Timor Naval Fusiliers (Fuzileiros Navais)s
The Naval Marines are Special Forces from the Infantry, light, flexible and highly prepared for combat and are used for combat on land while using the sea as an approach vector. Furthermore, they have a highly dissuasive capacity and, being an integral part of the SNF, can make up the Operational Reserve of the GCSAF and give to political power, on its own or in association with similar forces from other countries, a large margin to manoeuvre, in terms of national external policy, in the concentration of interests of the nations. With naval recourses and adequate equipment, using the sea as an immense area to manoeuvre in, the Marine Forces can be used at any point on the seafront as an instrument of naval power according to political, strategic and tactic convenience and with the flexibility of being able to remain in the Objective Area during specifics periods of time depending of the defined level of support.
The central role of the combat capability of the naval component would be guaranteed through Units with amphibian capabilities, namely the Marines, in order to obtain good results in situations of peace, crisis or conflict. In addition, evidence is hereby provided of the extraordinary utility of the characteristics of naval power (mobility, freedom when faced with political restrictions, sustainability and flexibility) to provide appropriate levels of effort in support of the State’s political, economic, social and military action, confronting situations with different degrees of complexity and great unpredictability.
When defining the [Deployment Strategy] (the link between naval resources and the Naval Fusiliers) it is important to match its use to the vectors to be defined, leaving open the option of future growth. Nevertheless, during the first phase (short/medium term) deployment should be in small detachments able to embark and carry out Boarding activities (inspection/seizure of vessels) and provide humanitarian support to populations which, for environmental reasons, are isolated and where access is only possible by sea coast. Particular attention should be paid to the Oecusse enclave and Atauro Island, which have no Armed Forces presence to guarantee their territorial defence. Within the future scope of the National Forces System, the Naval Fusiliers, with their specific characteristics and capacities, could even constitute the CEMGFA Operational Reserve.
The realisation of the National Forces System should take into consideration the need to improve the operational mobility and flexibility of existing resources, so as to satisfy the needs laid down by the archipelago characteristics of East-Timor and dispersion of the national territory, as well as the subsequent characteristics of the inter-territorial space, namely in the scope of reinforcement and quick intervention at any location with special attention to the Districts by the border (Bobonaro and Cova Lima) and in the Oe-cusse enclave and the Island of Ataúro. Therefore, it is necessary to guarantee a minimum capacity to manoeuvre through the Sea and the employment of small units with amphibious skills to defend the territory and National interests, as well as provide humanitarian support to populations and support to civil authorities in emergency or catastrophic situations.
The amphibious capacity, which is understood in the geo-strategic context in which East-Timor is inserted and keeping in mind the evaluation of threats and risks to security and national interests, does not initially imply a projection of Force. In punctual cases of opposition to the landing of these units, one should resort to the factor of surprise and dominating techniques of the environmental factor in the sea-land interface area, namely through the infiltration of special action groups who are capable of preparing the landing and eventually taking out the opposition and also to the use of quick, flexible and small sized landing means.
These units respond to the need to use small detachments with amphibious skills that are based at naval units to carry out the inspection of territorial waters (inspection of vessels carrying out illicit activities and marine interception operations), search and rescue, humanitarian support to populations and the landing of small units aimed at carrying out the actions destined to reach the limited objectives, namely the neutralisation of important sensitive areas.
This Force should be identified with the marine infantry (Marine) which is made up from the conversion of other infantry units and whose training process will need to include a solid evaluation of operational requirements in light of the Employment Concept and the Specific Missions to be defined in the scope of National Defence legislation.
In light of the determined parameters – Force Employment Concept, available Naval Resources and the appropriate Doctrine – operational employment of Marines who are articulated in forces with structures similar to those in Deployment (80 men) will have to be faced in the future so as to be able to constitute specific Task-Forces, to integrate C42 resources and the indispensable combat support. This formula will allow for the optimisation of the integration with naval resources (small and medium sized). The employment concept of the naval component and the conceptualisation of employment of the Marine units in the maritime area with national interest should be defined in structured documents. Here, we simply present some elements which allow for a more adequate analysis of the Employment concept to be defined. In addition to the usual Marine resources (Assault Boats), their operational employment should be considered in an articulated and integrated manner with the use of more appropriate ASB means (Assault Speed Boats), keeping in mind the characterisation of the south coast.
The Naval Marines can be used in a vast number of actions which involve exceptional expertise and bear remarkable risks, both in the support of other units and acting as an independent unit carrying out special operations of a military nature in actions with the aim of providing humanitarian assistance and the security of people against illicit acts of a criminal nature on vessels, platforms or in areas with national maritime jurisdiction. The operations carried out by Marine Deployments normally assume a discreet or covered up form; its protection and recuperation require the use of naval (surface or speed boats) and air resources of different types, while resorting to diving or other techniques to be carried out from helicopters.
The performance of the Marine Deployment should be independent from the environment in which the insertion or progression is carried out for the objective and techniques involved, demanding ability, equipment, training and exceptional skill and bearing remarkable risks for the unit. The expected Operations Area for this intervention incorporates the Pacific Ocean and the coastal areas of East-Timor. The operational capacity for combat is maximised through training, preparation and specialised readiness of its elements, weaponry and resources which are provided to the unit. The group of men/resources will be defined in the light of the mission, which will be articulated with the concealed needs and safety for its execution. The resources (previously defined) can be used from a port, vessel or from air means. This flexibility together with is great autonomy and speed allow one to operate in the entire EEZ area with the appropriate integrated support.
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