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Critical skills operator
Military unit / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A critical skills operator (CSO) is a United States Marine in the primary special operations career field of the United States Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC). CSOs, colloquially known as "Raiders", are awarded the Military Occupational Specialty 0372. CSOs are assigned to Marine Special Operations Teams (MSOT), Companies (MSOC) and Battalions (MSOBs).[2] CSOs are trained to execute a variety of missions. Specialized training also provides capabilities in language fluency necessary for crossing cultural barriers, allowing CSOs to connect with local forces and civilians.[3] It takes, at a minimum, four and a half years to create a Marine CSO; a Marine must have served a minimum of three years or achieved the rank of at least lance corporal before being considered a MARSOC candidate.[4][5][6]
Critical skills operator | |
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![]() CSO providing security in Helmand province during the War in Afghanistan | |
Active | October 1, 2011 - Present |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Type | Special Operations Force |
Size | ~1,000[1] |
Part of | ![]() ![]() |
Nickname(s) | Raiders |
The 0372 MOS was created on October 1, 2011. MARSOC's initial requirement for manning was 850 CSOs to outfit 48 fully operational Marine Special Operations Teams.[7]