Historically and traditionally, Marine reconnaissance units have always had an elitist air about them. The "Swift, Silent, and Deadly" have been immortalized in movies by John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and their ilk. Men of these elite "recon" units have served in virtually every battle and war fought by the Marine Corps. However, despite their fame, little is known about the actual units themselves.

The Marine Corps maintains a reconnaissance battalion and force reconnaissance company with each of its three Marine Expeditionary Forces (MEFs). These reinforced division-sized units are composed of an Infantry Division, Air Wing, and Force Service Support Group.

Composed of 32 officers and 391 enlisted soldiers plus a detachment of navy medical personnel, the reconnaissance battalion is assigned the mission of conducting ground reconnaissance and surveillance in support of the infantry division. This battalion is further broken down into four companies and a headquarters and service company. It conducts its operations by using 48 four-man scout teams. These teams are capable of infiltrating enemy territory by helicopter, parachute, rubber raft, or scuba gear.

Once in hostile territory, these "disappearing soldiers" do not passively wait for action. Instead, they conduct direct reconnaissance missions to seek out enemy units. Once they discover a hostile force and report its presence, the recon units use stealth and maneuver to remain undetected or to move completely out of the area. Next, air strikes, artillery, or infantry units arrive to swiftly dispose of the "bad guys." Most recon unit activity occurs within a few miles of the front lines of a Marine division's position.

To give the battalion more mobility, the Marine Corps has combined them with the Light Armored Infantry Battalion (LAI). The resulting combination gives the reconnaissance units full use of the mobility and fire power of the LAI battalion's light armored vehicles and still allows the teams to leave the vehicles and conduct their four-man-team reconnaissance missions.

Deep reconnaissance missions are handled by the Force Reconnaissance Company. This company has a strength of 16 officers, 215 enlisted personnel, and a small navy medical detachment. They are fiirther broken down into a company headquarters, four reconnaissance platoons, four direct action platoons, and a supply and service platoon. Operationally, the company deploys 25 six-man teams to perform a variety of missions ranging from small unit scouting to deep post-amphibious assault reconnaissance.

These men arrive before the main assault force and must rely on stealth and deception to move into the objective area. Parachute and scuba qualified, they often use High Altitude, Low Level Opening (HALO) air drops from aircraft or deploy from submerged submarines and silently row into shore using inflatable rubber boats dropped from ships far offshore.

Once ashore they search out targets of interest to the MEF commander. Located deep within enemy territory, these targets could be the headquarters units of large enemy formations, airfields, intelligence gatherring sites, and assembly areas.

Due to the unorthodox and covert nature of their missions, teams are prepared to stay hidden and move undetected through enemy territory for extended periods of time. Their high- tech electronic communications equipment allows them to touch base with submarines, satellites, and airborne relays, and to be resupplied with pinpoint accuracy while in enemy territory.

The Reconnaissance Battalion and the Force Reconnaissance Company provide a Marine amphibious force with up-to-date data on enemy units that can influence the flow of battle, particularly in the critical first hours or days. The ability of the two reconnaissance units to transmit timely "groundlevel" information to the Marine force commander greatly enhances his ability to win engagements and accomplish the missions assigned to his "leathernecks."

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