USMC Jungle Warfare Training Center Embroidered Patch - 5" patch with a wax back

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Seller: tattoo_ink ✉️ (8,901) 100%, Location: New Kensington, Pennsylvania, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 156095842697 USMC Jungle Warfare Training Center Embroidered Patch - 5" patch with a wax back. 4-17 INFANTRY USMC Jungle Warfare Training Center Embroidered Patch - 5" patch with a wax back and merrowed edge United States Marine Corps - eagle globe and anchor Camp Gonsalves is a U.S. Marine Corps jungle warfare training area located in northern Okinawa, Japan, across the villages of Kunigami and Higashi. Established in 1958, it is the largest U.S. training facility in Okinawa. The camp is located in the Yanbaru forest protected area, raising long time ecological concerns enhanced by the 2016 plan to build new helipads. Also known as the NTA (Northern Training Area), and since 1998 as the JWTC (Jungle Warfare Training Center) it occupies 9,000 acres (36 km2)of jungle in Northern Okinawa. The hilly and rugged terrain is topped with single and double canopy forests. The region supplies the densely populated south of the island with drinking water. As part of the Ryukyu Islands subtropical evergreen forests, most of the area surrounding JWTC is designated as a national forest by the Government of Japan. ~~ The history of the United  States Marine Corps (USMC) begins with the founding of the Continental Marines  on 10 November 1775 to conduct ship-to-ship fighting, provide shipboard security  and discipline enforcement, and assist in landing forces. Its mission evolved  with changing military doctrine and foreign policy of the United States. Owing  to the availability of Marine forces at sea, the United States Marine Corps has  served in nearly every conflict in United States history. It attained prominence  when its theories and practice of amphibious warfare proved prescient, and  ultimately formed a cornerstone of the Pacific Theater of World War II. By the  early 20th century, the Marine Corps would become one of the dominant theorists  and practitioners of amphibious warfare. Its ability to rapidly respond on short  notice to expeditionary crises has made and continues to make it an important  tool for American foreign policy. The Marine Recon we know today dates  back to the W.W.II. Before 1944 the MR were primarily scout/sniper units. In  April 1944 a two company amphibious reconnaissance battalion were formed. They  started operating with UDT (Underwater Demolition Team), to conduct beach  reconnaissance and hydrographic survey. The MR along with UDT recon'd for the  landings at Iwo Jima in 1945. During the war in Korea the MR and UDT did  a series of raids on Korea's east coast, destroying railroad tunnels and  bridges. At a time the MR operated 200 miles behind enemy lines. In 1951 the MR  made the first helicopter assault in the Marine Corps history. When the  marines landed in Vietnam in 1965, the MR were there to support their respective  Units. In Vietnam the MR conducted deep and distant reconnaissance patrols. They  mostly operated in seven-man teams performing the so called 'Stingray'  operations. The last marines left Vietnam in 1971. During the 1970s and  1980s the MR went through some changes. 23-man deep reconnaissance platoons were  created to compensate for the seducement of the MR after the Vietnam War. The  basic Recon teams were still the four-man teams. When the hostage recovery  program was started in 1976 with federal law enforcement agencies and the Army  Special Forces, some of the MR units were assigned to Direct Action missions. In  1977, snipers were again a part of the marine units. In October 1983 the  MR took part in the invasion of Grenada, and in 1989 they went into Panama in  Operation 'Just Cause'. In 1990 MR was deployed in the Gulf. Here they scouted  the front lines of the Iraqi forces. They found ways through enemy lines for the  marine invasion. Prior to the ground war the MR took 238 prisoners. NOTE:  The Marine Recon is not a part of SOCOM (Special Operation Command). Stationed: Active Duty: Division Recon Company-1st Marine Division Camp  Pendleton California 1st Force Recon Company, 1st SRIG, Camp Pendleton,  California 2nd Recon Battalion-Camp Lejuene North Carolina(2nd Force Recon  Company is now part of this unit) Division Recon Company-3rd Marine Division,  Camp Butler, Okinawa Japan 5th Force Recon Company, Camp Butler, Okinawa Japan Reserve: 3rd Force Recon Company, Mobile Alabama 4th Force Recon Company,  Reno Nevada and Oahu Hawaii 4th Reconnaissance Battalion-San Antonio Texas,  Billings Montana, Albuquerque New Mexico, and Anchorage Alaska. Weapons:  M16A2, M203, M249 SAW, M9 Beretta Handgun, H&K MP5, M40 sniper rifle, Barret .50  caliber Heavy sniper rifle. LINEAGE OF 3RD RECONNAISSANCE BATTALION 3RD MARINE DIVISION UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS 1942 - 1945 ACTIVATED 16 SEPTEMBER 1942 AT CAMP PENDLETON, CA , AS COMPANY E SCOUTS, 3RD  TANK BATTALION, AND ASSIGNED TO THE 3RD MARINE DIVISION DEPLOYED JANUARY-  FEBRUARY 1943 TO AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND REDESIGNATED 20 APRIL 1943 AS 3RD  SCOUT COMPANY, HEADQUARTERS BATTALION, 3RD MARINE DIVISION REDESIGNATED 15 MAY 1943 AS COMPANY E (SCOUT), 3RD TANK BATTALION REDESIGNATED 1 JULY 1943 AS COMPANY D (SCOUT) 3RD TANK BATTALION REDESIGNATED 1 APRIL 1944 AS AMPHIBIOUS RECONNAISSANCE COMPANY, HEADQUARTERS  BATTALION, 3RD MARINE DIVISION PARTICIPATED IN THE FOLLOWING WWII  CAMPAIGNS BOUGAINVILLE SOLOMON ISLANDS GUAM IWO JIMA RELOCATED DECEMBER 1945 TO CAMP PENDLETON, CA DEACTIVATED 31 DECEMBER  1945 1952 - 1964 REACTIVATED 1 MARCH 1952 AT CAMP PENDLETON, CA AS  RECONNAISSANCE COMPANY, HEADQUARTERS BATTALION AND ASSIGNED TO THE 3RD MARINE  DIVISION FLEET MARINE FORCE DEPLOYED AUGUST 1953 TO CAMP GIFU, JAPAN DEPLOYED APRIL 1956 TO CAMP HAUGE, OKINAWA DEACTIVATED 14 APRIL 1958 REACTIVATED 15 APRIL 1958 AT CAMP SCHWAB, OKINAWA, AS THE 3RD  RECONNAISSANCE BATTALION AND ASSIGNED TO THE 3RD MARINE DIVISION, FLEET  MARINE FORCE 1965 - 1992 DEPLOYED MAY 1965 TO CHU LAI, REPUBLIC OF  VIET-NAM PARTICIPATED IN WAR IN VIET-NAM, MAY 1965 - NOVEMBER 1969,  OPERATING FROM DA NANG HUE/PHU BAI QUANG TRI REDEPLOYED DURING  DECEMBER 1969 TO CAMP SCHWAB, OKINAWA DEPLOYED THROUGHOUT THE WESTERN  PACIFIC AREAS UNTIL IT'S STAND DOWN AND DEACTIVATION DURING 1992 United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance (Force Recon) units are  special-purposes units roughly analogous to the Navy SEALs, Air Force Air  Commandos, or U.S. Army Special Forces and are widely recognized as the "special  forces" of the Marine Corps. Marine Force Recon personnel, or 'operators,'  perform highly specialized, small scale, high-risk operations, such as: *  Amphibious and deep ground surveillance. * Assist in specialized technical  missions such as Weapons of mass destruction(NBC), Radio, sensors and beacons,  etc. * Assist in ordnance delivery (i.e., designating targets for close air  support, artillery and naval gunfire). * Conduct 'limited scale raids,' such  as gas and oil platform (GOPLATS) raids and the capture of specific personnel or  sensitive materials. * Hostage/Prisoner of war rescue. Unlike the  other special purpose units listed above, Force Reconnaissance units are not a  part of the United States Special Operations Command, although some Force Recon  Marines have been assigned to a special unit, 'MCSOCOM Detachment One', in an  attempt to start integration with USSOCOM). Marine Corps Force  Reconnaissance was first conceived in 1954, at Marine Base Camp Pendleton,  outside of San Diego, California, when an experimental recon team was formed.  Three years later, that team merged with an existing amphibious reconnaissance  company to form the 1st Force Reconnaissance Company. The precursor of Force  Recon was from World War II, the Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion commanded  by Captain James L. Jones. In 1958, half the Marines in 1st Force were  removed from the Company and hauled over to the Eastern seaboard, forming the  2nd Force Reconnaissance Company. 1st Force supplemented Fleet Marine Force  Pacific (FMFPac), while 2nd, Fleet Marine Force Atlantic (FMFLant). Force  Reconnaissance received their baptism by fire during the Vietnam War, arriving  first in 1965 and staying for five years. Forty-four Marines of 1st Force were  killed or missing in action through the course of the war. After US  withdrawal from Vietnam, 1st Force and 3rd Force were both deactivated in 1974,  and the existing Force Marines were rolled into the non-Force 2nd Reconnaissance  Battalion in order to maintain Marine Corps deep recon capabilities. However,  the roll-in was never completed to a satisfactory condition, and 1st Force  Reconnaissance was reactivated as an individual unit in 1986, and was later  deployed in the Gulf War. Many Force Recon Companies are in existence  today, and have been deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan. Organization Force Reconnaissance Companies are deployed within a type of larger Marine  Corps units called a Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) or  MEU(SOC). MEU(SOC)s are deployed onboard Amphibious Ready Groups, a group of  United States Navy ships. This group is usually centered around an amphibious  assault helicopter carrier (designations for these ships range between LHA, LPH,  LHD). There may be as many as three of these groups, with their attendant  MEU(SOC)s, deployed around the world at any given time. The mobility and  continual rotation of these formations is integral to current Marine Corps  operating procedure, which sets a stated goal of being able to field a MEU(SOC)  on any shore around the world within six hours of an order being given. There are currently seven MEU(SOC)s in the Corps. In MEF I WestPac, there are  three MEUs: the 11th, 13th and 15th. They responsible for the Middle-East and  the Persian Gulf region. In MEF II MedFloat, there are also three MEUs: the  22nd, 24th and 26th. They focus on countries around the Mediterranean Sea. The  last MEF, MEF III, has only one MEU(SOC), based in Okinawa, Japan: the 31st MEU. As of 2004, there are currently four active Marine Force Reconnaissance  companies: 1st Force Reconnaissance, based at Camp Pendleton, CA; 2nd Force  Reconnaissance, based at Camp Lejeune, NC; 3rd Force Reconnaissance Company,  based in Mobile, AL and 4th Force Reconnaissance Company, based in Honolulu, HI.  5th Force Reconnaissance was folded into non-Force 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion  as Deep Reconnaissance Company, and is based with 31st MEU(SOC) at Okinawa. The structure of a Force reconnaissance Company is more similar to that of  an infantry battalion than a standard company. The command element includes the  Commanding Officer or  CO (normally a Lieutenant  Colonel), Executive  Officer or XO (normally a Major), a Sergeant Major and the S1 (Administrative),  S2 (Intelligence), S3 (Operations), S4 (Logistics) and S6 (Communications)  officers. The bulk of the Company is  divided into six platoons, under a  Platoon Commander (Captain) and a Platoon NCO (Sergeant, Staff Sergeant or  higher). One of the three platoons is a scout/sniper unit retained from the  MEU's Battalion Landing  Team. Force Recon units also include U.S. Navy  Corpsmen as integrated combat medical personnel, and, like corpsmen in all  Marine Corps units, these corpsmen receive the exact same training as the  members of  the units they support. (1) MCO 5401.5 dated 24 August  1992, USMC Force Structure Implementation Plan. This plan laid out the framework  for the Corps of the future. In shrinking to 159,000 by Fiscal Year 1997, the  reconnaissance battalions were the first to be eliminated. (2) In  consonance with the stand down each infantry regiment was to get a  reconnaissance company comprised of 5 Officers and 87 Enlisted. (3) On 25  November 1992 Charlie Company stood down. The men were transferred to Bravo and  Delta Companies. (4) On 29 January 1993 Bravo Company was transferred to  the Ninth Marines and Delta Company to the 4th Marines. (5) On 2 April  1993 Alpha Company was transferred to the Third Marines. (6) Headquarters  and Service Company stood down and furled the Battalion Colors. 3rd  Reconnaissance Battalion Today On 2 June 2000 the 3rd Reconnaissance  Battalion was reactivated. A little history is in order to explain the  deactivation which occurred in 1992. * MCO 5401.5 dated 24 August 1992,  USMC Force Structure Implementation Plan. This plan laid out the framework for  the Corps of the future. In shrinking to 159,000 by Fiscal Year 1997, the  reconnaissance battalions were the first to be eliminated. * In  consonance with the stand down each infantry regiment was to get a  reconnaissance company comprised of 5 Officers and 87 Enlisted. * On 25  November 1992 Charlie Company stood down. The men were transferred to Bravo and  Delta Companies. * On 29 January 1993 Bravo Company was transferred to  the Ninth Marines and Delta Company to the 4th Marines. * On 2 April 1993  Alpha Company was transferred to the Third Marines. * Headquarters and  Service Company stood down and furled the Battalion Colors. The  Battalion was reactivated under the Command of Lt. Col. Douglas M. King at Camp  Schwab. At the time of the reactivation 5th Force Company and 3rd Recon Company  were combined to form the present battalion.  History, Mission and  Organization The United States Marine Corps is a relatively small and  parochial organization. Numbering only 172,000, it is the smallest of the  Nation's armed forces. It also epitomizes the warrior ethic, much to the  consternation of the socialists present in our society today. The Marine  Corps is, and has been throughout its existence, an expeditionary force.  Consequently it is task organized to land its forward deployed units worldwide.  Because we are a naval force, the primary method of force projection is  amphibious, and the forcible entry option into a non-permissive environment is  powerful and decisive. Within the Marine Corps exists a small group of  highly trained and superbly competent Marines; those assigned to the Force  Reconnaissance community. Relatively unknown outside of the Department of  Defense (DOD), they neither seek nor suffer the publicity of others in this  business. I'll attempt to provide a small look into the world of Force  Reconnaissance. The amount of information will require three separate articles.  This first installment will be a brief overview of the history and organization  of Force Reconnaissance and how it fits into the Marine Corps mission. The  second will be concerned with selection and training, and finally the third will  cover weapons and equipment used by these silent warriors.  There is a  fair amount of jargon and acronyms involved, which I have hopefully softened and  explained without gentrifying the story. History Currently, the  only stand alone Force Reconnaissance Company in the Marine Corps is 1st Force.  The 2nd Recon Bn. (East Coast) and 3rd Recon Bn. (Okinawa) have a Force  capability imbedded in their respective Reconnaissance Battalions. This may  change (again) in the near future, but as of this time only 1st Force is capable  of independent operations. Because of the different command relations that  exist, this article is  concerned primarily with 1st Force. The Marine  Forces Reserve have 3rd Force Recon in Mobile, AL, and 4th Force Recon in  Honolulu, with a detachment in Reno, NV. It's necessary to clarify the  difference between Force and Division Reconnaissance. The Reconnaissance  Battalion supports the Division, and it provides tactical reconnaissance in the  Distant Battle. Force Reconnaissance supports the Marine Expeditionary  Force (MEF), a Corps equivalent, and conducts Operational Level reconnaissance  in the Deep Battle. Force Reconnaissance had it genesis in Camp Pendelton  in 1954 when a test unit was formed to evaluate methods of insertion for  reconnaissance teams. These two platoons, (a Parachute Reconnaissance Platoon  and a Pathfinder Platoon) were eventually combined with an existing Amphibious  Reconnaissance Company to form 1st Force Reconnaissance Company in 1957. In 1958, one half of the Company was transferred to the east coast to form the  fledgling 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company. 