Marine Special Ops

The U.S. Marine Corps has several Special Operations units functioning These are the basics:

* US Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MARSOC): Marine SOF under a new command structure

Marine RECON and MARSOC – Changes in Structure / Operations In the past few years, as the United States has ramped up its battle against terrorists worldwide, the special operations community has grown and changed to better prepare our special operators to do their mission. The Marine Corps has also changed the way they do business on the special ops side of the house. With the development of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command (MARSOC), the Marine Corps joined forces with U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) to perform a variety of special operations missions around the world, including foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action and other missions. Marine RECON and MARSOC

* Force Recon: Elite Reconnaissance Marines who carry out deep reconnaissance operations

The primary role of Force Recon marine is to gather intelligence in support of USMC operations.
Amphibious operations: scout swimming, beach/coastline reconnaissance, small boat operations; deep reconnaissance; unconventional warfare; foreign internal defense (FID); special reconnaissance; direct action; and counter-terrorism.
Force Recon Marines are trained in parachuting, including high altitude techniques, skiing and amphibious techniques, including working with SCUBA gear. .Force recon

And more of the same ...

* Division Recon: Highly trained Recon Marines
* Maritime Raid Force; USMC counter-piracy specialists
* Maritime Special Purpose Force: Marine Expeditionary Unit special ops
* Scout Snipers: Elite Marine snipers
* ANGLICO: Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company - elite USMC JTAC / JFO unit
* Radio Reconnaissance Teams: Marine Corps tactical SIGINT specialists
* Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team: An elite cadre of Marines, tasked with security operations
* Recapture Tactics Team: Elite Marine security team
* Special Reaction Team: Specialized USMC S.W.A.T. team

Here is a quote from a Marine lieutenant who is considering attending MARSOC in the near future:
"MARSOC likes for you to be (at least a noncommissioned officer) before you can tryout, which means that you have to do about three years or two deployments before you can tryout. The tryout consists of a pool portion to see if you know what you are doing in the water. Then, you take a (physical fitness test) and see between the two of those if you can go to the three-week screener. They give you a packing list and do not tell you much more than that - you just go and have fun for three weeks. Similar to the Army's SFAS and BUD/S Indoc, which screens you prior to entering, the MARSOC training school is the goal of the screener. I think that it is more intimidating than anything else, as I hear that it is physical, but if you can run a 300 PFT you will do well physically, but you still need to be able to learn new operations and tactics."