Origins and members of the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion with weapons and equipment captured from
Japanese forces on
Guadalcanal, 1942 Today's Raiders can trace their roots back to their World War II predecessors the
Marine Raiders. The Marine Raiders were units established by the
United States Marine Corps to conduct special
amphibious light infantry warfare, particularly in landing in
rubber boats and operating behind the lines. "
Edson's" Raiders of 1st Marine Raiders Battalion and "
Carlson's" Raiders of 2nd Marine Raiders Battalion are said to be the first
United States special operations forces to form and see combat in World War II.
MCSOCOM Detachment One Today's Marine Raiders began as a pilot program called the
Marine Corps Special Operations Command Detachment One, also known as Det 1. In order to first assess the value of Marine special operations forces permanently detached to the
United States Special Operations Command, a small unit of 86 men commanded by Col. Robert J. Coates, former commanding officer of
1st Force Reconnaissance Company, was activated on 19 June 2003 and had its headquarters at Camp Del Mar Boat Basin. In 2006 it was disbanded and succeeded by the permanent Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MARSOC). Det 1 deployed to Iraq with
Navy SEALs from Naval Special Warfare Group 1 in 2004, and Marines from the detachment took part in the
Second Battle of Fallujah.
Marine Special Operations Regiment In February 2006, the Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MARSOC) was created at
Camp Lejeune in
North Carolina. The
1st and 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalions were created along with the Marine Special Operations Advisor Group (MSOAG). The majority of the combat personnel assigned to the two battalions were drawn from the Marine Corps
Force Reconnaissance community. In April 2009, the MSOAG was redesignated the Marine Special Operations Regiment which then built in a new level of command by making 1st and 2nd MSOB subordinate, and redesignated MSOAG's operational marines the 3rd Marine Special Operations Battalion. The first deployment for Marine Raiders was in Afghanistan in 2007. This initial deployment was marked with controversy when elements from Fox Company, 2nd MSOB were involved in a
shooting incident. The incident, that resulted in as many as 19 civilians killed, involved a complex ambush by insurgents that included a suicide
VBIED and small arms fire. It was alleged that the MARSOC operators killed the civilians while attempting to suppress the enemy firing points. The Marines were relieved from their operational charter in the country and their commander removed from duty by an Army General from
USSOCOM after claims were made that the Marines reacted inappropriately and caused excessive civilian casualties. The Marines were later found by a military tribunal to be cleared of wrongdoing. Shortly after a deal was struck to send 2nd MSOB to
Helmand province in lieu of the eastern provinces; in late 2007, Golf Company 2nd MSOB was sent to Helmand Province in Support of NATO operations. in
Helmand Province, 15 April 2012. In September 2009 the 1st MSOB returned to Afghanistan, this time in command of a joint special operations task force in the northwest of the country. On 10 November 2009, a Marine from 1st MSOB was awarded a
Bronze Star with "V" device for his actions during a battle in
Farah province. When the remote weapon on his vehicle was destroyed, he climbed on top to man its MK19 grenade launcher, according to his medal citation. As enemy rounds whipped by, Price stayed put—holding his position for four hours and killing "numerous" insurgents in the process. Following General
Petraeus's assumption of command in Afghanistan in 2010, in support of the ALP/VSO programme (Afghan Local Police/Village Stability Operations),
SOF in Afghanistan were task-organized into battalion level SOTF (Special Operations Task Forces), each with a geographic area of responsibility; for MARSOC, this was western Afghanistan and
Helmand Province. In March 2012, Marine Raiders suffered several casualties to
Green on Blue attacks. On 29 July 2012, a patrol of Afghan Army Commandos was ambushed by insurgents from a number of buildings in
Badghis Province, three Afghans were wounded by small arms fire,
Gunnery Sergeants Jonathan Gifford of 2nd MSOB and Daniel Price of 1st MSOB raced forward on an
ATV to retrieve the wounded under direct fire from the enemy. After evacuating the wounded to an emergency HLZ (Helicopter Landing Zone) from where they were safely
medevaced, they returned to the firefight and assaulted the enemy positions in a fierce close-quarter battle. While throwing grenades down the chimney of an insurgent-occupied building, they were struck and killed by
PKM fire, for his actions that day Price was awarded the
Silver Star. However, due to administrative delays the renaming did not become official until 19 June 2015. A Raider from the 3rd Marine Raider Battalion was awarded the Silver Star for his actions during the
terrorist attack on
Radisson Blu hotel in
Bamako,
Mali in November 2015. The Raider led a team that rescued nearly 150 people being held hostage by members of
AQIM.
Marine Corps Times reported that during
Operation Inherent Resolve, Marine Raiders participated in the
campaign to liberate Mosul in Iraq from
ISIL. On 20 October 2016, after receiving small arms fire, a team of Raiders from the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion decided to occupy a point between two enemy controlled villages, later they were attacked by roughly 25 militants and an armored vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. A raider Staff Sergeant engaged and suppressed the dismounted enemy force with a sniper rifle, then exposed himself to enemy fire by climbing atop a vehicle to acquire an
FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile and eventually destroyed the explosive-laden armored vehicle. For his actions during the engagement, the raider was awarded the Silver Star. On 30 December 2016, a Marine from the 2nd Raider Battalion was wounded as a result of enemy action in Iraq.
Marine Corps Times reported that during 2017, Raiders assisted in
liberating Marawi in Philippines from ISIS-P militants. A
master sergeant from 2nd Marine Raider Battalion was awarded the Silver Star for his actions in a firefight while leading a joint US-Afghan team during a raid on a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan in 2019. Three other Raiders were awarded the Bronze Star for their actions during the firefight. In November 2020, Taiwanese media claimed that U.S. Marine Raiders were in Taiwan for four weeks to train members of the
Republic of China Marine Corps, according to the
ROC Naval Command, though the Pentagon stated that the claim is "inaccurate." == Organization ==