1st Force was then a part of Force  Troops, Fleet Marine Force Pacific (FMFPac) and supported both the 1st and 3rd  Marine Divisions. 2nd Force was assigned to Force Troops, Fleet Marine Force  Atlantic (FMFLant), and supported the 2nd Marine Division. The early  years were spent developing the doctrine and skills that bore fruit in the  crucible of South East Asia.1 1st Force and 3rd Force2 went into the former  Republic of Viet Nam in 1965, supporting 3rd Marine Amphibious Force in I Corps.  During its five years in country, 1st Force ran over 2,200 reconnaissance  patrols. Forty-four Marines and Sailors of 1st Force were killed or  remain Missing in Action during that conflict. The Company was  deactivated in 1974, as part of the post war draw down. The 1st Platoon was  transferred to 1st Reconnaissance Bn. at that time, in order to retain a deep  reconnaissance capability for 1st Marine Division. The mixing of Force  with Division Recon has never been entirely satisfactory, and the Company again  stood up in 1986. 1st Force operated in Southwest Asia during desert Shield/  Storm, and has since deployed to multiple hot spots including East Timor last  year. Mission The Company has two Mission Profiles- Deep  Reconnaissance and Direct Action. On the conventional, or "Green" side,  the mission is to conduct Amphibious Reconnaissance, Deep Ground Reconnaissance,  Battlespace Shaping, and surveillance to observe, identify and report enemy  activity. They conduct specialized terrain reconnaissance that includes  hydrography, beaches, roads, bridges, routes, urban areas, helicopter landing  zones (HLZ), airborne drop zones (DZ) and aircraft forward operating sites. When task organized with other forces, equipment or personnel, they can  assist in special engineer, Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC), Radio,  mobile or other reconnaissance operations. Additionally, they can implant  or recover sensors and beacons, conduct Initial Terminal Guidance for  helicopters, landing craft and parachutists. As directed, they can designate and  engage selected targets with Force fires, including terminal guidance of  Precision Guided Munitions (PGM). They can conduct post strike  reconnaissance to determine and report damage to a specific target or area, or  perform other operations as directed by higher command. An example of  this type of mission is the Personal Security Detail (PSD). Members of the  Company are regularly tasked with providing protection to high-ranking military  or civilian members in hostile areas. Generally a very high profile detail, the  Marines of Force have the proper attitude and mindset to keep themselves and a  principal alive in the bad neighborhoods of the third world. On the  Direct Action, or "Black" side, Force conducts Gas/ Oil Platforms (GOPLATS),  Vessel /Board/Search /Seizure (VBSS), capture/ recovery of selected enemy  personnel and equipment, and Tactical Recovery of  Aircraft/ Personal (TRAP). Note that the Company is capable of conducting Direct Action missions inside  the Deep Battle area when task organized with other elements-specifically a  Reconnaissance and Surveillance (R&S) element, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD)  technicians, Radio or Electronic warfare specialists and such. The  Company is equally capable of conducting reconnaissance or direct action  missions on very short notice. One task recently removed from Force was  In- Extremis Hostage Rescue. (IHR). While USSOCOM Tier 1 assets (Combat  Applications Group {CAG} and DevGrp) have primary cognizance of hostage  recovery, it was recognized early on that when the bad guys were executing  hostages right now, a capable forward-deployed unit could be useful. Recently it was felt by some that the IHR mission requires too much training  time to be proficient, and that time spent in training for DA missions would  degrade the Deep Reconnaissance capability. To that end the Marine Corps no  longer advertises the IHR mission. However, Maritime Interdiction Operations,  GOPLAT, prisoner recovery etc. all require a high degree of proficiency in  surgical shooting and CQB skills. The Marine Corps has wisely not lowered the  shooting standards and while IHR may not now exist as a mission, the capability  is still resident in the Company. To accomplish the mission profiles,  Force utilizes special insert/ extraction techniques. These include: Motorized - Improved Fast Attack Vehicle (IFAV) Amphibious - Submarine,  Surface Combatant, Sub- Surface (Closed Circuit Mk-25 Drager) or SCUBA (Open  Circuit), Over the Horizon (OTH) via the CCRC (Zodiac), Soft Duck/ Hard Duck Air - Helo; fast rope, rappel, Special Patrol Insertion/ Extraction Rig  (SPIE Rig); Parachute, including Low Level Static Line (LLSL), High Altitude  High Opening (HAHO) up to 25,000', and High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) up to  35,000'. Organization To understand how Force Reconnaissance  functions, we need to understand how it fits into current Marine Corps doctrine. The Marine Corps is broken down into three Marine Expeditionary Forces  (MEF), each consisting of a Marine Division, a Marine Air Wing, and a Force  Service Support Group. Various non-operational units exist to support the  MEF and subordinate units. As with the subordinate MEU, a single commander is  responsible for ground, aviation and support elements. Forward deployed  are the Marine Expeditionary Units (Special Operations Capable) {MEU (SOC)}. The  MEU (SOC) is the smallest of the Corps Air/ Ground Task Forces, consisting of  approximately 2100 Marines and sailors. The reason why it is "Special  Operations Capable" and not "Special Operations" is that neither the Marine  Corps nor any of its units belong to U.S. Special Operations Command. While  Joint (or Purple) Operations are the rage in the halls of the Pentagon, the  Marine Corps has always believed (and with great justification) that other  services will deny the Marine Corps the use of its own specially trained assets  during a crisis. This has occurred on several occasions during the Viet  Nam War, and more recently in the Gulf Conflict. As a prime example,  Marine Corps aviation exists solely to support the guys who actually do the  fighting (the Grunts). Joint Air "managers" have long sought to remove these  very valuable assets in order to make more "efficient" use of tactical air. The  end result is that when a Marine infantryman needs that specially trained Marine  pilot to deliver ordnance at danger close, he might be making toothpicks many  miles away. The alternative is no air, or pilots who have not been properly  trained in Close Air Support (CAS). The feeling is that if Force was assigned to  USSOCOM, they might also remove the Force Reconnaissance assets from supporting  a MEF or MEU. The MEU (SOC) is comprised of a Ground Combat Element  (GCE), an Aviation Combat Element (ACE), a MEU Combat Service Support Group, and  a Command Element (CE). The GCE is the Battalion Landing Team (BLT), an  infantry battalion reinforced with artillery, Amphibious Assault Vehicles  (AAV's), Light Armored Reconnaissance assets, Tanks, Engineers and a Division  Reconnaissance platoon. The Aviation Combat Element (ACE) is a Marine  Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM) augmented into a composite squadron. It will  usually consist of 12 CH-46's, 4 CH-53's, 3 UH-1N's, and 4 AH-1W Cobras. It may  also have 6 AV-8B Harrier fixed wing aircraft attached. The ACE also has  an Air Control detachment, 6 Avenger Air Defense HMMV, and a Light Air Defense  (LAD) Detachment assigned. The MEU Service Support Group (MSSG) contains  all of the specialists and equipment necessary to keep the GCE and the ACE  functioning. This includes motor transport, mechanical, engineering, medical,  dental, postal and other technical experts. The Command Element provides  the Command and Control for the three components of the MEU. In addition to the  MEU Commander and his staff, a Radio Recon Bn. Detachment, an Intelligence  Detachment, and a Force Recon platoon are included. The MEU (SOC) is  forward deployed on a three ship Amphibious Ready Group. (Usually an LHD or LHA,  and an LPD and LSD). Generally speaking, and depending on sequencing, two or  sometimes three MEU  (SOC)'s are forward deployed around the world at any  given time. The MEU (SOC) is self sustaining and capable of executing an  amphibious operation at night or under adverse weather conditions, by surface  (in LCAC's and AAV's) or by air (in the embarked helicopter squadron) within six  hours of receiving the execute order. It can also launch amphibious  raids, conduct NEO's, (Non Combat Evacuation Operation) reinforcement  operations, security operations, or humanitarian operations. It can seize  airfields or ports, and conduct Counter Intelligence and Signal Intelligence  operations. Though 1st Force is a Company, it is administered along the  lines of a battalion. There are approximately 200 Marines and Sailors in  the Company. Leading the Company is the Company Headquarters consisting of the  Commanding Officer (CO), a LtCol, the Executive Officer (XO), a Major, and a  Sergeant Major. Supporting the operational platoons is the S1  (Administrative) Shop; the S2 (Intelligence) Section; the S3 (Operations); and  the S4 (Logistics and Supply); and the S6 (Communications) Shop. Under  the cognizance of the S3 is the indispensable Training Cell and the Paraloft.  The S4 Shop has control of the Dive and Amphibious Lockers, the Motor Transport  Section, and the Armory. The Company has medical and dive personnel  assigned from the Navy. While Corpsmen have always been held in high regard by  Marines (and for obvious reasons), those Corpsmen assigned to Force Recon are  definitely a breed apart. These Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsman go  through all of the training that the Marines in Force go through, plus their own  advanced Combat Trauma Training. When assigned to the platoons, they are  shooters first and foremost, and indistinguishable from their green brothers. Though the Table of Organization is for six operational platoons, only five  are actually funded. The Operational platoons are staffed with a platoon  headquarters consisting of a Platoon Commander (usually a Captain), a platoon  sergeant (usually a Staff Sergeant or Gunnery Sergeant), Platoon Radio Operator  (normally a Staff Sergeant or Gunnery Sergeant), a Navy Special Amphibious  Reconnaissance Corpsman, and a platoon Equipment NCO (Rigger/ Armorer). There are three, six man teams in the platoon. Each Team consists of a Team  Leader (SSgt), an Assistant Team Leader (SSgt/ Sgt), a Radio Operator, and three  Reconnaissance Scouts. The six-man team concept reflects real world  experience. The Company formerly fielded 4 man teams but there were a number of  issues that impacted negatively on the Marines. Consider that they must jump,  dive, or walk in with all the gear necessary to complete the mission. The new  surveillance and communications gear is lighter, stronger and more efficient  than what it replaces, but there is more of it. Less then six cannot carry the  equipment necessary for Deep Reconnaissance missions. Equally important is what  the team does with a friendly casualty. Unless a 4-man team was willing to cache  all of its equipment, they would not be able to carry a casualty out. In  Deep Reconnaissance, survival is based on stealth, and stealth is a by-product  of alertness. A 4-man team does not have the numbers to provide an adequate rest  cycle while maintaining proper security. Though a Deep Reconnaissance  mission requires that the team not be compromised, the reality of life is that  they may. When that happens, the rules change. Because they are in the deep  battle area, they cannot count on artillery support, and CAS and the extract  birds may be a long time coming. They must be able to shoot, move and  communicate, but unlike a Grunt, they are operating in a friendly vacuum. The 4  man team simply does not have enough guns to work as two elements. The 6  man team also provides the numbers necessary to perform a Direct Action mission.  Remember that these missions will take place in a non-permissive (or at best, a  semi-permissive) environment. The smaller teams are just an invitation for  failed missions and higher casualties. On the other side of the coin,  increasing the team drastically increases the chance of detection. More than 6  and the patrol becomes too unwieldy for clandestine operations. 6 man  teams are a compromise, and it is the best available solution. For Direct  Action missions, the platoon is configured into a single unit, and task  organized with Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians, a Reconnaissance  and Surveillance (R&S) section (drawn from the BLT Scout/ Sniper Platoon), and a  Security Element (also drawn from the BLT) as well as other mission related  personnel. You may note that the rank structure is significantly more senior  then in conventional forces. This accurately reflects the length of time one  spends in training before he can get into a platoon, and is commensurate with  the maturity and responsibility of these Marines. Considering the amount of  sophisticated surveillance and communication gear available to the platoon, the  training required to operate and maintain it, and what it is they actually do,  any issues about rank become amazingly inconsequential. The Force  Reconnaissance Company is the personal eyes and ears of the MEF Commander - a  three star Corps level equivalent. They provide him with real time information  in the Deep Battle area not available by other means. The Marines of  Force Recon do not consider thewmselves to be "elite" or "special". Their  attitude is that thaey have been fortunate to be selected to a unit that  provides unique challenges and opportunities, and makes full use of their  talents. They are tough, rugged men, whose job is to support the guy who does  the real fighting - the Marine Infantryman. Training SELECTION Admission into Force is by means of a lengthy and demanding selection  process. Any Marine, regardless of Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) may  apply. The applicant, regardless of rank, needs first and foremost to be a  proven performer (generally for 3-5 years). The Company is looking for first  class people--those who perform well in the Physical Fitness Test, who are  strong swimmers and good shooters. He needs to have a GT score of 105. Ideally  he will be from an infantry battalion, but there are several Warehouseman and  Motor Transport Marines in the operational platoons. (One major plus in the  selection process is that all Marines have attended Boot Camp and the School of  Infantry. No matter what their MOS, they have shouldered a rifle, read a map,  and patrolled day and night). On the last Thursday of every month,  applicants are invited to attend the indoctrination test. Previously a less  formal affair, it has been standardized and is administered without harassment.  There is nothing demeaning about the indoc. The standard is set, and is not  subject to change. The platoon administering the test accompanies the applicants  throughout the day--physical fitness is a never-ending thing here. It  begins with the standard Physical Fitness Test (PFT). Enlisted men must score  275 (out of 300), and officers 285. It is followed by a timed obstacle course  and calisthenics exercise. Because Force Reconnaissance Marines are  amphibious by nature, the pool is next. A series of swim exercises follows. And  if he is still hanging in, he is ready for a 10 mile "boots and utes" hump--over  the hills of Las Flores and down along the beach, with a 50lb. pack and a rubber  rifle. If he successfully completes this physical test, he is afforded a  psychological screening and then an interview. For Officers, it is with the  Company Commander. For enlisted Marines, it is with the Company Sergeant Major  and several of the senior enlisted operators. They are looking for that special  fire, a mean gene inside of the Marine to ensure he will hang tough under the  most difficult of circumstances. The candidate may be dropped for any  reason during this process, though he can retake the indoctrination at a future  date. (Many do. It is not unusual for a Marine to make it after three or four  attempts). The percentage of those passing the indoc fluctuates, but it  is always closer to zero than 50%. What has been noted is that an individual who  passes the indoc will usually complete 100% of the schools and successfully be  integrated into a platoon. It shows that the Marine has properly prepared  himself mentally and physically, and has made a commitment to succeed. There is no automatic acceptance into the Company. A Marine reporting in from  any other Reconnaissance unit must still take the indoc. Before he can  join the Company, his Commanding Officer must agree to release him--and this is  not always easy. There has always been an institutional dislike of Force by the  rest of the Marine Corps. Many believe that Force sucks up the absolute best men  and an unbelievable amount of money to perform their missions. That is  absolutely true. But the tour for enlisted men is five years, with a possible  two-year extension, and eventually these Marines go back to other units. When  they do they bring with them a tremendous amount of expertise and confidence.  (This is unlike the special forces of the sister services, where they have a  career field. They may stay forever if they choose, and the inability to remain  in Force Recon is something that irks many in the Company). In spite of  not having a career path, the re-enlistment rate in 1st Force, not only among  operators but also support personnel has been near 100%. The Marines want to  stay in the Company, and for many reasons. There is a sense of mission and  purpose here that does not exist in most of the DOD establishment. The  work is hard, but they are hard men and accept the challenge. Training  within the Company is outlined by the Mission Training Plan (MTP). It follows a  systems approach to training, and the emphasis is to train as they expect to  fight. While this is often paid lip service to in other units, it is the gospel  here. A quote from the MTP says it all. "The best form of WELFARE for our  Marines and sailors is first class training; this saves unnecessary casualties". The Mission Training Plan has five phases, and is based on a two-year  platoon cycle. Training is ongoing and continuous, and functions as if it were a  loop. Phase 1 Individual Training Phase Phase 2 Unit Training  Phase Phase 3 MEU (SOC) Training Phase Phase 4 MEU (SOC)  Deployment Phase 5 Post Deployment Phase 1 will last approximately  six months, and begins when a deployed platoon is returned to the Company. The  primary focus of effort here is the development of those basic skills necessary  to create an MOS qualified Marine (8654) new to the Company. For those already  qualified, it is the time to develop advanced reconnaissance skills. Additionally, Professional Military Education (PME) requirements (NCO Course  etc.) must be met. At the end of Phase 1, the platoon is fully formed and  ready to begin unit training. Listed below are the minimum skills resident in  each platoon at that time. Basic Reconnaissance Course - All members Basic Airborne School - All members USMC Combatant Dive School - All  members SERE School - All members Military Free Fall School - All  members Ranger School - All team leaders and above Static Line  Jumpmaster Course - 2 per platoon Military Free Fall Jumpmaster Course -  2 per platoon HRST Master Course - 2 per platoon Dive Supervisor  Course - 2 per platoon LAR V Technician Course - 2 per platoon Ammunition Drivers Course - 2 per platoon USMC Scout/ Sniper Course - 1  per team Mountain Leaders Course (Summer) - 1 per team Mountain  Leaders Course (Winter) - 1 per team Laser Operators Course - 1 per team Once accepted into the Company, the Marine attends the Phase 1 Basic  Qualifications. These qualification courses are the eight week long Basic  Reconnaissance Course at Little Creek VA. or Coronado, CA. While all Marines  have received basic scouting and patrolling at the School of Infantry, it is  here that the Marine learns the skills necessary to operate in the  reconnaissance environment. Next is the Combatant Dive Course at Panama  City, FL. During this eight-week course, the Marine is introduced to closed and  open circuit diving, dive physics and laws, dive medicine, underwater searches,  and other related subjects. He then attends Basic Airborne Course at Ft.  Benning, GA. During this three-week school, he will make his five qualifying  parachute jumps. At some point he will attend Survival Evasion Resistance  Escape (SERE) school at North Island, or SERE Instructors School at Ft. Bragg. Advanced schools include Ranger School at Ft. Benning, GA; Military Free  Fall (MFF) School at Yuma, AZ.; Static Line/ MFF Jumpmaster School and  Pathfinder School at Ft. Benning, GA; Summer and Winter Mountain Leadership  Course in Pickle Meadows, CA; Applied Explosives Course, at SOTG or Quantico;  Dive Supervisors Course at Panama City, FL and the Helicopter Rope Suspension  Training (HRST) Course in Camp Pendelton CA or Camp Lejeune, NC. For the  Sailors, the schooling is similar--with some notable differences. The Navy  Corpsman assigned to the Company are a special breed. While one would normally  think of medical personnel being non-combatants, working in a reasonably secure  environment, that is absolutely not the case of the Special Amphibious  Reconnaissance Corpsman. When assigned to a platoon, they are shooters first,  and caregivers second. As Senior Chief Robert Fitzgerald states, "Fire  superiority is the best type of combat medicine". (Senior Chief is the senior  SARC in the Navy, and another genuine hard guy in the midst of a bunch of other  very hard guys). In a platoon, the Corpsman is assigned to the headquarters  team. He will usually carry that teams M249 SAW. The pipeline for the  Corpsman runs for approximately 72 weeks of schooling, exclusive of travel and  administrative time (awaiting school quotas etc.) It starts with the  7-week Field Medical Service School at Camp Pendelton or Camp Lejeune, where he  learns basic medical skills and how he will function in a Marine Corps unit. Next are the 12 week Basic Reconnaissance Course, the 3 week Basic Airborne  Course and the 8 week Combatant Diver Course. The Corpsman breaks from  his Marine brothers, and attends the 8427 specific schools. The first is the  Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsman Diving Medicine Course at Panama City, FL.  From there he moves to the 24 week Special Operations Combat Medics Course at  Ft. Bragg. And finally, the 22-week long Special Operations Medical  Sergeant Course also at Ft. Bragg. The famous 18-D course is extremely  demanding, and trains the Corpsman to independently assess and provide minor and  acute long-term medical care for a variety of medical conditions, including  minor surgery. Once the Corpsman joins a platoon during the Phase 2  iteration, he attends all of the platoons training. In the field he is  indistinguishable from the Marines he serves with. He is a member of a team, and  functions exactly as every other member of a Force Reconnaissance Platoon.  (There have been Corpsman designated as Team Leaders). Prior to 1998, the  operational platoons were responsible for the conduct of their own training.  This was identified as being deficient. While there is a Standard Operating  Procedure (SOP) for the conduct of training, there was no consistency in how the  training was applied. Additionally, the platoon headquarters was tasked with  supervising the training, and therefore not able to be trained--an obvious and  glaring deficiency. The Commanding Officer instituted a Training Cell  from Company assets comprised of experienced Staff Non-Commissioned Officers and  operating from the S-3 shop. The T-Cell has the mission of organizing and  conducting Phase 2 Training. This removes the responsibility of coordinating  training from the platoon headquarters, and permits them to trainwith their men  (rather then to just oversee the training). As the platoon headquarters may act  as a 4th Team under certain conditions, this training is necessary). An  additional and no less important advantage to the T-Cell is that it acts as a  training ground for future platoon sergeants. Those assigned to the T- Cell are  all highly trained and experienced operators. Some have deployed as platoon  sergeants, and some have not. Those that have not will gain vital experience not  available elsewhere for the very tough and very rewarding job of Platoon  Sergeant. The T- Cell has been extremely effective in all aspects, and its  addition to the Company has paid off in spades. Phase 2 is the Unit  Training Phase, and is six months in duration. The platoon is formed, and all  new members have completed, at the minimum, all of the basic qualification  courses. The main purpose of this phase is to allow the platoon to train in the  collective team and platoon skills required to execute amphibious and deep  reconnaissance missions. Additionally, the Company staff receives training in  reconnaissance mission planning and related procedures. The following is a list  of courses completed during Phase 2. The Advanced Long Range Comm package  is three weeks long and is conducted by the Company Communications Section. As  the term Deep Reconnaissance indicates, the platoon will operate well forward of  other forces. In order to report observations, call for fires or extract, all  members need to have a complete and thorough knowledge of the sophisticated comm  equipment carried. It includes manual Morse Code, and long-range High Frequency  (HF), satellite, multi- band, and digital communications. The Weapons and  Tactics Package is three weeks long and is conducted aboard Camp Pendelton, CA.  It covers the MEU (SOC) .45 caliber pistol and the M4A1 Carbine with the SOPMOD  kit. Week 1 and 2 occur on the Special Operations Training Group facility at  Range 130 (however, the training is conducted by the T-Cell). Each Marine will  fire 5000- 8000 rounds during these two weeks, becoming intimately familiar with  both weapons. The third week is spent on the Live Fire/ Maneuver Ranges  (LFAM) conducting immediate action (IA) drills according to the Patrol SOP.  Rotary wing support (utilizing AH-1J Cobras for Close Air Support, CH-46D Marine  Corps transports, Army National Guard UH-60's, and Navy Seahawks from HSC-5). The platoon also receives force on force training, utilizing the Special  Effects Small Arms Marking Systems (SESAMS) for the CQBW and MEU (SOC) pistol.  The SESAMS is a militarized Simunitions ™ kit. Sims adds a whole new dimension  to training. The Threat Weapons Familiarization package (one week) is  conducted by U.S. Army personnel at the National Training Center (NTC). The  ability to utilize your opponent's weapons may mean the difference between  surviving and dying. All current threat small arms are covered in this package.  (Interestingly, the Marine Corps formerly had resident subject matter experts in  this area. The Foreign Material Acquisition and Exploitation  Unit (FMAEU)  had as a secondary mission the training of Marine Corps units in the  identification and use of Soviet and Non- Soviet Warsaw Pact (NSWP) equipment.  In a fit of negative brilliance, it was stood down on 01Aug90--one day prior to  the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.) The Force Fires Package takes place at  Nellis AFB, San Clemente Island or 29 Palms in CA, or in Yuma, AZ. During this  2-week package, the Marines refresh their basic knowledge of calls for fire,  with special attention to fixed and rotary wing CAS (Close Air Support) and NGSF  (Naval Gun Surface Fire). Laser designating equipment is taught and utilized to  control CAS. The 3 week Advanced Airborne Package is to transition the  platoon from Low Level Static Line parachute techniques to High Altitude High  Opening (HAHO) using the MC-5 Ram Air Parachute, culminating with night combat  equipment jumps into unmarked Drop Zones from 24,999 feet. This package  is successful for many reasons. One is the quality of the instructors. GySgt.  Dennis Walsh, GySgt. Monte Genegaubus and their assistants provide absolutely  top-notch instruction. There are few in the DOD establishment who can match  their expertise. Another reason is the quality of the equipment. One  interesting and useful piece of gear is the virtual reality trainer. Set up in  the Paraloft, jumpers are put through a series of exercises including  malfunctions, variable wind conditions and so forth. When he finally gets to  tail gate a C-130 at 10,000' he has been through the simulations a number of  times and the procedures are familiar to him. The Amphibious Training  package (2 weeks) refreshes long-range nautical navigation, and refines the  platoon SOP for conducting hydrographic surveys. Launch and recovery is from a  variety of naval vessels, including surface combatants and submarines. This  training takes place at Seal Beach and San Diego, CA. The Combatant Dive  Package (2 weeks) focuses on utilization of the LAR-V (MK-25 MOD2) closed  circuit breathing apparatus in team infiltrations. Mobile Reconnaissance  package is to develop basic driver and mechanic skills in order to employ the  platoon HMMWV's and IFAV's (Improved Fast Assault Vehicle) in a desert  environment where mobility is essential in the intelligence collection effort.  Location varies, but usually at Yuma or 29 Palms. The final course is the  Combat Trauma Package. This extremely intense and realistic course enables the  individual Marine to identify injuries and render appropriate emergency care to  battle casualties under fire, and for secondary care on evacuation platforms. Several full mission profile exercises are conducted, including  Mountain/Temperate Environment Patrols at Ft. Lewis, WA and Ft. Polk, LA; Desert  Environment (the Kuwaiti Scenario) at Ft. Irwin CA., or Yuma, AZ. These  are complete packages. The Company Headquarters also deploys to set up a  Reconnaissance Operations Center (ROC) and support the platoon. At the  end of Phase 2 Training, the platoon is completely stood up in all aspects of  the Deep Reconnaissance mission. More importantly, they have spent 6 months of  intensive platoon oriented training together. They have been operating as a  going concern, a full year prior to deployment. Phase 3 Training is the  MEU (SOC) training. The platoon prepares for MSPF Direct Action missions under  the cognizance of the Special Operations Training Group (SOTG). The Maritime  Special Purpose Force (MSPF) is a Task Organized form of the Marine Air Ground  Task Force for the purpose of executing a special operation. With elements of  the MEU (specifically the Command Element) and using assets from the BLT, it  will have the Force Plt. as the strike element. If required, aviation support  from the ACE is included. The embarked SEAL Plt. may also be attached if  required. This 6 month phase covers the CQB Course, Explosive Breacher  Course, Applied Explosives Course, Urban Sniper Course, Inter-Operability  training with the MSPF, Training in Urban Environment (TRUE), Urban  Reconnaissance & Surveillance, Fleet Exercise, Joint Task Force Exercise (if an  aircraft carrier is present), or a SOCEX- (Special Operations Certification  Exercise). Phase 4 is the Deployment phase, 6 months long, in the Persian  Gulf or Western Pacific for west coast Marines, or in the Mediterranean Sea for  East Coast Marines. Sustainment training occurs on a daily basis under the  cognizance of the MEU staff. Phase 5 is the Post Deployment phase. After  18 months of training and deployment, the platoon is granted 30 days leave.  Approximately 50% of the platoon will leave, their time in Force having expired. Getting qualified applicants to take the indoc has always been difficult.  Having people pass the indoc is more difficult still. Several steps have been  taken to expose more people to the system without diluting quality. One  thing looked at is to start a recon pipeline from the Recruit Training Depots.  