and ambushes. Organization A Marine Corps Reconnaissance Battalion consists of five companies - a Headquarters Company and four "line" companies named Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Force. Each line company has a headquarters element and two platoons - a reconnaissance and surveillance (R&S) platoon and a visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) platoon. Deep Reconnaissance Platoons Deep Reconnaissance Platoons, or DRPs, are units within Recon Battalions that carry out the role of Force Reconnaissance. The first DRPs were formed in March 1975 after the conclusion of American involvement in the Vietnam War, when the Marine Corps was downsized; Force Recon was reduced to a single regular company. Both 1st and 3d Battalion received a 23-man Deep Reconnaissance Platoon. DRPs gained additional importance in 2006, when all active-duty Force Recon companies were transferred to Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command and became Marine Special Operations Battalions. Force Recon Marines not in an MSOB became part of the DRPs, which were placed in the Delta Companies of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Recon Battalions. Standard Recon Platoon The standard recon platoon in a Recon Battalion consists of: Platoon Commander: First Lieutenant or Captain Platoon Sergeant: Gunnery Sergeant Field Radio Operator: Corporal or Sergeant Special Equipment NCO: Sergeant Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsman (SARC): First, Second, or Third Class Petty Officer Recon Teams ×3 Team Leader: Staff Sergeant or Sergeant Assistant Team Leader: Sergeant or Corporal Radio Operator: Sergeant or Corporal Assistant Radio Operator: Corporal or Lance Corporal Point Man: Corporal or Lance Corporal Slackman: Corporal or Lance Corporal. Training Table of equipment All amphibious recon Marines [Force and Division] and Corpsmen [IDC Corpsmen and SARC] are provided general issued equipment, these are the weapons that are generally used by both MAGTF Recon assets. These weapons are generally used by most other Marines in the infantry, except with minor modifications. Although Force Recon units receive the same equipment as their division recon counterparts, they also have equipment similar to that issued to comparable USSOCOM units. Force Recon are assigned to missions remote from any available fire support and fully rely on specialized weapons that are versatile enough to be flexible in the commander's area of interest. Data Automated Communications Terminal (DACT) – The DACT system, built and designed by Raytheon, is similar to a hand-held Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) that allows the commanders a Common Operational Picture (COP) to their platoons/teams through battalion/regimental levels. The