United States Marine Corps Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= Marine Amphibious Reconnaissance


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dates= January 7, 1943 - June 19, 1957
country= United States
allegiance=War Department, Department of the Navy
branch= USMC
type= Special Operations
role= Amphibious Reconnaissance
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command_structure=Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet (Jan 1943 - Aug 1943)
V Amphibious Corps (Aug 1943 - Apr 1944)
Fleet Marine Force (Apr 1944 - 7 Jan 1954)
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motto= "Celer, Silens, Mortalis"
("Swift, Silent, Deadly")
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battles=World War I
Korean War
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The amphibious reconnaissance units of the Marine Amphibious Corps ("then later the Fleet Marine Force") were the precursors to the latter Marine Division Recon Battalions and the Fleet Marine Force Recon Companies. They were specialized teams of Marines and Navy Corpsmen who performed clandestine missions to ensure the safety of the beach landings by maritime landing forces on enemy soil during World War II and the Korean War. Their efforts have contributed to the success of the island-hopping campaigns on the numerous atolls in the Pacific against the Japanese forces and the North Korean forces in North Korea. These teams were accompanied by experienced explosive ordnance disposal personnel and combat swimmers from the Navy, Army and Marine Corps of the Naval Combat Demolition Unit, which later comprised of an all-Navy personnel unit in 1944.Bruce F. Meyers, "Swift, Silent, and Deadly: Marine Amphibious Reconnaissance in the Pacific, 1942-1945", 2004]

Their lineage of amphibious techniques utilized insertion methods under the cover of darkness by rubber boats, patrol torpedo boats, Catalina flying boats, converted high speed destroyer transport ships, or APDs and submarines for troop tranports. [Chief of Naval Operations, "Dictionary of American Fighting Ships"', Wash., D.C.: General Public Office; Volumn 1-7] Their assigments included scouting or reconnoitering a planned or potential landing site and intelligence-gathering missions. Their objectives were to conduct topographic surveys of the terrain inland, hydrographic surveys by measuring water depths and charting coral heads, and taking photographs and soil samples for permability for amphibious tractors and landing craft parties. These teams also evaluated the beaches looking for exits off the hostile beaches inland. Most importantly, they compromised the locations of enemy forces, their strengths and weapons in the follow-up of an amphibious assault.

History

During the war in Korea, the Battalion again operated in joint effort with UDT in conducting a series of raids, destroying railroad tunnels and bridges along Korea's east coast. At numereous times, the Marines independently operated in 'deep reconnaissance', missions requiring them to be 200 miles within enemy lines. In 1951, they made the first helicopter assault in the Marine Corps history.

On September 23, 1945, Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion was disbanded result due to down-sizing during peacetime.

Organizations

In 1954, Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion re-established to form two companies.

*Alpha Company (or 1st Amhibious Reconnaissance Company)
*Bravo Company (or 2nd Amhibious Reconnaissance Company)

1st Ampibious Reconnaissance Company consisting of three platoons:

*Reconnaissance Platoon
*Parachute Reconnaissance Platoon
*Pathfinder Reconnaissance Platoon