Talkin' About Force Diversification

According to several articles (here is one from Strategy Page) the United States Navy is considering creating a new force of naval infantry. Not getting into the political side of a Navy vs. Marines debate, I think this might be a good idea. The USN has long had one of the premier Special Operations Forces, the SEALs, but as the United States begins to find itself in non-conventional warfare across the globe the ranks of Spec Ops are starting to strain. This new naval infantry battalion would allow the projection of conventional forces into a Special Operations role (Jonathan Caverley of Intel Dump has coined this middle ground "SO/CF", Special Operations by Conventional Forces. I think that's apt.)

In addition, the new Expeditionary Combat Battalion (ECG) would take over some roles traditionaly performed by marines or SEALs.

But the ECG is expected to be higher quality than the marines, something close to U.S. Army Special Forces. The ECG would be trained in foreign languages and cultures, and be part of the force that provided training to foreign navies. But the ECG would also take over some SEAL functions, like providing boarding parties for dangerous interdiction missions. Most of these boarding operations are not dangerous, and are handled by specially trained sailors and Masters at Arms. These folks are also doing a job that has traditionally belonged to “marines.” But since the U.S. Navy no longer has control of the U.S. Marine Corps, and needs marines, it has to rebuild the force under a new name. Or, rather, several new names.

I think this type of special operations capable force (not the same as a Special Operations force) could be a valuable asset.