United States Marine Corps (USMC) Force Reconnaissance (Force Recon) can be considered to be the USMC equivalent of units such as the Navy SEALs, Air Force Air Commandos, or U.S. Army Special Forces (though their missions do differ by some margin). Although they are not under the wing of U.S. Special Operations Command, their training and deployment agenda may appear to suggest otherwise (Though some Force Recon Marines have been assigned to a special unit, 'MCSOCOM Detachment One', in an attempt to start integration with USSOCOM). Marine Force Recon operators perform highly specialized, small scale, high-risk operations, such as:

• Amphibious and deep ground surveillance.
• Assist in specialized technical missions {Weapons of mass destruction(NBC), Radio, sensors and beacons, etc.}
• Assist in ordnance delivery (i.e., designating targets for laser-guided bomb units, ground artillery and naval artillery).
• Conduct 'limited scale raids,' including gas and oil platform (GOPLATS) raids, Military Interdiction Operations (MIOs) and the capture of specific personnel or sensitve materials.
• Hostage/Prisoner of war rescue

Marine Force Recon detachments operate within Marine Expeditionary Units (Special Operations Capable) {MEU(SOC)}. They are not to be confused with Marine Reconnaissance, as Force operators are much more experienced in deep recon and are at times assigned duties other than reconnaissance (which are not assigned to Recon Marines).