Overview
- Training Command launched the Ground Reconnaissance Course at Camp Pendleton on April 27, establishing it as the first step in a two-course pipeline that replaces the long‑standing Basic Reconnaissance Course.
- The new pathway shifts the prerequisite from Marine Combat Training to the Infantry Rifleman Course at the School of Infantry to strengthen infantry skills, cut wait times, and start human‑performance support earlier.
- GRC formalizes scout skills for infantry and Light Armored Reconnaissance units with instruction in land navigation, water survival, communications, supporting arms, surveillance, and patrolling.
- The follow‑on Amphibious Reconnaissance Course builds on those foundations with aquatic operations, amphibious mission planning, and expanded use of communications gear and sensors, and it awards graduates the 0321 Reconnaissance Marine MOS.
- Training Command’s Maj. Gen. Michael A. Brooks said the program keeps Recon’s rigor while updating it to deliver timely intelligence in complex environments, reflecting Force Design analysis that includes new Scout Platoons.