Recon Batallion

The story of the Marine Recon Paddle

You may have seen a paddle displayed proudly in the home or office of a former Recon Marine. So, what’s the deal with these paddles? Every Recon Marine is presented with a paddle from his peers when he leaves the unit or the Marine Corps. The history of this tradition stems from the days of […]

‘Quoi?’ A Recon Marine does the French Amphibious Commando Course

When I was at 2d Recon Bn, I had the opportunity to attend the French Amphibious Commando Course in Martinique. The course is only three weeks long, but let me tell you … it’s a ball busting three weeks. You train on a little bit of everything jammed into that short course – hand-to-hand, rope […]

MARSOC Remembers July 31, 2011

MARSOC remembers it’s fallen Operators one year after their passing. On July 31, 2011 MARSOC and the SOF community was dealt a terrible blow with the loss of three seasoned Operators in a tragic accident. Their MSOT (Marine Special Operations Team) had just returned from a two-day long HELO operation with their Afghan Commando counterparts […]

Hero Remembered – MSGT John Hayes – 2d Recon Bn

July 8 marked 3 years since the Marine Recon community lost one of its finest. MSGT John Hayes was killed in action in Afghanistan on July 8, 2009. When I passed the indoc and was actually assigned to 2d Recon Bn, John was one of the first faces that we learned to fear. We were […]

MARSOC Operator Needs Help – a Call to Action

We usually talk about the men and women who’ve given the ultimate sacrifice in these ongoing wars, but today I want to speak of one man who survived.  On August 16, 2009, MSgt Eden Pearl (2d MARSOC) was traveling in a vehicle that was struck by an IED. He was thrown 30 feet from the […]

1st Recon Bn – Combat Jump in Iraq

Recon Marines from 1st Recon Bn conducted the first combat jump by Recon Marines since the Viet Nam war.  The Recon Marines jumped into Western Iraq  using a HAHO (High Altitude High Opening) parachute insertion. There were 3 parachute inserts conducted by Recon during Viet Nam, so it’s been quite a while since jumping has been used […]

Recon Marines Conduct Urban Assault Exercise

Here’s a quick video of the Maritime Raid Force of the 31st MEU conducting some urban raid training. The Maritime Raid Force consists of the Force Recon Detachment, Amphibious Recon Platoon and a security element from the Battalion Landing Team. %EMBED1% Video by Sgt. Paul Robbins Semper Fi Bill Janson is a former Recon Marine […]

A Tough 3 Weeks – French Amphibious Commando Course

When I was at 2d Recon Bn, I had the opportunity to attend the French Amphibious Commando Course in Martinique. The course is only 3 weeks long, but let me tell you … it’s a ball busting 3 weeks. You train on a little bit of everything jammed into that short course – hand-to-hand, rope […]

A Bad Jump that Got 2d Recon Jump Pay

Here’s the story of how 2D Recon Bn ended up getting jump pay again. When I was in Bn, we had jump status, but the Marine Corps decided that we didn’t need the normal jump pay for the hazardous training. Usually, military personnel that are assigned to a unit that trains in airborne operations gets […]

The Story Behind The Marine Recon Paddle

You may have seen a paddle displayed proudly in the home or office of a former Recon Marine. So, what’s the deal with these paddles? Every Recon Marine is presented with a paddle from his peers when he leaves the unit or the Marine Corps. The history of this tradition stems from the days of […]