Special Naval Troops (Menghe)
| Special Naval Troops 특수 해병 부대 / 特殊海兵部隊 | |
|---|---|
| File:Special Naval Troops insignia.png Full color insignia | |
| Active | 1977 – present |
| Country |  Menghe |
| Branch | Menghe Navy |
| Type | Special forces |
| Role | Special operations |
| Size | 7 Battalions (est. 3,000 personnel total) |
| Commanders | |
| Commander-in-Chief | Supreme Marshal Choe Sŭng-min |
| Commander of the Special Naval Troops | Major-General Ju Man-hŭi |
The Special Naval Troops (Menghean: 특수 해병 부대 / 特殊海兵部隊, Tŭksu Haebyŏng Budae), also translated as Special Marine Troops and Marine Special Forces, are a special forces unit in the Menghean armed forces tasked with special reconnaissance and small-unit operations in coastal areas, especially in preparation for an amphibious assault. They are subordinate to the Marine Infantry, and by extension to the Menghean Navy, and serve as the counterpart to the Menghean Army's Deep Mission Troops.
History
The Special Naval Troops of the Naval Infantry were first established in 1977, as a special subgroup of the Troops of the General Directorate for Intelligence, precursor to today's Deep Mission Troops.
Indirectly, they trace their lineage back to the Special Naval Vanguard Forces, which were formed in 1929 under the Greater Menghean Empire. These units participated extensively in the Great Conquest War, particularly in operations around Khalistan and along the coast of Maverica.
Training
Applicants seeking to join the Special Naval Troops must first pass the same four-day selection exercise as applicants for the Deep Mission Troops. All applicants are required to have at least two years of prior experience in a military unit, and most are former members of the Marine Infantry. Their acceptance rates tend to be higher than those for the Deep Mission Troops, though this is in part because they draw from a more exclusive recruiting pool. Advanced training for the Special Naval Troops lasts for one year, after which time entrants begin renewable four-year terms of service.
Like Deep Mission Troops, Special Naval Troops are trained extensively in resistance to interrogation and may be given suicide pills before an operation. Other training focuses on operations in and around water, including swimming and scuba diving while burdened.
To improve their flexibility when deploying on missions, Special Naval Troops are trained in parachute operations, including parachuting into the ocean with inflatable boats. They are also trained to deploy from helicopters, offshore landing craft, and specially modified submarines, and to conduct surface and underwater approaches to the shore.
Organization
Every brigade within the Menghean Marine Infantry contains one battalion of Special Naval Troops, which is tasked with carrying out missions in support of that brigade's landing operations. Thus, while the Special Naval Troops are administratively independent in terms of training and equipment, in operational practice they are directly subordinate to brigade or battle group commanders.
Prior to 2015, the 4th Army was also believed to contain at least two and possibly as many as four battalions of Special Naval Troops, but these were reorganized after the partitioning of Innominada. Currently, they form an Independent Coastal Battalion and an Independent Long-Range Battalion. The former is tasked with special operations within Menghe's exclusive economic zone, and by varying sources is either subordinate to, or has a liasion office with, the Maritime Patrol Forces, which are subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Security but have a secondary command structure within the Menghean Navy. The latter is apparently structured to carry out international deployments, though the details of its mission are not clear.
Sources also differ on the size of the Independent Long-Range Battalion. Anonymous intelligence leaked in 2016 stated that the force only exists on paper to boost Menghe's international credibility, and that occasional publicity photos use other brigades' Special Naval Troops personnel in modified uniforms or with one-off special equipment. Skeptics, however, have alleged that this explanation may be part of a disinformation campaign originating from the Directorate for the Control of Information.
In standard brigade-organic battalions, a battalion of Special Naval Troops is composed of three companies, each of which is divided into four squads of ten soldiers each, in much the same way as the Deep Mission Troops. In terms of number of personnel, the company is comparable in size to a platoon (45 operatives) and the battalion is comparable in size to a company (135 operatives). There is also a battalion-level headquarters, which does not deploy on missions and is solely concerned with planning but is usually made up of veteran Special Naval Troops personnel.
Missions
The Special Naval Troops would be expected to take part in a variety of coastal missions, some of them resembling those undertaken by the Deep Mission Troops. As part of the Marine Infantry, however, they have a greater focus on missions undertaken ahead of an amphibious landing. This may include:
- Assessing the suitability of coastal terrain for landing operations;
- Determining the size and dispersion of coastal defense forces in considered landing zones;
- Locating and disabling coastal mines or other anti-landing obstacles;
- Eliminating enemy patrols and clearing enemy observation posts in the hours before a landing; and
- Conducting deep reconnaissance beyond the beachhead to determine the concentration of enemy reinforcements and delay their arrival through mining of roads and destruction of communications infrastructure.
During the Innominadan Crisis, Special Naval Troops were also deployed on diversionary missions, sent to visibly destroy coastal observation posts or detonate explosives in areas where the Marine Infantry did not plan a landing, as a means of confusing enemy forces about the true location of a landing.
Special Naval Troops units may also be called upon for other missions requiring highly skilled combat operations around water. In past combat exercises, they have rehearsed assaults on oil rigs and smuggler craft, and during the leadup to the Innominadan Crisis they were involved in retaking the cargo ship Menggang from pirate hijackers. Officially, these missions are left to the Independent Coastal Battalion, which conducts extra training for boarding and structure-assault operations, but some sources mention that personnel from other units are rotated in during exercises to improve the force's flexibility.