User talk:RekonDog
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[edit] History of Force Reconnaissance
I have only been involved with Wikipedia for a short time. I am in no way an expert in how to keep these pretentious wiki-snobs happy so they don't go in and finger-fark your work. I am, however, very knowledgeable in the history of Marine Force Reconnaissance. I am a life-member of and the current Communications Chief for the Force Reconnaissance Association. I am also the FRA's webmaster. I have original artwork of all Force Recon and Bn. Recon unit emblems and badges as well as scanned photos involving Force Recon Marines from the Amphibious Reconnaissance of WWII to present. I will gladly pass these along to you for use in the Forece Recon article at your request.
There are a few points that I would like to make. The origin of Marine Force Recon goes back to the Amphibious Reconnaissance Corps of WWII. Marine Force Recon can not trace it's roots to the Marine Parachute Battalions or the Marine Raiders.
Marine Corps Test Unit #1 was not a Force Recon unit but rather an infantry battalion with a Bn. H&S Company, a Regt. H&S Company, a 4.2 mortar platoon and one 75mm pack howitzer battery, all ofwhich were to develop deployments with the HR2s helicopters. A Recon platoon was also added to MCTU#1 with Joseph Z. Taylor as the platoon commander.
Marine Force Reconnaissance should not be referred to in past tense. Marine Force Recon is alive, well and not only conducting operations in support of the global war on terrorism by direction of the DOD from the 1st & 2nd MSOBs MARSOC but also conducting operations in support of the global war on terrorism in it's historical role as the eyes and ears of the MEF commander from the Deep Recon Platoons of the Marine Recon Battalions.
A side note that you may find motivating is that there has already been talk in the Marine Corps of re-activating the Force Reconnaissance Companies.
I suggest that you seek out and acquire a copy of FMFRP 12-21 "AARUGHA!: Report to Director, Historical Division, Headquarters, Marine Corps, on the History of Specialized and Force-Level Reconnaissance Activities and Units of the United States Marine Corps, 1900 - 1974" (pcn 140 122100 00) By Ray W. Stubbe 1981.
Contact me if you wish - commchief@forcerecon.com Datado (talk) 03:56, 1 June 2008 (UTC)
- I've noticed you've been using your userpage as a sandbox for editing United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance. If you'd like, I can help you format the article to fit Wikipedia's Manual of Style so it won't get shredded when you incorporate the changes into the article. There is actually a surprising amount of bureacracy in Wikipedia, and some editors are overly concerned with the little details, and it would be a shame for all that work to be lost for stupid reasons. If nothing else, citing your references will help a huge amount. bahamut0013♠♣ 16:33, 1 June 2008 (UTC)
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- Well, like you said, right now would be best spent researching and assembling the data, but you should keep notes on what you reference to so you can cite them later. You needn't worry about copyright when dealing with references: all US Government works are public domain, including all Marine Corps pubs. Anything else you can cite as a reference, as long as you don't copy word-for-word. It is very important to keep track of this, because anything that isn't referenced can (and often will) be deleted! I've had mixed luck in adding my own thoughts and experiences in articles in the past: sometimes it is accepted at face value, and othertimes it is challenged because some yahoo can't find it google.
- Also, I would avoid creating new articles for the time being. Most of the new articles you've made thus far could be better incorporated into other articles. It's better to have one or two really broad and deep articles than many really small and specific ones. Thus, anything recon-related should be a subsection within the recon article. bahamut0013♠♣ 22:20, 1 June 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Proposed edits
I think your current version is looking great. The following are grammatical edits to just a couple of paragraphs.
Reconnaissance is a valuable asset to the Marine Air-Ground Task Force. When the MEF Commander is faced with the uncertainty that exists in the battlefield, reconnaissance is needed to ensure that the proper measures are taken to overcome their adversaries, known to Marines as battlespace shaping, to act and react to the changes in the battlefield. As other Special Operations Forces are tasked and reports to USSOCOM, Marines in reconnaissance units are reserved for supporting the Marine Infantry that are directly involved in battlespace shaping.
However, Force Reconnaissance is employed far beyond the forward edge of the battle area (FEBA), the 'Area of Interest', while the Division's Recon Marines are tasked within the boundaries of the Commander's 'Area of Influence'. It is this depth of penetration that characterizes the difference in the roles of both 'elite' Marine Reconnaissance units.
