Here’s the app that helps regular Marines become Raiders

Marine Corps Raiders are the U.S. military's newest group of elite special operators. They can trace their pedigree to World War II, but the modern units and their headquarters, Marine Special Operations Command, were stood up in 2006. And an app helps them prepare.

Marines with the 1st Special Operations Battalion practice boarding and taking down a ship at night. Photo: US Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Robert M. Storm

So how does the Corps get gung-ho Marines ready to try out for the Raiders and other Marine special ops units? With a smartphone app and .pdf guide.

The 10-week fitness program focuses on getting prospective students ready to complete the Marine Corps Physical Fitness Test, the intermediate swim test, and the MARSOC Assessment and Selection Ruck movement standards, according to the intro that comes up when users download the app.

Marines who do well in these "Three Pillars" are more likely to complete the MARSOC Assessment and Selection and go on to become Marine Corps operators.

Each of the three major events gets at least two days of training each week, and there are detailed explanations of how to safely and effectively do each exercise. This includes everything from proper form for a pull up to the best way to simulate the weight and feel of a weapon while ruck marching off base.

The app does everything it can to help students succeed. It has an integrated checklist and a notes section so users can track their progress through a workout, and it has a reminder function to give people the nudge out the door to begin training.

The .pdf guide obviously has fewer bells and whistles, but it's well set up. The exercise regimens are modular and each module is clearly printed on a card. So, to get the materials together for a daily workout, the reader pulls out the assigned cards for that day and then completes each card in order. The same images and workout descriptions that are available in the app are present in the .pdf.

Raider candidates should check out the app and .pdf. And for more on MARSOC go here.