The plan was to feed qualified Marines into the Reconnaissance Bn. and perhaps  eventually into Force. While this is still in its infancy, the Company prefers  that those wanting to be in Force Recon be infantry Corporals or Sergeants with  a proven background as a top performer. Because the pipeline is long, the  Company has an in house Combat Replacement Training Program, utilizing support  personnel assigned to the Company. All Marines receive basic infantry  training at the School of Infantry. They all know how to shoot, move and  communicate, at least at the infantry squad level. At the Company they learn to  add "think" to that equation, and are trained with, or parallel to the platoons  during portions of the Phase 2 cycle. Regardless of MOS or rank (the CO,  XO, S1, 2,3,4,6, SuppO, CommO, SgtMaj, ammo drivers, admin clerks, mechanics and  drivers), all are out there during the Weapons and Tactics package as slots  permit. They receive patrolling, comm, and combat trauma training. Most  attend at least airborne school, and others as the quotas permit. The  theory is that during sustained operations, qualified 8654's will be difficult  to come by. The in house replacements may not be fully up to speed, but they  will have a working knowledge of what reconnaissance is and how to accomplish  it. A deeper and more underlying reason is that the commanders' intent is  for every member of the Company to be a gunfighter. He wants them to understand  that if the Supply Officer goes into a meeting, he is not there as only the  SuppO. He is there as a gunfighter representing other gunfighters, and that he  had better be successful in his mission. No Marine joins to be anything  less than that. The reality is that there are a great number of support billets  that must be filled so that some may have the honor of doing the fighting. The  Combat Replacement Training fills the need for Marines to fill the gap when  required, and the additional training gives each Marine a better sense of  mission. Certain of the sister services have been infused with  "Consideration of Others" (COO) training, and a general feminization of  assets--particularly their combat assets. The current political administration,  in their dislike of those possessing the warrior spirit, have attempted to  initiate certain social programs into the armed forces, in order to provide the  disenfranchised with a platform and dilute the power of the warrior. Fortunately  this perverse attitude has no place in Force Reconnaissance. The history  of Recon Marines begins in World War II, when two units were formed: the Raider  Battalion, which was created in January 1942 with the intention of providing the  Marines a light-force raid unit much like the British Royal Marine Commandos,  and the "Observation Group" of the 1st Marine Division, comprised of two  officers and twenty enlisted men. The latter was expanded to 98 Marines in 1943,  renamed the Amphibious Recon Company and served at the island of Apamama in the  Pacific, where their success in aiding the invastion led to another expansion to  20 officers, 270 enlisted, and 13 Navy doctors. The Observation Group  participated in landings for the rest of the war, including Tinian Island, Iwo  Jima, and Okinawa. The need for recon became prominent once again in the  Korean War, where the Amphibious Recon Company was called upon to make landings  in Northern Korea and report back their findings, and carry out raids against  tunnels and rail lines, with some of these missions taking place as much as 40  miles inside enemy territory. Recon members also operated closely with US Navy  Underwater Demolition Teams during some of their missions. In March of 1951 the  force was expanded and named the 1st Amphibious Recon Platoon, and would  continue to serve after the end of the war. In 1957 the 1st Company of "Force"  Recon Marines was formed, and 2nd Company Force Recon was formed in June 1958.  In 2006, as part of reorganization under MARSOC, both companies were  deactivated, and force reconnaissance is currently carried out by the 1st and  2nd Reconnaissance Battalions, under the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions,  respectively. The 1st Reconnaissance Battalion was reactivated in June  2000 but the battalion was originally activated in March 1937, and was primarily  a scout/sniper unit. In April 1944 a two-company amphibious reconnaissance  battalion was formed with the mission of conducting beach reconnaissance and  hydrographic survey. Today the Battalion performs a wide variety of tactical and  special operations in support of the Division. AWARDED RECON MARINES IN  HISTORY Medal of Honor recipients SSgt Jimmie E. Howard, Vietnam War,  16 June 1966 PFC Ralph H. Johnson, Vietnam War, 5 March 1968 (posthumously) Navy Cross recipients Cpl Ricardo C. Binns,Vietnam War, 16 June 1966 Capt  Brent Morel, Global War on Terror, Operation Iraqi Freedom, 7 April 2004  (posthumously) Sgt Willie Copeland, Global War on Terror, Operation Iraqi  Freedom, 7 April 2004 GySgt Brian Blonder, Global War on Terror, Operation  Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan, 8 August 2008 ABOUT RECON The  United States Marine Corps Reconnaissance Battalions (or commonly called Marine  Division Recon) are the reconnaissance assets of Marine Air-Ground Task Force  that provide division-level ground and amphibious reconnaissance to the Ground  Combat Element within the United States Marine Corps. Division reconnaissance  teams are employed to observe and report on enemy activity and other information  of military significance in close operations. Their capabilities are similar to  those of Force Recon, but do not normally insert by parachute, and provide  limited direct action. The division also has other substantial organic  reconnaissance assets. The Scout Sniper Platoons may be attached to regimental  reconnaissance battalions to provide long-range precision fire superiority.  These sniper Marines function as recon assets as well to provide surveillance  and target acquisition to the Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF), known as STA  snipers. RECON CREED Realizing it is my choice and my choice  alone  to be a Reconnaissance Marine,  I accept all challenges involved  with this profession.  Forever shall I strive to maintain the tremendous  reputation  of those who went before me. Exceeding beyond the  limitations  set down by others shall be my goal.  Sacrificing personal  comforts and dedicating myself  to the completion of the reconnaissance  mission shall be my life.  Physical fitness, mental attitude, and high ethics  -- The title of Recon Marine is my honor. Conquering all  obstacles, both large and small,  I shall never quit.  To quit, to  surrender, to give up is to fail.  To be a Recon Marine is to surpass  failure;  To overcome, to adapt and to do whatever it takes  to complete  the mission. On the battlefield, as in all areas of life,  I shall  stand tall above the competition.  Through professional pride, integrity, and  teamwork,  I shall be the example  for all Marines to emulate. Never shall I forget the principles  I accepted to become a Recon Marine.  Honor, Perseverance, Spirit and Heart. A Recon Marine can speak without  saying a word  and achieve what others can only imagine In February  1776, the Continental Marines embarked on their maiden expedition. The  Continental Marines were disbanded at the end of the war, along with the  Continental Navy. In preparation for the Quasi-War with France, Congress created  the United States Navy and the Marine Corps. The Marines' most famous action of  this period occurred in the First Barbary War (1801–1805) against the Barbary  pirates. In the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), the Marines made their famed  assault on Chapultepec Palace, which overlooked Mexico City, their first major  expeditionary venture. In the 1850s, the Marines would see service in Panama,  and in Asia. The Marine Corps played only a minor role during the Civil War  (1861–1865); their most important task was blockade duty and other ship-board  battles, but were mobilized for a handful of operations as the war progressed.  The remainder of the 19th century would be a period of declining strength and  introspection about the mission of the Marine Corps. Under Commandant Jacob  Zeilin's term (1864–1876), many Marine customs and traditions took shape. During  the Spanish–American War (1898), Marines would lead American forces ashore in  the Philippines, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, demonstrating their readiness for  deployment. Between 1900 and 1916, the Marine Corps continued its record of  participation in foreign expeditions, especially in the Caribbean and Central  and South America, which included Panama, Cuba, Veracruz, Haiti, Santo Domingo,  and Nicaragua. In World War I, battle-tested, veteran Marines served a  central role in the United States' entry into the conflict. Between the world  wars, the Marine Corps was headed by Major General John A. Lejeune, another  popular commandant. In World War II, the Marines played a central role in the  Pacific War, participating in nearly every significant battle. The Corps also  saw its peak growth as it expanded from two brigades to two corps with six  divisions, and five air wings with 132 squadrons. During the battle for Iwo  Jima, photographer Joe Rosenthal took the famous photo Raising of the Flag on  Iwo Jima of five Marines and one Navy corpsman raising the American flag on  Mount Suribachi. The Korean War (1950–1953) saw the 1st Provisional Marine  Brigade holding the line at the Battle of Pusan Perimeter, where Marine  helicopters (VMO-6 flying the HO3S1 helicopter) made their combat debut. The  Marines also played an important role in the Vietnam War at battles such as Da  Nang, Huế, and Khe Sanh. The Marines operated in the northern I Corps regions of  South Vietnam and fought both a constant guerilla war against the Viet Cong and  an off and on conventional war against North Vietnamese Army regulars. Marines  went to Beirut during the 1982 Lebanon War on 24 August. On 23 October 1983, the  Marine barracks in Beirut was bombed, causing the highest peacetime losses to  the Corps in its history. Marines were also responsible for liberating Kuwait  during the Gulf War (1990–1991), as the Army made an attack to the west directly  into Iraq. The I Marine Expeditionary Force had a strength of 92,990 making  Operation Desert Storm the largest Marine Corps operation in history. Perhaps the earliest lineal predecessor of the modern Marine Corps was the  creation and evolution of marines dating back to the European naval wars, during  the Second Hundred Years' War (1689–1815) of the 17th and 18th century,  particularly the Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665–67). The monarchies of  Netherlands, France, Spain, and England all contended with each other in control  over territorial water, which would increase naval organization and stability.  James II of England, the brother of King Charles II, was confirmed as Lord High  Admiral, an office that had authoritative command over the English Royal Navy.  The position at this time was exercised by a single person, usually an Admiral  to oversee the structure and institution of naval affairs. As France and the  Netherlands were opting to train seamen for infantry combat, England instead in  1664 formed a special regiment, the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment  of Foot, also known as the "Lord High Admiral's Regiment", the progenitors of  the modern Royal Marines. This maritime infantry regiment was directed to be  under the complete control of the Admiralty. The Lord High Admiral's Regiment  saw action in the Franco-Dutch War (1672–1678), and the Third Anglo-Dutch War  (1672–74). However, due to the Glorious Revolution of 1688, King James II was  overthrown by British Parliament, leading to the disbandment of the regiment. Two years later, two new regiments were formed, the 1st and 2nd Regiment of  [Royal] Marines, their functions assumed the same roles as the subsequent marine  regiments in the past; however the ensuing wars of the Second Hundred Years'  War, like the Royal Navy, the marine regiment would quickly dissolve only to be  reassembled during the events of war. The general military service type of  "marines" first appeared throughout the Dutch and French wars, but the majority  of the marine infantry regiments were perpetually drawn from the British Army;  all the regiments had little permanence. By 1702, the British government  assembled six maritime regiments of foot for combative naval service with the  fleet against Spain, during the War of the Spanish Succession (1702–1714). But  unlike the earlier campaigns from previous regiments of the past, in which the  earlier British marines had fought as detachments aboard ships; in 1704, these  marines found themselves fighting ashore the beaches of Gibraltar and Spain as  part of an amphibious assault landing force, with the help of Dutch forces under  the command of Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt. By the time the war ended, once  again the marine regiments were disbanded, or returned to fill the ranks of the  British Army. 25 years later in 1731, an incident involving master  mariner Robert Jenkins, an English captain of a British merchant ship who  allegedly had his ear severed by Spanish coast guardsmen off the coast of New  Granada (modern countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama),  initiating the War of Jenkins' Ear (1739–1742). This affair and a number of  similar incidents sparked a war against the Spanish Empire. Meanwhile, two  companies of Marine Boatmen drawn from the Georgia Militia, commanded by  Captains Mark Carr and Noble Jones under General James Oglethorpe, helped in  defeating an amphibious landing attempted by the Spanish on St. Simons Island in  the Battle of Gully Hole Creek and the Battle of Bloody Marsh. The  British government formed ten regiments of marines for a naval campaign against  the Spanish colonies in the West Indies and north coast of South America.  Admiral Edward Vernon, a British naval officer, was given command of a squadron  of five vessels. And again, most of the marines were drafted from the British  Army. The British Admiralty requested that its American colonies form a regiment  of three thousand men for naval service aboard Admiral Edward Vernon's fleet.  Edward Vernon can be considered by many military history enthusiasts the first  naval fleet commander over American marines. The American colonial marines were  raised in the colony of Virginia and from other Middle Colonies, under the  command of Governor William Gooch. Although it may have been composed of men  from surrounding colonies intent for a Crown commission, it was also used as a  dumping ground for its debtors, criminals, scoundrels, and vagrants. This  "four-battalion" regiment, the 43rd Regiment of Foot, better known as "Gooch's  Marines", has a lineage that can be traced to the origin of the United States  Marine Corps. On 21 November 1739, Admiral Vernon, along with Sir Gooch  and his marines, headed toward the West Indies and successfully captured the  Spanish colonial possession of Portobelo (present-day) Panama. However, because  of the conditions of its service—thinned by diseases, bad weather, and a  near-mutinous crew— the regiment had only three hundred of its most trustworthy  men serve ashore in Vernon's unsuccessful deadly amphibious assault against the  strategic defenses on the colonial seaport of Cartagena, forcing a retreat to  Jamaica. As a successful method in social purification, the only remaining  10-percent survived the disastrous Cartegena expedition. Thereafter, Vernon's  fleet returned to the United Kingdom of Great Britain toward the end of 1742.  