The Marines are moving nearly 1,000 special operations troops and civilian employees to Camp Lejeune.
From its beginnings in 2006, Marine Special Operations, or MARSOC, has been split between the East and West coasts, with some of the troops at Lejeune, and the rest at Camp Pendleton in Southern California.
That’s going to end. It has decided to pull all its forces together at Lejeune, where the unit’s headquarters anchors a high-security compound.
“Consolidation not only positions MARSOC for increased training, readiness, performance, innovation, but it also provides significant cost savings to both the Marine Corps and US Special Operations Command,” said Major Kristin Tortorrici, a spokeswoman for the command.
The move will boost the state’s already large profile in the world of special operations. The notoriously secretive Delta Force is based at Fort Bragg, as is the command for all of Army special operations and the Army’s special warfare center and school.
The Marines say they’ll be moving people in phases to ease the impact on families and the local community in Jacksonville. The first phase begins in summer, 2021, and the moves will be complete by the end of 2022.