The Pic of the Day: Marine Raiders getting ready for business

Marine Raiders and Marines from 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion from 1st Marine Division conducted on-off drills during Marine Forces Special Operations Command’s unit readiness exercise, RAVEN, which is conducted across a 100-mile area, with the exercise operations center at the National Guard Base in Gulfport, Miss. The exercise serves as the certification exercise for a soon-to-be deploying Marine Special Operations Company. It is also an opportunity to enhance collaboration and strengthen our operational relationships between members of the SOF community, conventional Marine Corps units and other partners with whom Marine Raiders work closely, ensuring MARSOC provides the nation with an agile, adaptive force to meet the complex demands of the future operating environment. For this particular exercise, MARSOF integrated with conventional Marine Corps assets from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 366 from 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, and 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion from 2nd Marine Division and 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion from 1st Marine Division. There was also integration of Air Force Special Operations Command assets from the 73rd and 319th Special Operations Squadrons, and the 178th Attack Squadron; and Army Special Operations Task Force. These units were able to come together and execute missions beginning at the target development phase all the way through mission execution.