Meet the Marine Raiders, the Marine Corps Special Operations Component

When it comes to the elite units within United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), The National Interest has recently published my articles on the Army’s Delta Force and Special Forces (“Green Berets”) as well as the Navy’s SEAL Team 6 aka DEVGRU. Meanwhile, still pending publication as I type these words are my writeups on the Air Force’s Special Tactics Teams, more specifically the Combat Controllers (Pararescuemen aka Pararescue Jumpers).

But as the proud son of a World War II Marine, I would be remiss if I didn’t include the “Devil Dogs” component of SOCOM, the Marine Raiders.

Job description and mission

As per the Who We Are section of the Marine Raiders’ official info page:

“Marine Raiders are a force, expeditionary in nature, prepared to thrive in uncertain, chaotic, and austere environments, determined to excel with Spiritus Invictus – an ‘unconquerable spirit.’”

From there, the page lists eight mission categories: Direct Action; Special Reconnaissance; Counterterrorism; Foreign Internal Defense; Security Force Assistance; Counterinsurgency; Support to Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction; Support to Unconventional Warfare.