Like their British components, the colonial marines disbanded as a regiment. One  of the regiment's surviving officers, marine captain Lawrence Washington, a  half-brother of George Washington, served aboard Admiral Vernon's flagship HMS  Princess Caroline. The future patriot General George Washington later named his  estate Mount Vernon in honor of his half-brother's commander. Time again,  the recall of reforming maritime regiments was in need when the War of Jenkins'  Ear had escalated into the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748), which  brought another set of ten British marine regiments into naval service. The  remaining independent companies within the British marine regiments merged with  another regiment in 1746; by the end of the war it too was dissolved, their  officers placed on half pay. In 1755, British Parliament allowed the  marines to be institutionalized on some grounds of permanence as they were  insistent in building their own military force, particularly its naval fleet  under the Admiralty. Thus, the Corps of Royal Marines was born; over five  thousand marines were recruited and were assembled into fifty independent  companies, assigned as "divisions" to three large English naval bases. During the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), also known as the French and Indian War  in the colonies, the marines were then appropriately dispersed amongst the Royal  navy warships, the Royal Marines played an integral part in successful naval  expeditions. These ship detachments soon formed expeditionary battalions that  fought ashore Canada, Cuba, and the Philippines. Now being strictly under the  control of the Admiralty, the marines were used exclusively for expeditions and  raids, becoming so essential to the maritime strategy of Prime Minister William  Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham. Their primary mission in ship-to-ship combat and ship  seizures were to pick off officers with expert musketry, to repel boarders with  skilled bayonetry, and to augment as gun crew members when necessary. Also, they  played a major part of a ships landing party for operations ashore, raiding  naval bases, stores, etc, etc. But during cruising conditions, the marines  policed and enforced ship regulations about fires, thievery, and unlawful  conduct by sailors, to include prevention and deterrence against a mutinous  crew. By the end of the war, the Corps of Royal Marines remained an important  force within the Royal Navy. On the eve of the American War of Independence,  roughly 4,500 marine officers and enlistees were still in existence. It was the  same quantum of traditions by the British marines that influenced the likelihood  from the rebelled American colonies in establishing its own legion of  [Continental] marines, adopting the same ethics and traditions alike. COLONIAL ERA When the  battles of Lexington and Concord sparked the beginning of the American  Revolutionary War on 19 April 1775, the leaders of the American rebellion soon  recognized that in order to prevent the British army from restoring Crown rule  and further occupation into the colonies of New England, they would have to  resort to a naval war. Although this realization had consumed the Second  Continental Congress (by then convened in Philadelphia), its members remained  reluctant to support a naval campaign against the world's strongest fleet. Thus,  the Royal Navy had the ability to reinforce and supply the British garrisons in  the town of Boston, in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. On 19 April,  the initial siege of Boston (1775–1776) by the Minutemen militia impeded the  flow of reinforcements and supplies to the British army. By 14 June, the Second  Continental Congress chose to adopt the militia and formed it into the new  Continental Army, and unanimously elected George Washington the next day as its  Commander-in-Chief. A set of naval constraints were established due to the  successful siege complemented by the supporting capabilities that the British  were giving their garrisons. Even though there still wasn't a formidable  Continental navy yet, the individual colonies each had navies and marines of  their own. Units of the Continental Army and groups of militia were sometimes  pressed to serve as sailors and naval infantry on ships, purposely serving as  marines. These American colonial marines have no lineage traceable to the  Continental Marines, nor the modern United States Marine Corps; nonetheless,  they fought the British as American marines as early as May. As the newly  appointed commander of the Continental Army, George Washington was desperate for  firearms, powder, and provisions; he opted to supply his own force from matériel  from captured British military transports. To further expand his fleet, he also  resorted to the maritime regiment of the Massachusetts militia, the 14th  Continental Regiment (also known as the "Marblehead Regiment") to help muster in  ranks. This unique regiment subsequently folded into Washington's army in  January 1776. The Marblehead Regiment was entirely composed of New England  mariners, providing little difficulty in administering crews for Washington's  navy. His decision to create his fleet came without difficulties in  recruiting new rebel naval forces either, for the siege of Boston stirred the  war along the entire coast of New England and into the strategic Lake Champlain  area on the New York border. The Royal Navy concentrated its vessels in the New  England open waters, while its smaller warships raided the coastal towns and  destroyed rebel military stores for supplies and provisions; and to punish the  colonials for their rebellion—in accordance to the Proclamation of Rebellion  that was chartered by King George. In response, several small vessels were  commissioned by the governments of Massachusetts and Connecticut by the summer  of 1775, authorizing the privateering against British government ships. In  August 1775, Washington's makeshift naval fleet continued the interdiction of  Massachusetts Bay; being a huge success, by the end of the year he was in  command of four warships: the USS Franklin, USS Hancock, USS Lee, and USS  Warren. Meanwhile, the New England militia forces of Massachusetts,  Connecticut, and Vermont (the Green Mountain Boys), under the command of  Benedict Arnold, seized the strategic post of Fort Ticonderoga and temporarily  eliminated British control of Lake Champlain–using a small flotilla of  shallow-draft vessels armed with light artillery. Early as May 1775, the sloop  Interprise ushered eighteen men, presumably the Massachusetts militiamen, as  marines on the payroll. Later in May, the Connecticut Committee of Public Safety  consigned ₤500 to Arnold, the shipment of payment was "escorted with Eight  marines..well spirited and equipped," although they were actually seamen. They  are often referred to as the "Original Eight". General George Washington  decided to attempt an invasion of Canada on 27 June 1775, by the American  Continental Army to wrest Quebec and the St. Lawrence River from the British. A  force led by Brigadier General Richard Montgomery headed north from Fort  Ticonderoga along Lake Champlain and up the St. Lawrence River valley.  Meanwhile, Colonel Benedict Arnold persuaded Washington to have him lead his own  separate expedition through the Maine wilderness. By August 1775, the  Rhode Island Assembly, along with other colonial committees of safety, requested  Second Continental Congress for naval assistance from Royal Navy raiders but it  was appealed. Although Congress was aware of Britain's naval strength and its  own financial limitations, it addressed itself reluctantly to the problem of  creating a formidable continental navy. They were hesitant to the requests, only  positing that they were only able to form a naval force from Washington's and  Arnold's fleets; the colonies were left to fend for themselves. As a result,  Rhode Island established their own state navy. The colonial marines of  Washington's naval fleet, Benedict Arnold's Lake Champlain flotilla, and  privateers, made no distinction of their duties as their activities were no  different from English customs: marines were basically soldiers detailed for  naval service whose primary duties were to fight aboard but not sail their  ships. Washington's navy expeditions throughout the remaining months of 1775  suggested that his ship crews of mariner-militiamen were not divided distinctly  between sailors and marines; the Marblehead Regiment performed a plethora of  duties aboard the warships. However, the Pennsylvania Committee of Public Safety  made a dividing line between the sailors and marines when it decided to form a  state navy to protect the Delaware River and its littoral areas. Early  October, Congress members, such as John Adams, and colonial governments pushed  Congress in creating a navy, however small. To examine the possible  establishment of a national navy, the Naval Committee was appointed on 5 October  (predecessor to the House and Senate Committees on Naval Affairs). On 13 October  1775, Congress authorized its Naval Committee to form a squadron of four  converted Philadelphia merchantmen, with the addition of two smaller vessels.  Despite a shortage in funding, the Continental Navy was formed. In 1775,  the Royal Navy numbered 268 warships, and by the end of the year it grew to a  fleet force of 468 ships; its naval personnel increased during the war from  10,000 to 18,000. By contrast, the Continental Navy—including the state  navies—had managed to maintain over 50 commissioned warships by winter of  1776–1777, which fell in numbers thereafter; its manpower most likely numbered  no more than a total of 30,000 sailors and marines. To the hundreds of small  privateers that sailed the North Atlantic, the American naval forces found it  increasingly difficult to take prizes, let alone influence the outcome of the  war. Continental era The Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia on 9 November 1775,  consulting the Naval Committee to send an amphibious expedition to Halifax in  Nova Scotia. Having launched two land expeditions toward the St. Lawrence River  months earlier, (as Richard Montgomery's and Benedict Arnold's forces were each  making their way toward Quebec City to join forces [later leading to the Battle  of Quebec]), Congress was convinced that sending marines to fight at sea and  engage military operations ashore were paramount in destroying an important  British naval base in Halifax, and to procure enemy provisions and supplies, if  possible. On 10 November 1775, the Naval Committee was directed by Congress to  raise two marine battalions at the Continental expense. Also, Congress decided  the marines would not only be used for the Nova Scotia expedition but for  subsequent service thereafter. Henceforth, the Naval Committee established a  network of appointments for offices; paymaster, commissions, procurements,  equipment, etc., for establishing a future national corps of marines. The United  States Marine Corps still celebrates 10 November, as its official birthday  Borrowing from the Royal Navy, the practices and printed instructions were  outlined in the "Rules for the Regulations of the Navy of the United Colonies."  It was intended that the American marines would provide the same services as  British marines. The two battalions of Continental Marines officially  became "resolved" when Congress issued the first commission to Captain Samuel  Nicholas on 28 November 1775. Nicholas' family were tavernkeepers, his  prominence came not from his work but from his leadership in two local clubs for  fox-hunters and sport fishermen. Historian Edwin Simmons surmises that it is  most likely Nicholas was using his family tavern, the "Conestoga Waggon", as a  recruiting post; although the standing legend in the United States Marine Corps  today places its first recruiting post at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia. In  December 1775, to aid in drafting plans in expanding the Continental Navy and to  supervise the construction of vessels and procurement of naval equipment, the  Continental Congress established a permanent committee for the Marine Corps, the  Marine Committee (the forerunner of the United States Department of the Navy).  It would supersede the duties of the naval affairs committee; which the majority  of the personnel were also appointed in the same office of the Naval Committee.  The Marine Committee contained thirteen members, one for each colony, included  important figures, such as Robert Morris, John Hancock, and Samuel Chase. The  Naval Committee would oversee the Marine Committee on matters concerning naval  expeditions and projections. It exercised legislative, judicial, and executive  powers. However, the lack of an administrative head and of actual authority over  the states, impeded the Marine Committee as they did Congress. Since the Marine  Committee was responsible in drafting plans for the expansion of the Continental  Navy, three days later after its establishment it recommended to Congress to  build a force of thirteen frigates, outfitted with 24–36 guns. Congress accepted  the program as it would protect colonial merchant trade from the British  blockaders; on the recommendation that the construction of warships will be  decentralized. Congress was greatly depending on Washington's cooperation  for the Nova Scotia expedition and were planning to draw them from Washington's  army, but Washington was unenthusiastic about the plan and suggested instead to  Congress to recruit unemployed seamen for the proposed marine battalions in New  York and Philadelphia (which at the time was the Nation's first capital city  [before moving to the District of Columbia]). Congress agreed on the decision.  Ten additional Marine officers were appointed by Captain Nicholas, the majority  of officers and enlistees were Philadelphian small merchants and businessmen,  skilled tradesmen and workers, and unskilled laborers. Even there were some that  were acquainted to those in Congress or in the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety.  The primary duties of the officers were recruiting and persuading men to enlist,  most officers were commissioned because their most important qualification was  knowledge of working the local taverns and other hot-spots of the working class.  The officers would sweep through the city for potential recruits, accompanied by  drummers borrowed from the Philadelphia Associators, a city militia. Nicholas  and his officers might have had some maritime experience, but it is unlikely  that they were skilled mariners. Five companies of about 300 Marines were  raised. While armed, they were not equipped with standardized uniforms. Continental Congress appointed Rhode Island Navy Commodore Esek Hopkins as the  Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy on 22 December 1775.; in  Philadelphia, the Marine Committee outfitted a flotilla of five ships, the first  squadron in the Continental fleet. His brother, Stephen Hopkins, served in the  Continental Congress and was co-chairman of Naval Affairs and the Marine  Committee. Formally commissioned as captains by Congress include: Esek's son,  John Burroughs Hopkins, who commandeered the brigantine USS Cabot. USS Alfred  was placed in commission on 3 December 1775, with Capt. Dudley Saltonstall in  command, as to serve as Hopkins' flagship, becoming the first vessel to fly the  Grand Union Flag (the precursor to the Stars and Stripes) hoisted by Lieutenant  John Paul Jones in February 1776; and the brigantine USS Andrew Doria,  commandeered by Nicholas Biddle. A prominent naval commander in the Rhode Island  Navy, Commodore Abraham Whipple, decided to transfer his commission to the  Continental Navy and was commissioned a Captain on 22 December 1775. He was  given command of a frigate USS Columbus; armed with twenty-four guns and a  serving crew of sailors and company of Nicholas's Continental Marines aboard its  quarters. By 17 February, the Continental Marines embarked onto Hopkin's  six vessels for their maiden expedition. It was the first amphibious/expedition  for the Continental Navy-Marine Corps. Hopkins was given the task to patrol the  southern American coastline to intercept and clear any presence of British  troops, then return north to New England and perform similar services. He was  instructed to attack the British fleet under John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore,  in Chesapeake Bay, Hopkins considered his orders discretionary and the enemy too  strong. He was ordered to clear the American coast of British warships, then  return north to perform similar services. Since rebel warships were already  active off the New England coast, and the Middle Colonies were forming their own  coastal defense navies; Hopkins's orders made strategic sense. However, for  reasons that remain obscure, he disobeyed his ambitious orders to sweep the  southern seas of British ships, and to safeguard the southern American  coastline. Instead without proper authority he directed his