. Length of training. C. Thoroughness of training. D. The Commando test. III. U.S. Marine Commandos A. U.S. special mission units. B. Missions that special forces units are trained for. IV. Marines as Marines A. Evolution of USMC missions. B. Tradition Marine missions vs. Marine special operations capabilities. C. Marines in Special Operations Capable units are trained to higher standards. V. What Marines Should Do Now. A. The nation needs all the capabilities offered by the USMC. B. The benefits of enhanced training to the Corps. VI. Conclusions A. The USMC is an elite unit. B. The Corps provides the nation with unique capabilities. C. Focus on the missions. "COMMANDOS-BY ANYBODY'S DEFINITION." (10:1) INTRODUCTION With those words, the Commandant of the Marine Corps expressed his desire that Marines, and the Marine Corps, be ranked with those most elite of the world's military men, Commandos. Commandos are, by definition, members of elite units. Webster's defines elite to mean "the choice or most carefully selected part of a group."(1:17) Elite units gain that title through three ways. One way is by always being assigned the most arduous and dangerous missions. Many airborne units are considered elites in this way because parachuting is inherently dangerous. Units which perform only missions which require a small, highly trained group of men who must meet high standards of training and toughness are thought of as elite. Third, a unit is known as elite by it reputation of continued success in battle.(1:18) U.S. Marines meet this criteria as an elite fighting force. Commandos and other elite units have always been used by the great generals of the world. The first recorded use of a special force for a special mission was in the 15th century B.C. Egypt's King Thutmosis III wanted to attack and capture the port of Jaffa. He sent Captain Thute, a member of his secret service, to conduct the operation. Thute surveyed the city and came to the conclusion that an economy of force operation could best neutralize the city's substantial defenses. Captain Thute selected 200 of his best troops for the mission. They set sail from Egypt in merchant ships. At the end of the trip each man was sewn into a flour sack. Other troops, disguised as laborers, carried the assault force off the ship and into the center of the city. Under cover of darkness, Thute's men cut their way out of the sacks and took the defenders by surprise. (5:9,10) Alexander had his "Companions," the Vikings conducted small raids from the sea, and in the American Revolution, the Americans had the colonial Rangers. The father of the modern Commando, however, was Sir Winston Churchill. His experience in the Boer Wars in South Africa (where the term Commando was first used), when small units of Boer horsemen continually raided the British Army, had captured his imagination. (1:38) Churchill was fascinated by the idea of using small, highly trained units to raid the Germans in "Fortress Europe." In June 1940 he wrote to his military Chief of Staff: Enterprises must be prepared, with specially trained troops of the hunter class who can develop a reign of terror down these coasts... leaving a trail of German corpses behind them... (1:37) Thus, the modern Commandos were born. Before the end of the war, every country would have its version of these elite forces. Can an organization the size of the U.S. Marine Corps become a unit of commandos? Given its traditional missions, does the USMC need to be a commando type unit? We will explore the selection and training of commando units, their missions, and attempt to adapt some of their methods to the Marine missions in order to answer these questions. PART ONE: COMMANDO SELECTION AND TRAINING Around the world, the term "commando" has different meanings. However, it always denotes an elite fighting unit of small size staffed by very highly trained men. Usually these men tackle the toughest military assignments their country assigns. We will focus on the selection and training procedures of the british Royal Marine Commandos to illustrate the general traits that commando units share. The British Royal Marines (RM) is a unit of about brigade strength having a total of 7500 officers and men. (9:220) They are augmented by both British Army and Royal Navy personnel who man artillery, engineer, medical, and logistics units. The Royal Marines need this augmentation. Their standards are so high they have not been able to fill their ranks with enough of the highly trained men they need since the end of World War II.(3:188) Today, the RM recruit throughout the British Isles and annually train about 1000 new Marines. Usually there are 7 qualified applicants for every recruit training space. Young high school graduates have waited 4 years for a spot in a recruit troop. The normal training cycle is 32 weeks. This includes 5 weeks for the Commando Course.