Marines Lament Shift to Special Ops Command
9
2,005
Reported by Sandra I. Erwin
Up to 2,500 Marines will be leaving the regular Corps to join a
new branch of the U.S. Special Operations Command. The move comes
at a time when SOCOM—which includes commandos from the Army,
Navy and Air Force—is running short of personnel. Pentagon
leaders apparently liked the idea of boosting SOCOM ranks with elite
Marine force reconnaissance units. The Corps, which has long resisted
joining SOCOM, is going along with the plan, although officials
acknowledge that not everyone is happy with the decision. “Those
people are fairly high-skilled. Losing those sage individuals would
be a cost to us,” said Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler, head of the
1st Marine Expeditionary Force.
Privately, Marine officials at the Pentagon have complained about
the Corps having to pick up the cost of the equipment that Marines
will be taking to SOCOM.