squadron to head  south en route to the Bahama Islands. As he reach the Bahamas on 1 March  1776, his squadron began harassing small British forces guarding the small  islands around New Providence Island, and raiding for gunpowder for Washington's  army. While Hopkins and Nicholas were sailing the Atlantic and Caribbean,  Congress authorized the Marine Committee to purchase two more brigantines for  the Continental Navy. The Marine Committee purchased brigantine Wild Duck, from  the Maryland Committee of Safety and renamed her USS Lexington, commemorating  the battle in Lexington of Middlesex County. Lexington then was turned over to  "Wharton and Humphrey's Shipyard" in Philadelphia for fitting for Continental  service. John Barry was commissioned as a Captain in the Continental Navy, dated  14 March 1776; along with this commission went command of the brig Lexington,  his first warship. The Marine Committee of the Continental Congress purchased  merchantman Molly on 28 March 1776; renamed her USS Reprisal and placed under  the command of Captain Lambert Wickes. These two vessels were to be used to  supplement the efforts of the Pennsylvania Navy in clearing the lower approaches  of the Delaware River. They also appointed a ship captain and four new  additional Marine officers for each vessel, all of whom by March 1776 were  recruiting enlistees. On 3 March 1776, the Continental Marines made their  first epitomized amphibious landing in American history when they attempted an  amphibious assault during the Battle of Nassau. However, they failed to achieve  a surprise attack as Hopkins directed his captains to make an opposed landing of  all his 234 of Marines, and some fifty seamen on the island of New Providence,  to assault the British Fort Montagu hoping to seize supplies and provisions. The  next day, they then marched to Fort Nassau to seize more shots, shells, and  cannons. However, the failure of surprise the day before had warned the  defenders and allowed the British governor to send off their stock of gunpowder  in the night. One British merchantman ship escaped, leaving all but 24 barrels  of gunpowder. The Continental Marines and sailors stripped the garrisons of  cannon and ordnance supply before departing. The acquired matériel were  essential to the supply armament of the Continental Army. On 16 March,  Commodore Hopkins withdrew from New Providence. Sailing back to Rhode Island on  the 16th, the squadron captured four small prize ships. The squadron finally  returned on 8 April 1776, with 7 dead Marines and four wounded. While returning  from the Bahamas, Hopkin's squadron encountered a British ship off the coast of  New York City on 5 April. Here, Nicholas's Marines participated in the capture  of HMS Bolton. The next day [6 April], the Marines and sailors engaged in a  naval battle between Hopkin's Cabot and Alfred and the British frigate HMS  Glasgow off the coast of Long Island, New York. Four Marines wounded and seven  killed; Lieutenant John Fitzpatrick was the first Continental Marine killed in  combat. Sailing back toward Rhode Island, the squadron captured four small prize  ships. The Hopkin's squadron reached New London on 8 April 1776. John  Martin's enlistment gave him the role as the first black American Marine. In  Philadelphia in April 1776, he signed to service aboard the Continental brig  Reprisal docked along with Lexington in Philadelphia. While patrolling off the  Virginia Capes, Lexington encountered HMS Edward and the sailors and Marines  boarded the British brigantine-sloop and captured it on 7 April 1776. Meanwhile, Hopkins fleet again set out at sea in the Atlantic, on 29 May 1776,  the Continental sailors and Marines aboard brigantine Andrea Doria captured two  British transports, with each bearing an infantry company. Hereafter, Hopkin's  squadron patrolled the coast of New England as far north to Nova Scotia for the  rest of the spring of 1776. Alfred (under command by John Paul Jones) continued  to raid British commerce while the rest of the squadron awaited repairs or more  crewmen. Most of the sailors and Marines were riddled by diseases, desertion,  and resignation of officers. The Continental Congress struggled to find more  crews to man the Navy's ships; the Marine detachments were moved from vessel to  vessel and were temporarily reinforced by the Continental Army and militia. In  the summer of 1776, Hopkins's squadron returned to Philadelphia. Also, Congress  approved the Marine Committee's request for new officers; fourteen new officer  were commissioned in the Continental Marine Corps. Samuel Nicholas was promoted  to Major on 25 June due to his service in the New Providence expedition.  Congress however, was utterly disappointed in Commodore Esek Hopkins's  disobeying of orders. Dissatisfaction with the achievements of the fleet, and  its subsequent inactivity in Rhode Island, led to an investigation by Congress.  Censured for disobedience of orders, Hopkins returned to the fleet. Also  on the same day [25 June], Robert Mullan (whose mother was the proprietor of Tun  Tavern and most likely used it as his recruiting rendezvous) received his  commission as Captain. Capt. Mullan played an important aid in recruitment of  enlistees for Marines aboard the Continental navy fleets, he became by legend,  the first 'Marine Recruiter'. Captain Mullan's roster lists two black men, Issac  and Orange, another historical recording of one of the first black American  Marines. On 28 June Pennsylvania's brig Nancy arrived in Cape May with  386 barrels of powder in her hold and ran aground while under fire while  attempting to elude British blockaders HMS Kingfisher and HMS Orpheus. The next  evening, the Continental Marines aboard Lexington, along with four American  warships to assist the wreck Nancy. By dawn, the crew in small boats unloaded  weaponry and precious gunpowder, leaving only 100 barrels of powder behind.  Barry devised a delayed action fuse just as a boatload of British seamen boarded  Nancy, exploding the powder. This engagement became known as the Battle of  Turtle Gut Inlet. On 4 July 1776, the Declaration of Independence was  signed. The Continental sailors and Marines aboard Reprisal and then headed  south to the Caribbean Islands on 27 July. Their assignment was to bring William  Bingham, who had been appointed agent from the American colonies to Martinique,  in acquiring intelligence, and additional arms and supplies for George  Washington's armies. While en route, they encountered the British sloop-of-war  HMS Shark off the coast of Martinique and forced her out of the area. Reprisal  and her accompanying Marines returned to Philadelphia from the West Indies on 13  September. By autumn of 1776, Major Nicholas raised four new companies of  Marines for four of the new frigates that were to be completed and commissioned  in Philadelphia. Armed with marines by the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety, the  detachments guarded both the Continental and state vessels and store while  waiting for their frigates to sail. On 5 September 1776, the Marine  Committee apportioned a uniform for the Continental Marines. The uniform  regulations specified that standard uniform was a short green coat with white  trim facings (lapels, cuffs, and coat lining), and a high leather collar to  protect against cutlass slashes and to keep a man's head erect, leading to the  nickname "leatherneck"; complemented by a white waistcoat, white or buff short  breeches, woolen stockings, and a short black gaiter. Marine officers wore small  cocked hats, and a single epaulette; and the enlisted men sported round black  hats with the brim pinned on one side. The adoption of green coats and round  hats probably reflects the constraints of availability, for both of the uniform  attire were used by the Philadelphia Associators. It wasn't until the year 1777  that the Marines entirely appeared in uniform in numbers. Though legend  attributes the green color to the traditional color of riflemen, Continental  Marines mostly carried muskets. More likely, green cloth was simply plentiful in  Philadelphia, and it served to distinguish Marines from the blue of the Army and  Navy or the red of the British. Also, Sam Nicholas's hunting club wore green  uniforms, hence his recommendation was for green. Notably, Marines aboard USS  Bonhomme Richard wore red, though they were mostly Irish soldiers of the French  Army. The Continental sailors and Marines aboard Providence sails north  to Canada toward Nova Scotia. By 22 September, the sailors and Marines reached  Canso Harbor and recaptured the small port. The following next day, they struck  Isle Madame destroying fishing boats. On 27 September while fishing, Providence,  became under surprise attack from the British frigate HMS Milford. Although  surprised, the smaller American ship managed to escape in a day of expert  sailing. Sometime in October, Sergeants William Hamilton and Alexander  Neilson are promoted to Lieutenant, being the first recorded "mustangs"  (enlistees who received field commission) in the Marine Corps. On 24 October  1776, Benjamin Franklin was dispatched to France as appointed 'Commissioner to  France' for Congress. Captain Lambert Wickes was ordered by the Continental  Congress to proceed to Nantes, France, aboard Reprisal. En route to France, the  sailors and Marines captured two brigantines. Reprisal reaches Nantes, France on  29 November, becoming the first vessel of the Continental Navy to arrive in  European waters. In late November 1776, General Washington's Continental  Army positions along the Hudson River collapsed from the concurring assaults of  British forces. In emergency response Washington requested assistance of a  brigade of Philadelphia militia, a company of local seamen, and Major Nicholas's  four companies of Continental Marines. George Washington wrote a staunchly  letter to John Cadwalader, a brigadier general of the Pennsylvania Associators: "...if they came out resolved to act upon Land...instead their Services to  the Water only." — George Washington to John Cadwalader, 7 December 1776 On 2 December 1776, Major Samuel Nicholas and his three companies of  Marines, garrisoned at the Marine barracks in Philadelphia, were tasked to  reinforce Washington's retreating army from New York through Trenton to slow the  progress of British troops southward through New Jersey. The Major Nicholas and  the American marines marched off to aid in support an American army for the  first time in history; he led a battalion of 130 officers and enlisted men from  Philadelphia, leaving behind one company to man the Continental vessels. Unsure  what to do with the Marines, Washington requested that the Marines be attached  to a brigade militiamen from the Philadelphia Associators, in which were also  dressed in green uniforms alike of the Continental Marines. Thus, Nicholas and  his Marines joined Cadwalader's brigade of Pennsylvania Associators, a force of  1,200 men. The Marines lived side-by-side with the militia brigade in Bristol,  Pennsylvania for two weeks waiting for an attack from the British. However, the  British army instead went into winter quarters along the New Jersey shore of the  Delaware River. Meanwhile at sea, Lexington becomes captured by the  British frigate HMS Pearl. Momentarily, Marine Captain Abraham Boyce leads his  men and Lexington's sailors in overtaking the small British prize crew. Alfred  also engaged combat with HMS Milford on 9 December. Although the British frigate  was better-armed, the American ship was able to out-sail their opponent and  escape unharmed. The Continental Marines and sailors were able to escape to the  harbor at Baltimore, Maryland. General Washington attacked the German  garrison at Trenton on 26 December, though Cadwalader's brigade were unable to  arrive in time to affect the battle for Trenton, due to problems crossing the  ice-choked Delaware River. Cadwalader finally crossed the river on 27 December  on his own initiative, reaching Trenton by 2 January as Washington concentrated  his army. As Cadwalader and his brigade managed to reach Trenton on 2 January  from across the Delaware River, the Continental Marines watched the cannonade  between the Continental Army and Lord Cornwallis' British Army at Assunpink  Creek. The Marines helped defend a crucial bridge against a Hessian attack. On  the night of 3 January, Cadwalader's brigade (including Major Nicholas's  battalion of Continental Marines) and General Washington's Army silently departs  the battlefield and marches toward Princeton. By daybreak, they launched a  two-pronged attack. The first prong of attack, led by Brigadier General Hugh  Mercer, a close friend of George Washington, attacked a British stronghold.  Mercer's brigade ran into heavy, well-disciplined musketry of two British  regiments that were emplaced in front of Princeton, Mercer's brigade position  soon collapsed. Cadwalader's brigade (along with the Marines) came to the  assistance, but too stumbled into the British infantry forcing them to fall  back. The second prong of attack caught the British in open flank, scattering  three British regiments. It gave Washington's forces the advantage to take  Princeton. The battle for Princeton was the first engagement that the  Continental Marines fought and died in battle. After the  Trenton–Princeton campaign, Nicholas's four-company battalion discontinued  service; reduced by transfers, desertion, and disease of eighty Marines. On 4  January, the remaining three companies encamped at its winter quartering at  Sweets Town, not far from Washington's bivouac at Jockey Hollow, Morristown.  From 1 February 1777 and throughout the winter, the two companies of Marines  either transferred to Morristown to assume the roles in the Continental  artillery batteries, or left the service altogether. Captain Robert Mullan's  company returned to Philadelphia as prisoner guards after they found that there  was no ship to man. Captain Robert Mullans' company of Continental Marines  disbanded in April 1777. Many would also return to Philadelphia in the spring to  become part of the detachments of the new Continental galley Washington [the  third ship to be named as such] and the frigate Delaware. In the Bay of  Biscay off France, on 5 February, the Continental Marines aboard Reprisal led a  boarding party that seized and sank HMS Swallow. The 32-gun frigate  Randolph was put to sea in early February 1777, joining the smaller Continental  vessels from Hopkins's squadron. Constantly, the Continental Navy attempted to  breach the cordon of British vessels awaiting their departure; tasks in reaching  the open seas came with such burden that Congress and the state assemblies  attempted to mount a serious naval campaign in an effort to drive away the  British warships that were blockading the American harbors. One achievement was  that they warranted in shifting some of its cruises to European waters, using  the ports of their ally, France, as a base of operation. Although it did not  totally hinder nor prevent the Royal Navy from going anywhere in American  waters. But the naval campaigns did made it costly for Great Britain to maintain  its army in American. Marines made another overseas strike, raiding the  coast of Britain (notably at Whitehaven) with John Paul Jones on the USS Ranger  in April 1777. Alfred; and Raleigh under command of Capt. Thomas  Thompson; and their accompanying Continental Marines, departed for France on 22  August 1777. On 4 September, the Continental Marines aboard the frigate Raleigh  participated in the bold attack on the British sloop HMS Druid. The approach of  the remaining British escorts forced them to break off, unabling them to sink or  capture any British prizes. On 14 September 1777, Reprisal left France,  for New England. On 19 September, Lexington and her Marine detachments  are defeated by the British cutter HMS Alert, near France. The  Continental frigate Delaware and her Marines were forced onto a shoal in the  Delaware River as they fought with British batteries guarding the approaches to  Philadelphia occupied by the British. Although Delaware was captured, many of  the sailors and Marines managed to escape. On 1 October 1777, caught in  an Atlantic storm, Reprisal foundered off the banks of Newfoundland and all 129  on board (sailors and Marines), except the cook, went down with her. Continental  naval officer in command of sloop-of-war Ranger, Captain John Paul Jones, sailed  for Nantes, France, on 1 November 1777, to dispatch news to Commissioner  Benjamin Franklin about the American victory of Saratoga and the surrender of  British General John Burgoyne. On the voyage over, two British prizes were  captured. Ranger arrived at Nantes on 2 December. Captain Jones sold the prizes  and delivered the news of the victory at Saratoga to Dr. Ben Franklin. On  2 January 1778, the Marine Committee came to the conclusion that Esek Hopkins be  relieved of command. Thereafter as such, the Continental Congress implemented a  few plans for squadron operations. On 10 January, a company of Marines  under Navy Captain James Willing depart Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania for an  expedition, in the armed boat Rattletrap. They sail into the Ohio River en route  to New Orleans. Marines from the frigate Randolph help extinguish a huge  blaze on 15 January in Charleston, South Carolina, that destroyed hundred of  buildings. They seized the forts, and captured five ships in the harbor. During a surprise attack on the night of 28 January 1778, Marines repeated the  raid on smaller scale once again at New Providence Island, on Nassau in the  Bahamas, under Captains John Trevett and John Rathbun. The 'Stars and Stripes'  was hoisted over a foreign shore for the first time. It was repeated again for  the third time, in May 1782, with Bernardo de Gálvez to secure the island for  the Spanish. Meanwhile, Captain Willing and the Marines from Rattletrap  captured the British sloop HMS Rebecca while sailing down the Mississippi River.  They were able to temporarily weaken the British hold on the waterway from  occupation. They raided British Loyalist plantations along on the shore of Lake  Ponchartrain. The ill-fated day of 7 March, the frigate Randolph,  commanded by Nicholas Biddle, explodes while commencing in a firefight with HMS  Yarmouth, a British 64-gun ship-of-the-line. During battle, the powder magazines  onboard combusted, exploding the entire hull. Randolph sank taking a loss of 301  sailors, soldiers, and Marines. On 9 March 1778, near Barbados in the  Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean Sea, Alfred and Raleigh encountered British  warships HMS Ariadne and HMS Ceres. When the American ships attempted to flee,  Alfred fell behind her faster consort Raleigh, which escaped. Towards afternoon  the British men-of-war caught up with Alfred and forced her to surrender after a  half-an-hour's battle. The Marine detachment, along with the Continental  sailors, were taken prisoner. Raleigh continued north to New England. On 27  March, a British squadron chased Raleigh ashore on Point Judith, near Newport,  Rhode Island. The Continental Marines held off an attack by Royal Marines while  the crewmen unloaded valuable stores from the grounded ship. The Continental  Navy ship Raleigh returned to New England early in April 1778. On 23  April 1778, John Paul Jones and sailors and Marines aboard USS Ranger make a  raid on the British port of Whitehaven, Great Britain. The crew of Ranger set  fire to ships and spiked the cannon of the fort. Later that same day, they land  on St. Mary Isle to capture a British earl, but find him away from home, and  instead they take the family silver. The next day [24 April], Ranger and her  Marines defeat the British sloop HMS Drake in the Irish Sea. On 1 May  1778, the Marines assist in a night battle with the British frigate HMS Lark in  Narragansett Bay as Providence escapes the blockade and makes it to the open  sea. Accused of cowardice and dereliction of duty for not aiding Alfred, Captain  Thomas Thompson was suspended soon after reaching port. On 30 May 1778 the  Marine Committee appointed John Barry to replace him as captain. On 3  August 1778, the sailors and Marines aboard the Continental Navy ship General  Gates and intercepted, then defeated, the British letter-of-marque brigantine  HMS Montague, whose under command of Captain Horatio Nelson. The Marines  aboard Providence attack a 30-ship convoy on 7 August, off the coast of Nova  Scotia. They inflict damage on an armed transport carrying Highland troops. On 27 September, the British ships HMS Experiment and HMS Unicorn engage  Continental ship Raleigh off the Penobscot River, Maine, and force her aground.  Some of the Marines and sailors escape to shore, but more are captured. Marines would mainly participate in the naval battles of the war, fighting  ship-to-ship, such as the Battle of Valcour Island and famed Battle of  Flamborough Head. Marksmen would perch in the upper riggings and masts of the  ship to fire on enemy sailors from above. However, unlike British Marines, the  Continental Marines would take the then-unorthodox missions of landing parties  and other services ashore. For example, Marines would support batteries ashore  at the Siege of Charleston in the spring of 1780. Continental Marines  landed and briefly captured Nautilus Island and the Majabagaduce peninsula in  the Penobscot Expedition in 1779, but withdrew with heavy losses when Commodore  Dudley Saltonstall's force failed to capture the nearby fort. A group under Navy  Captain James Willing left Pittsburgh, traveled down the Ohio and Mississippi  Rivers, captured a ship later known as USS Morris, and in conjunction with other  Continental Marines, brought by ship from the Gulf of Mexico, raided British  Loyalists on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain on 10 September 1779. The last  official act of the Continental Marines was to escort a stash of silver, on loan  from Louis XVI of France, from Boston to Philadelphia to enable the opening of  the Bank of North America. However, Marines did fight on the duel between USS  Alliance and HMS Sibyl on 10 March 1783, the last recorded shots of the war, and  Pvt Robert Stout of that ship would be the last recorded mention of a  Continental Marine one year later. Major Nicholas would die from yellow fever on  27 August 1790. In all, the Continental Marines suffered 49 dead and 70 wounded. At the end of the Revolution in 1783, both the Continental Navy and Marines  were disbanded in April. Although individual Marines stayed on for the few  American naval vessels left, the last Continental Marine was discharged in  September. In all, there were 131 Colonial Marine officers and probably no more  than 2,000 enlisted Colonial Marines. Though individual Marines were enlisted  for the few American naval vessels, the organization would not be re-created  until 1798. Despite the gap between the disbanding of the Continental Marines  and the establishment of the United States Marine Corps, Marines worldwide  celebrate 10 November 1775 as the official birthday. This is traditional in  Marine units and is similar to the practice of the British and Netherlands Royal  Marines. Despite the Continental Navy being older in establishment (13 October  vs. 10 November 1775) and reestablishment (27 March 1794 vs. 11 July 1798),  Marines have taken the position of precedence, awarded due to seniority of age,  because they historically and consistently maintained their birth as 10  November, while the Navy had no official recognition of 13 October as their  birthday until 1972. Establishment of the modern Marine Corps Due to predations by  the Barbary pirates from Algiers on US shipping, Congress created the United  States Navy and the Marine Corps. The Act to provide a Naval Armament of 27  March 1794 authorizing new build frigates for the war had specified the numbers  of Marines to be recruited for each frigate. Marines were enlisted by the War  Department as early as August 1797 for service in these frigates. Daniel Carmick  and Lemuel Clerk were commissioned as Lieutenants of Marines on 5 May 1798.  Under the "Act for establishing and organizing a Marine Corps", signed on 11  July 1798 by President John Adams, the Marine Corps was to consist of a  battalion of 500 privates, led by a major and a complement of officers and  NCO's. The next day, William Ward Burrows I was appointed a major. In the  Quasi-War, Marines aboard the USS Constitution and other ships conducted raids  in the waters off Hispaniola against the French and Spanish, making the first of  many landings in Haiti and participating in the Battle of Puerto Plata Harbor. Among the equipment Burrows inherited was a stock of leftover blue uniforms  with red trim, the basis for the modern Blue Dress uniform. When the capital  moved to Washington, D.C. in June 1800, Burrows was appointed Lieutenant Colonel  Commandant of the Marine Corps; the first de jure Commandant, though Samuel  Nicholas is traditionally accorded as the first de facto Commandant for his role  as the most senior officer of the Continental Marines. In 1801, President Thomas  Jefferson and Burrows rode horses about the new capital to find a place suitable  for a Marine barracks near the Washington Navy Yard. They chose the land between  8th and 9th, and G and I streets and hired architect George Hadfield to design  the barracks and the Commandant’s House, in use today as Marine Barracks,  Washington, D.C.. Burrows also founded the United States Marine Band from an act  of Congress passed on 11 July 1798, which debuted at the President's House on 1  January 1801 and has played for every presidential inauguration since. The Marines' most famous action of this period occurred in the First Barbary War  (1801–1805) against the Barbary pirates, when General William Eaton, the Naval  Special Agent and appointed commander-in-chief of the multi-national expedition,  and First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon led a group of eight Marines and 300 Arab  and European mercenaries in an attempt to capture Tripoli and free the crew of  the captured USS Philadelphia. Though they only made it as far as Derne, Tripoli  has been immortalized in the Marines' Hymn. The deposed Pasha, Prince Hamet  Karamanli was so impressed with the Marines that he presented a Mameluke sword  to O'Bannon inscribed in memory of the Battle of Derne, a tradition continued  today by the swords worn by Marine officers. In May 1811, 2 officers and  47 Marines established an advanced base on Cumberland Island, Georgia to be used  for actions against pirates in Spanish Florida, and captured Fernandina on 18  March 1812 for occupation until May 1813. This was the first peacetime overseas  base of the United States. The Marine Corps' first land action of the War  of 1812 was the establishment of an advanced base at Sackets Harbor, New York by  63 Marines. This gave the Navy a base on the shores of Lake Ontario, and later,  headquartered their operations in the Great Lakes; Marines helped to repel two  British attacks (the First and Second Battle of Sacket's Harbor). The Marines  also established another base at Erie, Pennsylvania. Marine ship detachments  took part in the great frigate duels of the war, the first American victories of  the war. By the end of the war Marines acquired a reputation as marksmen,  especially in ship-to-ship actions. On 27 April 1813, Marines participated in  United States Army Colonel Winfield Scott's landing at York (now Toronto). Under  Commodore Joshua Barney and Captain Samuel Miller, they acted to delay the  British forces marching toward Washington at the Battle of Bladensburg. During  the battle, they held the line after the Army and militia retreated, though were  eventually overrun. Tradition holds that the British respected their fighting  enough to spare the Marine Barracks and Commandant's house when they burned  Washington, though they may have intended to use it as a headquarters; a related  legend cites that two NCOs buried treasure at the site (to prevent its capture)  that is yet unfound. At the Battle of New Orleans, the Marines held the center  of Gen Andrew Jackson's defensive line. A total of 46 Marines would die and 66  were wounded in the war. Together with sailors and Army troops, they  again captured Amelia Island and Fernandina in Spanish Florida on 23 December  1817. Fernandina was occupied until Spain ceded Florida to the United States in  1821. In 1823, Marines also established an advanced base on Thompson's Island,  now called Key West, for Commodore David Porter to use against pirates around  the island of Cuba. They garrisoned Pensacola, Florida in 1825 to use it as a  base against pirates in the West Indies. Henderson's era After the war, the  Marine Corps fell into a depressed state. The third Commandant, Franklin  Wharton, died while in office on 1 September 1818, causing a battle for  succession between Majors Anthony Gale, Samuel Miller, and Archibald Henderson  (then acting Commandant). The latter two were unable to successfully impeach  Gale, who assumed the role on 3 March 1819, ending a six-month vacancy. After a  falling-out with Secretary Smith Thompson, Gale was court-martialed for conduct  unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, convicted, and fired on 18 October 1820. Henderson secured a confirmed appointment as the fifth Commandant in 1820  and breathed new life into the Corps. He would go on to be the longest-serving  commandant, commonly referred to as the "Grand old man of the Marine Corps".  Under his tenure, the Marine Corps took on a new role as an expeditionary  force-in-readiness with a number of expeditionary duties in the Caribbean, the  Gulf of Mexico, Key West, West Africa, the Falkland Islands, China, Fiji, Peru,  Buenos Aires, Nicaragua, and Sumatra, in addition to many of the Indian Wars.  Previously having rarely done anything but guard ships and naval depots,  Henderson seized every opportunity to deploy his Marines in "landing party  operations" and other expeditions. One example of this was the acquisition  artillery pieces and training for use with landing parties, which would bear  fruit at the Battle of the Pearl River Forts. Henderson is also credited with  thwarting attempts by President Andrew Jackson to combine the Marine Corps with  the Army. Instead, Congress passed the Act for the Better Organization of the  United States Marine Corps in 1834, stipulating that the Corps was part of the  Department of the Navy, as a sister service to the United States Navy. This  would be the first of many times that Congress came to the aid of the Marines. When the Seminole Wars (1835–1842) broke out, Commandant Henderson  volunteered the Marines for service, leading 2 battalions to war, which  accounted for about half the strength of the Marine Corps. They garrisoned Fort  Brooke in Tampa and held off an Indian attack on 22 January 1836. Henderson  commanded the mixed Marine/Army Second Brigade at the Battle of Hatchee-Lustee  on 27 January 1837, for which he was appointed a brevet brigadier general.  