A Dedicated Aviation Combat Element to MARSOC

Abstract

Given the Marine Corps' doctrine to task organize units into a MAGTF and create a whole greater than the sum of its parts, the Marine Corps should initiate efforts to strengthen ties to Special Operations aviation and eventually organize and equip an ACE permanently assigned to MARSOC, thus enabling MARSOC to train and fight as a MAGTF. After a Marine Corps plan to contribute a standing MAGTF to SOCOM was abandoned in 1991 due to concerns of parochialism, an increasing level of cooperation between the Marine Corps and SOCOM on the V-22 program and the GWOT paved the way for the formation of MARSOC. A longstanding dearth of Special Operations helicopters has been exacerbated by a growth in Special Operations forces (SOF) and a reduction in the numbers of SOF helicopters. Now that MARSOC is a reality and Marines are serving in MARSOC units, the Marine Corps should begin planning to provide a dedicated ACE to MARSOC.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 31, 2010
Accession Number
ADA600520

Entities

People

  • David N. Payne

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Doctrine
  • Employment
  • Helicopters
  • Marine Corps
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • Military Training
  • New York
  • Special Operations Forces
  • Students
  • Task Forces
  • United States
  • United States Special Operations Command
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.