Battalion Recon

Battalion Recon Marines with Bravo Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion (1st Recon), 1st Marine Division (Forward), pictured during a battle with Taliban insurgents in Northern Trek Nawa, Afghanistan, August 2010.

The leftmost Recon Marine with taking aim with a M249 Para belt-fed light machine gun.

Battalion Recon, sometimes known as Division Recon, are an elite cadre of special operators tasked with the obervation and reportage of enemy activity, strength and disposition in their parent Ground Combat Element's area of operation.

Battalion Recon Marines undergo a similar training pipeline to Force Reconnaissance Marines who tend to operate further out from the main force of Marines.

Unlike Force Recon, not all Battalion Recon Marines receive parachute training.

While the Recon Battalions maintain a direct action capability, it is more limited than the Force Recon companies, who themselves are less likely to perform direct action missions since the creation of MARSOC and the Marine Special Operations Teams.