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thedrifter
03-21-03, 03:28 PM
Marine recon teams have risky role as first forces into Iraq
Thu Mar 20, 7:08 AM ET

David J. Lynch USA TODAY

CAMP COMMANDO, Kuwait -- The first Marines to set foot inside Iraq (news - web sites) will be members of an elite unit of lethal scouts equipped to roam battlefields miles ahead of other friendly forces.


Usually traveling in six-man teams, these Force Reconnaissance operatives will handle some of the riskiest assignments of the war's opening phase, U.S. officers say. ''Force recon'' units map enemy terrain, seize oil and gas platforms, direct laser-guided weapons to their targets and rescue downed pilots behind enemy lines.


''There's so many things that can go wrong,'' says Maj. Jeff Jewell, 39, executive officer for the 1st Force Reconnaissance Company. ''There's lots of bad guys and not a lot of your friendly troops around.''


In this war, the Marines have assembled the largest Force Reconnaissance unit ever fielded. About 300 Marines under the banner of the 1st Force Recon from Camp Pendleton, Calif., will lead the plunge into Iraq.


The expanded capability stems from lessons learned during the first Persian Gulf War (news - web sites) in 1991.


At that time, intelligence failures and competing fiefdoms hampered the war effort.


Marine Corps intelligence didn't do well in the first Gulf War, one senior officer said.


Reconnaissance units played major roles at both the beginning and end of the first Gulf War.


In January 1991, a surprise Iraqi attack on the town of Khafji in Saudi Arabia trapped two Marine reconnaissance teams.


They evaded capture for two days and called in airstrikes before the town was retaken by coalition forces.


Two months later, two recon teams secured the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait City the night before Arab members of the coalition liberated the town.


Placing all Force Reconnaissance units under a single command, a key change from 1991, is expected to improve the specialized units' effectiveness.


Technological advances in the past decade offer this war's commanders a clearer view of the battlefield. Remotely piloted vehicles can fly over enemy territory providing live video of troops and tanks.


But men who drop from CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters behind enemy lines, then spend days in hiding often see things that cameras miss.


Those who are selected for Force Recon are veteran Marines, often with combat experience, and graduates of the Corps' specialized training schools. All must also pass a rigorous course that teaches Marines how to survive and escape if captured.


On a typical mission, a six-man patrol -- moving at night -- walks, drives, sails or helicopters into enemy territory.


Each man carries about 200 pounds of gear on his back. In the Iraqi desert, that load will include five gallons of water, plenty of ammunition and a special suit to protect against possible chemical weapons attack.





As daylight nears, the men will set up an observation post and dig camouflaged ''hide sites'' nestled into the ground.

During the next week to 10 days, the men will monitor activity at an enemy military facility and, if ordered, capture individual soldiers.

The teams are as close to special operations forces as the Marine Corps gets. And like special operations troops, the teams are a breed apart.

In recent days, as war grew imminent, the teams readied their M-4 carbines and .45-caliber guns and pondered the battle ahead. Jewell remembers the last war when Iraq set 700 Kuwaiti oil wells afire, creating a health and ecological disaster.

And he worries about a ''rogue kind of individual'' in the Iraqi military who might decide to employ chemical weapons.

''You just never know,'' he says quietly.


Sempers,

Roger