(3:188) Selection for recruit training is not just a case of filling out forms and passing a physical exam. Every potential Commando must pass a potential recruit's screening course that lasts three days. During this period, potential Marines are given a series of physical and mental tests designed to examine their endurance and their desire to "stick with it." They are evaluated during this period by the same drill instructors and other NCOs who will train them during their recruit training cycle. These instructors cast a critical eye on potential Marines and they have been known to disapprove an entire group. It doesn't matter, there are always others willing and qualified to try their hand at being accepted for training. Once selected, recruits are formed into troops of about 50 men. These recruits will train together for the next 32 weeks. Most of their training will be conducted by the same group of three NCOs who will stay with the troop from beginning to end. Because of the rigorous selection process, the troop's losses during training will mainly be due to physical injury. The training cycle is broken into 4 main parts. (See note 1) The first six weeks consist of basic soldiering skills and physical training. The idea is to teach recruits the basics and begin to build them up for the hardships to come. Fieldcraft is stressed and the recruits are in the field for an overnight stay the third day of training. During the second phase, basic tactics and advanced weapons training are stressed. The physical training progresses at a rapid rate. More and more of the training week is spent in the (Note 1. All information on recruit training schedules comes from the CTCRM training schedule for 1983-1984.) field and recruits operate as sections (squads) most of the time. The third phase is the 5 week Commando Course. This phase does not teach Commando tactics. Rather, it is designed to test the recruits to their physical and mental limits to see if they can endure continual hardship and display the "Commando Spirit." The course is built around a series of field exercises on the vast expanses of Dartmoor National Park in southwest England about 20 west of the Commando Training Center in Lympstone. Dartmoor is a desolate area of rocky hills, bogs, and marshes and has some of the worst weather in England. The course culminates with a series of Commando Tests designed to push recruits past their limits. If they pass the tests, they earn the coveted Green Beret of the Royal Marine Commandos. Major Ian Gardiner, who commanded X-Ray Company of 45 Commando Group in the Falklands War, said this about his Marines: I was continually amazed at the men. I knew that they were physically and mentally done in. Many had not been dry for weeks, their feet swollen and purple with trench foot from the wet and cold. But they just would not stop. .. I only had to stand up and put my bergan on my back when the whole lot of them would rise as one, strapping 120 lbs of kit to their backs.(4:13) He attributes this endurance to the training Royal Marines receive during the Command Course. The fourth phase of training teaches the advanced arts of demolitions, reconnaissance techniques, raiding, communications, and advanced tactics. The Royal Marine recruit is trained to operate all the weapons organic to the Commando battalion. The result of the training is a Marine Commando who posses the skills to be of immediate use to his new unit. The new Commando is a supremely confident fighting man and will need very little follow on training in his unit. Most other Commando units of the world have very similar selection and training criteria. They select only the most qualified men and then spend large amounts of time and money to train them to very high levels. All of these elite units include some sort of rigorous mental and physical testing phase during recruit training. PART TWO: U.S. MARINE COMMANDOS? Typically, Commando units are given missions that require only small units of highly trained men. These missions may be similar to those performed by the U.S. Army Rangers, the Navy SEAL Teams, or the "Delta Force." On the other hand, U.S. Marines are more likely to be assigned main force missions. These missions include amphibious assault, ground combat, and other light infantry missions. The U.S. Army has several levels of elite units. One, the 82nd Airborne Division, is basically a light infantry unit with the special capability of airborne landing. The Ranger Battalions are more typically an elite of commandos. They are specially chosen and trained to conduct infantry missions of extreme hardship, danger, and difficulty. The Special Forces of the Army are an even more select group of soldiers chosen from throughout the Army. The potential Special Forces soldiers are older when chosen. They usually come from ranger or airborne units.(3:168) All are very highly trained. The SF conduct counter-insurgency operations and are trained to conduct missions behind enemy lines. The Navy SEAL Teams are seaborne rangers capable of conducting a variety of mission in support of naval operations. During the Vietnam War the Navy decided it needed the capability to conduct special missions in support of its riverine operations. The USMC has been able, through the years, to maintain fairly high standards when compared to other large standing armies of the world. Success on the battlefield over many years has contributed to the mystic of the Marines. Marines believe themselves to be part of one of the finest fighting forces ever raised on the planet. However, when compared to the most elite units of the world, Marine selection and training fall far short of that of Commando units. This is particularly true when the USMC is compared to the British and French Commandos, the Navy SEALs, and the likes of the British and Australian SAS. That is not