ANGLICO questions answered
ANGLICO is unlike any other unit in the US military. When a unit from the Army or another country’s military is attached to a MAGTF, however, the difficulties pile up rather rapidly. The US military is the world’s greatest purveyor of firepower, and the Marine Corps in particular has a highly-evolved doctrine for employing supporting arms such as artillery and close air support. When a joint or coalition unit (read, anyone not wearing an Eagle, Globe, and Anchor) is part of a MAGTF and needs to tap in to the Marine Corps’ supply of available fire support, they need someone with them who has an intimate knowledge of our fire support systems and procedures. Enter the ANGLICO teams. Our job is to provide fire support expertise and access to Marine fire support capabilities to non-Marine units, particularly those operating within a MAGTF. ANGLICO brings together a unique blend of communicators and fire support specialists. On the enlisted side, ANGLICO teams are made up entirely of radio operators and artillery scout/observers. The radio operators provide a level of knowledge in tactical communications that is unmatched across most of the Marine Corps. The scout/observers are experts in determining and communicating target location to a variety of supporting agencies, whether it be an artillery battery or a section of strike aircraft. On the officer side, ANGLICO is mostly composed of artillery officers and aviators, with a smattering of infantry officers (to supply some of the class that the cannon-cockers and flyboys are woefully lacking). The team leaders bring it all together, and advise the supported commander on the best employment of the available fire support. In addition, at the present time every team leader is a qualified Forward Air Controller (FAC) or Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC), which gives the teams the ability to employ air-delivered ordnance such as laser-guided bombs and missiles in support of the joint or coalition unit.
ANGLICO teams operate these days with one of the most sophisticated suites of targeting and communications equipment in the military We employ laser range finders and GPSs to locate the targets, the most advanced radios available to Fleet Marine Force units to communicate those locations, and laser designators to spot for laser-guided bombs and missiles. We also have laptops that enable us to send e-mails through a satellite communications channel, and to derive coordinates accurate enough for the employment of GPS-guided weaponry. We of course carry all of the same body armor and weaponry as any Marine riflemen, although the Marines on the teams carry the smaller M4 carbine vice the M16A4 rifle.
There are five ANGLICOs in the Marine Corps – one each at Camps Lejeune (2d) and Pendleton (1st), one on Okinawa (5th), and two in the Marine Corps Reserve (3d and 4th). The active duty ANGLICOs work for the Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) Commander and are administratively supported by the MEF Headquarters Group (MHG). The active ANGLICOs were briefly deactivated in the late 1990s and reactivated in May 2003. Since May 2003 the Companies have established a regular rotation in Iraq, and now Afghanistan with each active component Company (1st, 2d, and 5th) spending about seven months in al Anbar Province before being relieved by one of the two other active ANGLICOs. The majority of our work has been in support of the British Army, Royal Marimes, Afghan National Army and various other ISAF units but we also supported US Army, Navy Riverine, and Special Operations Units at various times.