--- title: "Nearly 50 recon and intel Marines headed to undersea cable guard duty in Europe" description: "About 50 Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, will deploy to Finland to oversee data cables and petroleum pipelines in the Baltic Sea." date: "2026-10-27" modified: "2026-10-27" authors: - name: "Matt White" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/matt-white.md" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/recon-marines-deploying-undersea-cables-pipelines/" categories: - "Marine Corps" - "Military Branches" - "News" --- # Nearly 50 recon and intel Marines headed to undersea cable guard duty in Europe ![230725-N-QI593-1031 BALTIC SEA (July 25, 2023) U.S. Marine Cpl. Logan Gomez, from Houston, assigned to the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion under the command and control of Task Force 61/2, tests a communication system during small boat operations aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Roosevelt (DDG 80) in the Baltic Sea, July 25, 2023. Roosevelt is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe area of operations, employed by the U.S. Sixth Fleet to defend U.S., allied and partner interests. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Elexia Morelos)]() *A 2023 file photo showing a Marine with the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion during a previous Baltic Sea exercise. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Elexia Morelos.* A team of close to 50 reconnaissance and intelligence-focused Marines are being sent to join a NATO mission that oversees the network of undersea internet cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea. The [Marines]() are being sent to join the NATO-led operation due, at least in part, to their expertise with unmanned reconnaissance drones and other tactical intelligence-gathering skills. In a Marine Corps press release, the senior officer in the Finnish Navy [said the Marines would work alongside Finns and other NATO forces]() to monitor waters in the Baltic, which are crisscrossed with data cables and natural gas pipelines. "The experience, skills and systems of the U.S. Marine Corps are perfectly suited for supplementing our situation picture and supporting our monitoring of the Baltic Sea,” said Chief of Operations of the Finnish Navy Capt. Johan Tillander. The roughly four dozen Marines are from the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, and the II Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, both of which are based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Reconnaissance Marines are widely known as the service’s elite light infantry, but their primary capabilities are the passive skills of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, or ISR. The Information Group is an intelligence analysis unit trained to keep commanders apprised of ISR sources like those collected by recon units. Both units were in Europe on training rotations, the Marine release said, when they were reassigned to the Baltic operation, dubbed [Enhanced Vigilance Activity Baltic Sentry](), to “operate alongside the Finnish Coastal Brigade to provide advanced expeditionary surveillance and tactical reconnaissance capabilities. The rotation will leverage the unique capabilities of Reconnaissance Marines, including small Unmanned Aerial Systems and littoral sensors, to feed vital data directly into the shared NATO common operational picture.” The waters of the Baltic Sea — and the seafloor beneath them — have been an increasingly active front in the simmering conflict between Russia and NATO after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In September 2022, an undersea explosion broke the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines between Germany and Russia. [A Ukrainian intelligence officer went on trial this month in Germany]() on charges related to the destruction. Since the Nord Stream attacks, [more than half a dozen other attempts have been made to disable or cut pipelines or data networks]() on the floor of the Baltic. ## Author Matt White is the former senior editor of Task & Purpose*.* He writes on news, people and events that affect the lives of those in the Army, Air Force and Space Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. He also helps direct and edit coverage across Task & Purpose’s newsroom. He has written widely on military aviation and mishaps, service members with unique stories, and special operations, including [combat search and rescue](). ### Author social links [Facebook]() ## More - [How to ace the Marine Basic Recon Course]() - [Robot dogs are coming to an Air Force base near you]() - [Operation Molotov: Why NATO Just Flat Out Collapsed In The Summer Of 2024]() - [‘Brutality over precision’ — What the Army is learning from Russia in Ukraine]() - [Meet GMARS, NATO’s next big rocket artillery system]() - [20 years after invading Iraq, US troops are still holding things together there]() - [This amphibious recon vehicle might end up replacing the Marine Corps’ decades-old LAV fleet]() - [The Marine Corps is doubling down on loitering munitions ahead of the next big war]()