to say that the USMC has not continually striven to keep the highest standards possible. When is elite really elite? Can a Corps of some 197,000 men and women be selective enough in its recruiting, and thorough enough in its training, to be compared with the Commando units of the world? The Commandant thinks so. Do Marines really need to be trained to the level of "commando" to perform their most likely missions? Or, will such highly trained U.S. Marine Commandos duplicate the missions and capabilities of other U.S. elite special units? PART THREE: MARINES AS MARINES The U.S. Marine Corps is, by reputation and deed, an elite unit. Recruiting and training standards are high. Marines are dedicated to their Corps. The "esprit" exhibited by Marines over the years is still manifested by the Marines of today. It could very well be said that U.S. Marines exhibit that same "Commando Spirit" that the British Royal Marines, and other elite units, deem so important. Before World War I U.S. Marines functioned mainly as small landing forces for the Navy. Primary missions were always in support of the limited ground action that naval forces sometimes require for fleet support. Also, Marines were used as the enforcers of American empire around the world. After World War I, Marines were employed mainly as standing ready forces and in many small brush-fire wars and police actions mainly in the Americas. In World War II the Marines earned their spurs as the premier amphibious assault force in the world. It is this role that has been the Marine's primary mission ever since. Over the decades since WW II Marines have been used in a variety of roles but the primacy of the amphibious function has never been disputed. The Marine Corps has contingency missions around the world. All missions in some way relate to the primary function of providing force projection from the sea and operations near the sea coasts. Typically, todays Marines are asked to perform a bewildering variety of missions. These missions include amphibious assault in any area of the world, ground combat operations ranging from low intensity warfare like counter-insurgency through mid intensity conflict involving mechanized forces, and operations on the periphery of high level conflict. Recently the Marine Corps has added 18 missions termed special operations missions to its repertoire. These 18 missions, ranging from providing mobile training teams to performing night, over the horizon amphibious or air assault raids, have always inherently been part of the overall Marine mission capabilities. The Commandant, General Al Gray, believes that these 18 missions, and conflict on the low intensity side of the conflict spectrum, are the most likely Marines will face. Although Marines always said they could perform these missions, the reality did not always back up the perception. (12:25) The Marines have chosen two of their regiments, one on each coast, as "Special Operations Capable" (SOC) units. These regiments provide battalions that deploy on naval shipping to the western Pacific and the Mediterranean areas. The units must undergo an arduous six month training cycle before being designated as SOC units. It is entirely arguable that the Marines in these units are "Commandos" by virtue or their special training and the focus of their unit's missions towards special operations in the hot spots of the world. The hierarchy of the Marine Corps says that any Marine can perform these types of missions and that the Marines in the SOC units are no different from other Marines. This is probably true if every Marine bets the intensive six months of training the Marines in the SOC units get. Not every Marine receives that training and the time and money doesn't allow every Marine to be trained to these higher standards. It appears that two Marine Corps exist. The SOC Marine Corps and the traditional Marine Corps. The difference between the two is type and amount of training and mission focus. The traditional Corps is, never the less, made up of tenacious fighters whose esprit, training, and expertise in amphibious operations qualify them as elites. The SOC Marine Corps is comprised of Commandos; a smaller group of highly trained men whose forte is special operations. PART FOUR: U.S. MARINE COMMANDO TRAINING Is it possible to train 197,000 men and women to be Commandos? What might it take in terms of time and money? Could the USMC recruit enough very high caliber people to train? Do U.S. Marines need to be commandos? These are questions the Commandants statement raises. By definition a Commando unit is a small, elite force. By most accounts, almost 200,000 is not a small force. In terms of time, the Marines would almost have to triple the time spent in training recruits to get to the standards of the British Commandos. When the need is to train 33,000 recruits annually the monetary cost of increasing the time spent in recruit training by a factor of three is staggering. Marines perform a wide variety of jobs from that of infantry "grunt" to avionics technician. This is because the USMC is the only true combined arms force in the world. In addition to its normal ground combat elements, the Marine Corps has its own air force, air defense missiles, signals intelligence branch, and transportation and logistics support. When the Marines deploy "one call gets it all" as they advertise. Not