I personally felt like this was a huge victory for our community. As silly sounding as needing a name to identify with might be, it is a sign of respect in the special operations community. What better sign than something we have already identified with for decades? Everyone understands what a Navy SEAL or a Green Beret is, but what exactly is a CSO? The official adoption of “Raiders” will set up MARSOC for the future and assist them in solidifying their position within special operations.
“The CSO, Recon, SOAG, Devil Dog identity crisis has hopefully has been solved with the Marine Raider title. Whether or not SEALs are the best, they’re still a household name built on a badass reputation from the frogmen of the Vietnam era. Hopefully ‘Marine Raider’ has the same reputation inside and outside of our community in the near future.”
“And it really begins with distinguishing/separating the 0372 from every other Marine. Also, on our side of the house, it boosts morale and gives us espirit de corps that our community has been lacking (which has held us back) for decades.” —Marine Raider
This comment took me back to how leadership was telling us we were not special, even though we went through selection after selection and continued to prove ourselves as the tip of the spear for our organization. “Well, if a cook or administrative Marine could do my job, why is he not here?” It felt as if the Marine Corps’ leadership completely discredited how hard we had to work to get to the position that we were in.
My personal opinions are probably obvious, but I was curious to hear what my brothers who were still active had to say about it. It was pretty even across the board, with one small issue. The agreement to the name change was not exclusive to critical skills operators; it includes the support Marines as well. While we truly appreciate and have deep friendships with the warriors who support us, it does not make sense that they also carry on the name.
“Basically the Marine Corps won. They generalized the Raider name and its recognition to the masses. Quoted from the original Raiders, ‘Who did you guys call Raiders?’ The response? ‘Men who killed Japs, members of whatever Raider battalion they were.’ Now everyone is hailed as a Raider, and yet again the CSO and SOO community has no true delineation separating them from the masses. We claimed the title Raider to set apart and claim a title from the past.”
“Yet the only name change is from the regiment. Support battalions, and operation battalion companies are still Marine Special Operations Companies (MSOC), teams are still Marine Special Operations Teams (MSOT), a CSO is still a CSO. With everyone calling themselves Raiders, the confusion shall continue with who’s who. At the end of the day, people can tell who’s a team guy and who’s not, but to the operators of the unit, it’s a communal water fountain.” —Active-duty Raider
In the other communities, you don’t see a support individual supporting an ODA calling themselves a Green Beret. You don’t see a JTAC supporting a Navy SEAL team call himself an NSO. Did you go to selection? Did you go to the Q Course, BUD/S, ITC?
There are also talks at the executive leadership level about a MARSOC device similar to the SEAL community’s trident or the Green Berets’ Special Forces tab. I would imagine that this is something that will take some time to establish, just as it took some time for our official change to Marine Raiders.
We still have some changes that need to happen, but all in all this is a huge step forward as well as an honor for the Marines in Det One, the two Force Recon units who established MARSOC, and the Raiders who serve SOCOM now. I think the issues will eventually solve themselves, but we have taken a huge step in the right direction.
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