Created by Gary Friedrich and Dick Ayers, they were a specially trained tactical commando squad.
[2] The Leathernecks were commanded by U.S. Navy submarine Captain Simon Savage, who modeled his squad after his one-time associate Nick Fury's Howling Commandos.
Savage had appeared in several of the Howling Commando issues as the commander of the USS Sea Wolf, a submarine taking them on missions.
[3] The 2nd, 3rd and 4th issues had the Raiders come across Baron Strucker and HYDRA on a Pacific Island.
[4] Savage, now shown in a Marine Corps uniform bearing both Captain's bars and what appear to be First Sergeant stripes, appeared in Fall of the Hulks: Gamma at the funeral of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross.