FAST Lane
Two rapid-response units of highly trained Marines are working to keep terrorists at bay.
By Kris Ann Hegle

They form the first line of defense when it comes to heading off a terrorist attack, and they can deploy anywhere in the world on a moment's notice. Yet most people have never heard of the Marine Corps Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team, more commonly known as FAST Company.

The Marine Corps Security Force Battalion, headquartered in Norfolk, Va., maintains two FAST companies. These rapid-response units perform a variety of security missions, as directed by the chief of naval operations or fleet commanders. Highly mobile, FAST Marines might deploy to guard a nuclear-powered naval vessel that's refueling, enhance security at a U.S. embassy that's on high alert, or restore order in the wake of a terrorist attack.

Fast and flexible

In keeping with their name, FAST Marines are able to get in and out fast. Although both companies are based in Virginia (1st FAST in Norfolk and 2nd FAST in nearby Yorktown), platoons are forward-deployed to Japan, Spain, and Bahrain, where they're put on 24-hour standby. A platoon in Norfolk also is on standby. This enables FAST platoons, composed of approximately 50 Marines, to go anywhere in the world within a matter of hours.

"We're capable of doing an extremely important mission with a low number of personnel," explains Sgt. Jeremy Soles, who serves in 1st FAST Company's 4th platoon. "That's what makes us so mobile."

Each platoon leverages technology to the fullest. Members use night vision, thermal imaging or infrared, and microwave technology to detect intruders. Other high-tech devices are used to check for the presence of nuclear, biological, or chemical agents as well as explosives and weapons.

What makes a FAST platoon unique, however, is the array of skills its members possess. Each person has a special skill; Soles, for example, serves as his platoon's designated marksman. Members also are cross-trained in many areas, including riot control, the use of nonlethal weapons and equipment, secure communications, countersurveillance, physical security operations, urban combat techniques, and close-combat techniques.

"Our unit is completely self-sufficient," says Soles. "We have an asset, and we take control of it."

Shortly after the terrorist bombing of the USS Cole in October 2000, platoons from 1st and 2nd FAST companies were dispatched to Yemen where the Cole was moored. Once there, FAST Marines relieved many of the sleepless sailors who had been guarding their ship since the blast. Working nearly nonstop, FAST Marines secured the severely damaged ship, harbor, and nearby beachhead. They also secured a hotel that housed numerous U.S. officials, investigators, and a joint task force coordinating the response effort.

However, you won't find FAST Marines hunting down terrorists and rescuing hostages Rambo-style. Those tasks are left to special military counterterrorism units, such as Delta Force. FAST Marines instead take the defensive, setting traps for the enemy and shoring up security around potential terrorist targets.

"Pretty much when we get sent out, it's to defend, deter, and detect against any kind of terrorist threat or whatever could be out there," says Capt. Patrick Rapicault of 1st FAST Company's 4th platoon.

Unlike regular security forces, which guard a specific base or cache of weapons, FAST Marines guard just about anything. During training, platoons often deploy overseas so members can gain firsthand knowledge of the fuel sites, harbors, embassies, bases, or strategic weapons or aircraft facilities they might be asked to guard.

FAST Marines also occasionally participate in combat missions, as they did in December 1989 during Operation Just Cause in Panama, which helped depose dictator Manuel Noriega. Members of 1st FAST Company conducted several joint missions with the Corps' 2nd Light Armored Infantry Battalion. While the battalion provided the speed, armored protection, and heavy firepower, FAST Marines cleared several buildings once occupied by Panamanian forces, using their close-quarter combat skills to operate in the tight confines of an urban environment.

FAST platoons are commanded by captains, like Rapicault. Once deployed, each platoon commander deals directly with a fleet commander.

"Normally, a platoon is led by a lieutenant, but due to the complexity of the role we play and the relationship we have with higher-ups, a captain is more appropriate for the position," Rapicault explains.

According to Rapicault, the additional experience makes things easier when it comes to advising senior military and diplomatic officials about how a FAST platoon should be used. Often, a platoon commander must give such advice while working under stressful and adverse conditions, such as those that existed after the Cole bombing.

Training members of a FAST platoon to perform a wide variety of tasks in a high-pressure and often dangerous environment is no small feat. It takes approximately six to eight months of accelerated training to get a platoon ready to deploy, according to Gunnery Sgt. William Dodson, senior NCO for 1st FAST Company's 4th platoon.

Getting assigned to FAST isn't easy either. Every Marine completes the Corps' school of infantry at Camp Lejeune, N.C., or Camp Pendleton, Calif. Some Marines then are selected to attend the basic security guard course in Chesapeake, Va. Once that training is complete, a Marine may request to be assigned to either the Marine Security Guard Battalion, which provides guards to U.S. embassies and diplomatic posts, or the Marine Corps Security Force Battalion, which helps secure high-level assets. Although women can serve in the Marine Corps Security Force Battalion, which oversees both FAST companies, they're excluded from serving in combat positions and therefore can't be assigned to FAST. In the end, only a handful of Marines make the cut and wind up in a FAST platoon.

"It's very fast-paced once we get into the training pipeline," says Soles. "We work anywhere from 12 to 13 hours a day on average. For a single Marine it's challenging and even more so for a married Marine. We have a low percentage of married Marines in our unit."

Soles admits, however, he knew what he was getting into when he requested to come to FAST. So did fellow platoon member Lance Cpl. Antonio Monnin. Like Soles, Monnin requested the assignment, and he says he feels honored to serve in this highly specialized unit. "When it comes to being the best, this is the way to go," says Monnin.

Training in adverse conditions helps prepare FAST Marines to meet the demands they'll face during a real mission. Platoon members must not only be in top shape physically, but they also must be able to deal with the mental pressures that come from operating in a fast-paced environment.

"Each individual has to be able to make competent decisions under fatigue and the stresses of being hungry and tired," says Sgt. Michael Presley of 1st FAST Company's headquarters in Norfolk.

In April 2002, for example, Marines from 1st FAST Company participated in Exercise Northern Edge in Valdez, Alaska. During the joint-service training exercise, FAST Marines learned how to provide harbor security. Participants also got a chilling taste of how to avoid hypothermia as they navigated through snow-covered mountains during a cold-weather training exercise.

FAST Marines also train alongside servicemembers from other nations. In the fall of 2002, members of 1st FAST Company's 4th Platoon spent three weeks training with more than 50 servicemembers from Britain's Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines during Exercise Tartan Eagle.

"We have counterparts around the world," says Rapicault, who took part in the exercise. "We try to train with them and learn their tactics and techniques. You never know. Maybe sometime down the road, they could be on your right side or left flank, and because you've trained with them, you already have some kind of idea about how they operate and vice versa."

During Exercise Tartan Eagle, FAST Marines and Royal Marines participated in live-fire and "simunition" exercises. Simunition, or colored soap-powder rounds, enables Marines to use regular weapons and fire at will without causing serious injury. During one simunition training exercise, Marines fired at their instructors who were role-playing terrorists. To increase the difficulty of the exercise, observing instructors alerted each Marine when he was dead or injured, and other members of the platoon had to perform a medical evacuation while under fire.

FAST Marines say the rigorous training they go through pays off. By the end of the training cycle, members are anxious to deploy so they can test their mettle in a high-pressure environment during a real mission.

"We get an opportunity to see the kind of Marines we are turning out to be," says Presley. "I think overall it's pretty mentally challenging as well as physically challenging, but the outcome is always rewarding. That's what gives us the motivation to keep on going when we're out there."

FAST platoons typically deploy for three to six months before rotating stateside. Once a platoon is stateside, members will resume training, honing their skills and learning how to use the latest advanced security technology.

"Once you get here in FAST Company, you hit the ground running," says Presley. "There's little downtime."

FAST has maintained a rapid operations tempo since it was formed in 1987, just four years after the brutal bombing of the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. During the past 16 years, platoons have proven their value in more than 70 special security missions and operations.

In 1998, platoons were summoned after the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya were bombed. FAST Marines were mobilized again in 1999 and 2001 to reinforce security at the U.S. embassy in Macedonia in addition to being called into action after the bombing of the Cole.

Following the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001, a FAST platoon was assigned to guard the USNS Comfort. The Navy hospital ship berthed in lower Manhattan and provided food, laundry, and short-term lodging for firefighters and disaster recovery personnel working in the area.

FAST Marines say they hope they won't have to deploy on U.S. soil again, but they stand ready to do so. Meanwhile, FAST platoons will continue to protect U.S. interests overseas by beating terrorists to the punch. Just as terrorists rely on the element of surprise, so do FAST Marines who, at a moment's notice, can deploy anywhere in the world.