all Marines need to be trained to the standard of Commando. That is not to say that all Marines don't need to be trained to high standards. The standards very and being a Marine is not the same as being a Commando. PART FIVE: WHAT SHOULD MARINES DO NOW? The U.S. Marine Corps has a reputation for being able to perform no matter the mission. This is as true today as it always was. The focus of the Corps remains its traditional role as "soldiers of the sea." Additional missions, whether special or conventional, don't change that focus, or shouldn't be allowed to. The United States does not need two land armies. The Marines should continue to train recruits in the same fashion as always using the same tried and true methods. Additional training, as the Commandant has directed, to get the Marines back to the warrior focus is an added plus. This additional emphasis on every Marine being a warrior first is really only a return to the Marine Corps' roots.(12:A10) Various training techniques and evolutions can be incorporated from the recruit training syllabi of the Royal Marines. This will enhance the training USMC recruits undergo. Further training always occurs after Marines reach their operational units. This is a natural evolution in every fighting force. The USMC should recognize that Commandos are only born from the process of enhanced training of extended duration. Extensive tests of physical and mental endurance separate those who would be Commandos from those who would not. Continue to train units for special missions and recognize that these units are at a different standard than other Marine units. The Marine Corps should not pretend that all its units are alike but should recognize that the nation benefits from a Corps trained and equipped for the widest variety of missions. Eventually, as the Commandant has said, the benefits of this enhanced training will improve the overall readiness of the entire force. PART SIX: CONCLUSIONS Elite units are considered elite for many reasons. The U.S. Marine Corps is one of the world's premier elite units. Marines, at least U.S. Marines, are not Commandos in the accepted sense of the word. They don't need to be. Primarily Marines perform a specialized kind of warfare that calls for extraordinary training, high levels of physical and mental courage, sound leadership, and special skills and equipment. Amphibious operations are the most difficult to perform successfully. Marines can, with more refined and intensive training, perform special missions that require higher skill levels, absolute knowledge, leadership, and coordination. The Marine SOC units, with their U.S. Navy partners, are capable of performing these missions around the world. They give the nation a real capability to protect U.S. interests and influence events around the globe. Because of their forward deployed posture, they are the most responsive units. These SOC Marines may, in essence, be commandos. They don't need the designation though. They are, after all, just Marines. The only difference between these SOC trained Marines and any others is the level of training for both the individual and the unit. All Marines should recognize that these special purpose units have added capabilities that serve the nation and the Corps. After a while, many Marines will have rotated through the SOC units. They will carry their skills with them when they leave the SOC units to the rest of the FMF. This is not a competition. There is only one Marine Corps. Marines should concentrate on the overall mission and the needs of the nation. The country needs highly trained amphibious forces capable of responding to any number of missions in any number of climates. Not every Marine can be equally well trained for every mission or climate. Simply calling a Marine a Commando doesn't make him one. It is foolish to hide the fact some Marines receive more intensive training than others. It doesn't matter. Keep the focus! The nation needs a Marine total force with many abilities. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Cohen, Eliot A. Commandos and Politicians. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Center for International Affairs, 1978. 2. Collins, John M. Green Berets, SEALs & Spetsnaz. Elmsford, NY: Pergamon Press, 1987. 3. Eshel, LtCol. David. Elite Fighting Units. New York: Arco Publishing Co., 1984. 4. Gardiner, Major Ian. The Experiences of XRAY Comnany 45 Commando Group in the 1983 Falklands War. Official History of the Royal Marines in the Falklands War. London, 1984. 5. Garrett, Richard. The Raiders. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1980. 6. Hoffman, Bruce. Commando Raids: 1946-1983. Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation for The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, 1985. 7. Knight, David C. Shock Troops: The History of Elite Corps and Special Forces. Greenwich, CT: Bison Books Corp., 1983. 8. Ladd, James D. Inside the Commandos. London: Arms and Armour Press Ltd., 1984. 9. Nicholls, Capt. D.V. Amphibious Victory. Globe and Laurel, XCI, (July/August 1982), 220. 10. Commando Training Center, Royal Marines (CTCRM). Recruit Training Schedule for 1983-1984. 11. Marines Toughen Training to Create Commandos. The Washington Post, December 10, 1988, Section A., p. 2. 12. Flores, Maj S.J. The Raid is Back!, Marine Corps Gazette, 72 (November 1988), 25.
