United States Marine Corps Reconnaissance Battalions

A United States Marine Corps Reconnaissance Battalion (or commonly called Marine Division Recon) is a reconnaissance unit within the Ground Combat Element (GCE) of a Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) that conducts amphibious reconnaissance, underwater reconnaissance, advanced force operations, battlespace shaping, ground reconnaissance, surveillance, raids and direct action in support of the Marine division (MARDIV), subordinate division elements, or a designated MAGTF.

Although reconnaissance companies are conventional forces they do share many of the same tactics, techniques, procedures and equipment of special operations forces.

Reconnaissance forces are an asset of the MAGTF that provides military intelligence to command and control for battlespace, allowing the MAGTF to act, and react, to changes in the battlefield. While Marine reconnaissance assets may operate in specialized missions, they are unlike their United States Special Operations Forces counterparts. Both division and force are solely reserved for supporting the infantry, which are directly involved in the commander's force of action in the battlefield, or battlespace shaping.

Many of the types of reconnaissance missions that are conducted by Marine Recon units are characterized by its degree in depth of penetration. This greatly increases the mission time, risk, and support coordination needs. Division reconnaissance are in charge of the commander's Area of Influence, the close and distant battlespace; the force reconnaissance platoons are employed farther in the deep battlespace, or the Area of Interest.

These are the main missions that are outlined to some, or all of, the reconnaissance assets in the Marine Corps:

The Marine Corps's division-level reconnaissance was first conceived in 1941 by Lieutenant Colonel William J. Whaling. He needed a group of specialized scouts and skilled marksmen to form a "Scout and Sniper Company". Two of the newly established Marine divisions, 1st and 2nd Marine Division contained their own scout company. Larger infantry regiments called for more recon, scouts and sniper assets. By 1945, the divisions had instituted and organized their own scout-sniper, light armored reconnaissance (LAR), and division reconnaissance assets.

As a result of MCO 5401.5, dated 24 August 1952, the USMC Force Restructure and Implementation Plan, the Marine Corps shrunk its forces and as a result reconnaissance battalions were eliminated and reconnaissance companies became a part of infantry regiments.

2nd Reconnaissance Battalion was formed on 22 January 1958. 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion was formed on 15 April 1958. 1st Reconnaissance Battalion was formed on 1 May 1958. 4th Reconnaissance Battalion was formed on 1 July 1962. 5th Reconnaissance Battalion was formed in 1966.