The Marine Corps is updating its Marine Reconnaissance training curriculum through the launch of a new Ground Reconnaissance Course, according to Training and Education Command.
As the new initial course in the recon training pipeline, GRC is one of two programs, alongside the Amphibious Reconnaissance Course, replacing the service’s Basic Reconnaissance Course.
The new curriculum, which was launched April 27 at the Camp Pendleton-based Reconnaissance Training Company, was developed following analysis of how recon training can best support the service’s Force Design initiatives.
The Reconnaissance Training Company, or RTC, trains Marines who will fight as part of scout or reconnaissance teams within the Corps’ Ground Combat Element of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force.
“Marine Reconnaissance training will have the same rigor it’s long been famous for,” Maj. Gen. Michael A. Brooks, commanding general of Training Command, said in a May 1 release. “These changes are incredibly valuable, shaping a force capable of providing critical intelligence in dynamic and complex environments and ensuring our Marines remain the most effective on the battlefield.”
The curriculum updates, meanwhile, are also designed to enhance students’ infantry skills by way of replacing Marine Combat Training for non-infantry Marines with the Infantry Rifleman Course.
“This change reduces wait times and offers early exposure to human performance support, ensuring a smoother progression through infantry, aquatic and physical training to better prepare Marines for the demands of reconnaissance training,” the release stated.
Students attending the Ground Reconnaissance Course will undertake a combination of lecture and practical application training in land navigation, water survival, communications, surveillance, patrolling and supporting arms.
The Amphibious Reconnaissance Course, meanwhile, is designed to supplement the foundational training provided during the Infantry Rifleman Course and GRC.
The ARC focuses on aquatic operations, amphibious mission planning and use of unique communications and sensor equipment, among other areas.
Marines who finish the ARC will be given the military occupational specialty of Reconnaissance Marine, or 0321.
The replacement of the Basic Reconnaissance Course was hinted at in early April by Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Carlos A. Ruiz, who noted in a Facebook post that the April 3 graduating class would be one of the last before the service transitioned to courses more aligned with the 2030 Force Design objectives.
That particular graduating class included Sgt. Dakota Meyer, who was presented the Medal of Honor in 2011 by President Barack Obama for actions in Afghanistan.
Meyer, 37, reenlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in April 2025 because he believed he “had more to give,” he stated previously.
Military Times editor Cristina Stassis contributed to this report.
J.D. Simkins is Editor-in-Chief of Military Times and Defense News, and a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War.
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