Marines also fought at the Battle of Wahoo Swamp that November. A decade  later, in the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), the Marines made their famed  assault on Chapultepec Palace, which overlooked Mexico City, their first major  expeditionary venture. Since marching to Mexico City would be a long and perhaps  impossible venture, a combined force (containing some 200 Marines) under Major  General Winfield Scott made an landing south of Veracruz on 9 March 1847 and  captured the city on 29 March. From there, they fought their way to Mexico City  and commenced their assault on 13 September. The Marines were given the task of  clearing the Chapultepec Castle, the "Halls of Montezuma", where they cut down  the Mexican colors and ran up the Flag of the United States. The high mortality  rate amongst officers and non-commissioned officers is memorialized in the dress  uniform's "blood stripes", as well as the line "From the Halls of Montezuma" in  the Marines' Hymn. Marines were later placed on guard duty at the palace and  Captain Jacob Zeilin, a future Commandant, was made military governor. Marines  also served as part of the Navy's blockade of Mexico that successfully prevented  overseas arms and munitions from reaching the Mexican forces, and as part of the  California Battalion under Major Archibald H. Gillespie; engagements included  the battles of Monterey, Los Angeles, Dominguez Rancho, San Pasqual, Rio San  Gabriel, La Mesa, and 2nd Tabasco. Other battles included the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd  Tuxpan, capturing La Paz, defending La Paz, Mulege, and capturing and defending  San José del Cabo. In the 1850s, the Marines would further see service in  Panama, and in Asia, escorting Matthew Perry's fleet on its historic trip to the  East. Two hundred Marines under Zeilin were among the Americans who first  stepped foot on Japan; they can be seen in contemporary woodprints in their blue  jackets, white trousers, and black shakos. Marines were also performed landing  demonstrations while the expedition visited the Ryukyu and Bonin Islands. Upon  Henderson's death in 1859, legend cites that he willed the Commandant's House,  his home of 38 years, to his heirs, forgetting that it was government property;  however, this has proven false. Civil War Despite their stellar service in foreign  engagements, the Marine Corps played only a minor role during the Civil War  (1861–1865); their most important task was blockade duty and other ship-board  battles, but were mobilized for a handful of operations as the war progressed. During the prelude to war, a hastily-created 86-man Marine detachment under  Lieutenant Israel Greene was detached to arrest John Brown at Harper's Ferry in  1859, after the abolitionist raided the armory there. Command of the mission was  given to then-Colonel Robert E. Lee and his aide, Lieutenant J.E.B. Stuart, both  having been on leave in Washington when President James Buchanan ordered Brown  arrested. The ninety Marines arrived to the town on 17 October via train, and  quickly surrounded John Brown's Fort. Upon his refusal to surrender, the Marines  stormed the building with bayonets, battering down the door with hammers and a  ladder used as a battering ram. Greene slashed Brown twice and would have killed  him had his sword not bent on his last thrust; in his haste he had carried his  light dress sword instead of his regulation sword. At the opening of the  war, the Marine Corps had 1892 officers and men, but two majors, half the  captains, and two-thirds of the lieutenants resigned to join the Confederacy, as  did many prominent Army officers. Though the retention of enlisted men was  better, the Confederate States Marine Corps formed its nucleus with some of the  best Marines the Corps had. Following the wave of defections, thirteen officers  and 336 Marines, mostly recruits, were hastily formed into a battalion and sent  to Manassas. At the First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas), they performed  poorly, running away like the rest of the Union forces. Commandant John Harris  reported sadly that this was "the first instance in Marine history where any  portion of its members turned their backs to the enemy." Congress only  slightly enlarged the Marines due to the priority of the Army; and after filling  detachments for the ships of the Navy (which had more than doubled in size by  1862), the Marine Corps was only able to field about one battalion at any given  time as a larger force for service ashore. Marines from ship's detachments as  well as ad-hoc battalions took part in the landing operations necessary to  capture bases for blockade duty. These were mostly successful, but on 8  September 1863, the Marines tried an amphibious landing to capture Fort Sumter  in Charlestown harbor and failed, one of the few failed landings of the Marine  Corps. Due to a shortage of officers, the Marines of Commander George Preble's  naval brigade that fought at the Battle of Honey Hill in 1864 started the battle  with First Lieutenant G.G. Stoddard as the battalion commander (normally  accorded a lieutenant colonel), the only officer in the battalion (the company  commanders and other staff being sergeants). On 15 May 1862, the Battle  of Drewry's Bluff began as a detachment of ships under Commander John Rodgers  (including the USS Monitor and USS Galena) steamed up the James River to test  the defenses of Richmond as part of the Peninsula Campaign. As the Galena took  heavy losses, the unwavering musket and cannon fire of Corporal John F. Mackie  would earn him the Medal of Honor on 10 July 1863, the first Marine to be so  awarded. In January 1865, the Marines took part in the Second Battle of  Fort Fisher, tasked with acting as marksmen on the flank of the attack to shoot  any Confederate troops that appeared on the ramparts of the fort. Even though  they were ordered from their firing positions by Admiral Porter's second in  command, Porter blamed the Marines for the failure of the naval landing force to  take the fort. Despite this, the fort was successfully captured; five Marines  earned the Medal of Honor during the battle. In all, Marines received 17 of the  1522 awards during the Civil War. A total of 148 Marines would die in the war,  the most casualties up to that point. Confederate Marines On the  opposite side of the lines, the Congress of the Confederate States authorized  the creation of the Confederate States Marine Corps on 16 March 1861. Initially  authorized at 45 officers and 944 enlisted men, the CSMC was increased to 1,026  enlisted men on 24 September 1862, but actual manpower never approached that  number, maxing below 550 total. Its first and only Commandant, Colonel Lloyd J.  Beall, stood the corps up in Richmond, and headquartered it at Fort Darling. The Confederate Marines, much like its progenitor, played small roles  through the Civil War. Much of its service in the war was shipbound, such as the  CSS Virginia's famous duel with the USS Monitor at Battle of Hampton Roads.  Detachments on land guarded several naval bases, including the defense of the  CSMC's headquarters at the Battle of Drewry's Bluff. One of the few notable  operations included an assault on a Union prisoner of war camp at Point Lookout.  Toward the end of the war, Marines were pressed for the defense of Richmond,  such as the Battle of Sayler's Creek. Latter 19th Century The remainder  of the 19th century would be a period of declining strength and introspection  about the mission of the Marine Corps. The Navy's transition from sail to steam  put into question the need for Marines on naval ships; indeed, the replacement  of masts and rigging with smokestacks literally left Marine marksmen without a  place. However, the Marines would serve as a convenient resource for  interventions and landings to protect American lives and property in foreign  countries, such as action in Formosa in 1867. In June 1871, 651 Marine deployed  for the expedition to Korea and made a landing at Ganghwa Island in which six  Marines earned the Medal of Honor and one was killed (an landing also taken by  the French in 1866 and Japanese in 1875), 79 years before the famed landing at  nearby Inchon. After the Virginius Affair caused a war scare with Spain, Marines  took part in naval brigade landing exercises in Key West in 1874, Gardiners  Island in August 1884, and Newport, Rhode Island in November 1887. Three Marines  earned Medals of Honor in the Samoan Civil War. Altogether, the Marines were  involved in over 28 separate interventions in the 35 years from the end of the  Civil War to the end of the 19th century, including China, Formosa, Japan,  Nicaragua, Uruguay, Mexico, Korea, Panama, Egypt, Haiti, Samoa, Argentina,  Chile, and Colombia, including the Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, which  would be annexed five years later. They would also be called upon to stem  political and labor unrest within the United States, such as guarding mail. In  1885, war correspondent Richard Harding Davis popularized the phrase "The  Marines have landed and have the situation well in hand" when describing  Americans intervention in a Panamanian revolt. Under Commandant Jacob  Zeilin's term (1864–1876), many Marine customs and traditions took shape. The  Corps adopted the Marine Corps emblem in essentially its modern form on 19  November 1868, borrowing the globe from the Royal Marines, but introducing the  fouled anchor and an American bald eagle. In 1869, the Corps adopted a  blue-black evening jacket and trousers encrusted with gold braid, that survives  today as officer's mess dress. It was also during this time that the "Marines'  Hymn" was first heard. Around 1883, the Marines adopted their current motto  "Semper Fidelis", Latin for "Always Faithful" and often shortened by Marines to  "Semper Fi". In 1885 1st Lt. H.K. Gilman wrote the first manual for enlisted  Marines, Marines' Manual: Prepared for the Use of the Enlisted Men of the U.S.  Marine Corps and in 1886 the first landing manual The Naval Brigade and  Operations Ashore. Previous to this, the only landing instructions available  were those in the Ordnance Instructions for the United States Navy. John Philip  Sousa, previously an apprentice in the Marine Band as a child, returned to lead  the band in 1880 at the age of 25, making a name for himself and the Band with  his composed marches. Spanish– & Philippine–American Wars During the  Spanish–American War (1898), Marines would lead American forces ashore in the  Philippines, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, demonstrating their readiness for  deployment. At the Battle of Cienfuegos, Marines from the USS Marblehead and USS  Nashville cut undersea telegraph cables under heavy Spanish fire to support the  blockade of Cuba, 12 of them earning the Medal of Honor for their actions. The  1st Battalion, under LtCol Robert W. Huntington, invaded and captured Guantánamo  Bay in order to set up an advanced base and refueling station for the fleet. In  the seizure of Cuzco Well, a Spanish counterattack was aided by friendly fire  from the USS Dolphin, and Sergeant John H. Quick would later receive the Medal  of Honor for braving both Spanish rifle fire and naval gunfire to signal the  Dolphin and shift fire. At the outbreak of war, owing to a shortage of  khaki cloth, Marine forces wore their standard blue wool uniforms. Later, a  brown linen "campaign suit" was adopted, to be worn in conjunction with the felt  campaign hat. Equipment consisted of a wide belt with attached x-suspenders and  ammunition pouches, all made of black leather; a canteen, haversack, plus  bayonet scabbard. In the Puerto Rican Campaign, Marine detachments under  Lieutenant John A. Lejeune landed in Fajardo in order to seize boats for a  subsequent landing by Army forces. While they were waiting for the Army, they  were attacked by strong Spanish forces in a night attack. Upon a prearranged  signal, the Marines and sailors occupying the Cape San Juan Lighthouse took  cover while the American ships bombarded the area. They left the next day when  they found out that the Army commander had changed his mind and landed on the  other end of the island at Guánica, securing the beach for the Army. In  the Philippines, Marines landed at Cavite following the Battle of Manila Bay  under Commodore George Dewey, and saw action at the Capture of Guam and Siege of  Baler. In the subsequent Philippine–American War, Marines played little role in  fighting but did serve as occupiers and peacekeepers. In all, fifteen Marines  would earn the Medal of Honor, most of them at Cienfuegos; and additional six in  the Philippines. Early 1900s The successful landing at Guantanamo and the readiness of the Marines for the  Spanish-American War were in contrast to the slow mobilization of the United  States Army in the war. In 1900, the General Board of the United States Navy  decided to give the Marine Corps primary responsibility for the seizure and  defense of advanced naval bases. The Marine Corps formed an expeditionary  battalion to be permanently based in the Caribbean, which subsequently practiced  landings in 1902 in preparation for a war with Germany over their siege in  Venezuela. Under Major Lejeune, in early 1903, it also undertook landing  exercises with the Army in Maine, and in November, blocked Colombian Army forces  sent to quash a Panamanian rebellion, an action which led to the independence of  Panama. Marines stayed in Panama, with brief intermissions as they were deployed  for other actions, until 1914. From 1903 to 1904, 25 Marines protected American  diplomats in Abyssinia, modern day Ethiopia. A small group of Marines made a  show of force in Tangier to resolve the kidnapping of Ion Perdicaris in the  summer of 1904. The Marine Corps Advanced Base School was founded as was the  Advanced Base Force, the prototype of the Fleet Marine Force. Marine  aviation began on 22 May 1912, when Lieutenant Alfred Austell Cunningham  reported to the Naval Aviation Camp in Annapolis, Maryland, "for duty in  connection with aviation." As the number of Marine Aviators grew over the next  few years, so did the desire to separate from Naval Aviation, realized on 6  January 1914, when Lt Bernard L. Smith was directed to Culebra, Puerto Rico, to  establish the Marine Section of the Navy Flying School. In 1915, the Commandant  George Barnett authorized the creation of an aviation company consisting of 10  officers and 40 enlisted men. The first official Marine flying unit arrived with  the 17 February 1917, commissioning of the Marine Aviation Company for duty with  the Advanced Base Force at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Marines played a  role in China, which would continue on through to the 1950s. Originally  dispatched in 1894 to protect Americans during the First Sino-Japanese War,  Marines defended western legations in the Battles of Tientsin and Peking during  the Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901) and China Relief Expedition. The Boxers, seeking  to drive all foreigners from China and eradicate foreign influences, became  violent and began murdering westerners. The remaining foreigners banded together  in the Beijing Legation Quarter and were protected by a small military force,  which included 56 Marines, until reinforcements from the Eight-Nation Alliance,  including the Army's 9th Infantry Regiment and a battalion of Marines stationed  in the Philippines, arrived on 14 August 1900 to end the rebellion. Private  Daniel Daly would earn his first Medal of Honor here, as well as 32 other  Marines. Marines would redeploy from April 1922 to November 1923, and again in  1924, to protect Americans during the First and Second Zhili–Fengtian Wars. The  4th Marine Regiment would arrive in 1927, to defend the Shanghai International  Settlement during the Northern Expedition and Second Sino-Japanese War, later  being called China Marines. The regiment would leave in 1941 for Cavite to fight  in World War II. WWI In World War I, battle-tested, veteran Marines served a central role in the  United States' entry into the conflict. Unlike the majority of Allied armies,  the Marine Corps had a deep pool of officers and non-commissioned officers with  battle experience, and experienced a smaller growth. They participated in small  ways throughout 1918 (such as Château-Thierry, Soissons, and Saint-Mihiel), but  its most famous action of the war would come that summer as the Spring Offensive  neared its end. From 1 to 26 June, Marines fought their celebrated Battle of  Belleau Wood, then the largest in the history of the Corps, creating their  reputation in modern history. Rallying under the battle cries of "Retreat? Hell,  we just got here!" (Capt Lloyd Williams) and "Come on, you sons of bitches, do  you want to live forever?" (GySgt Dan Daly), the Marines drove German forces  from the area. While its previous expeditionary experience had not earned it  much acclaim in the Western world, the Marines' fierceness and toughness earned  them the respect of the Germans, who rated them of storm-trooper quality. Though  Marines and American media reported that Germans had nicknamed them  "Teufelhunden" or "Devil Dogs", there is no evidence of this in German records.  Nevertheless, the name stuck, such as a famous recruiting poster. The  French government renamed the forest to "Bois de la Brigade de Marine" ("Wood of  the Marine Brigade"), and decorated both the 5th and 6th Regiments with the  Croix de Guerre three times each. This earned them the privilege to wear the  fourragère, which Franklin D. Roosevelt, then Secretary of the Navy, authorized  them to henceforth wear on the left shoulder of their dress and service  uniforms. Marine aviation also saw exponential growth, as the First Aeronautic  Company which deployed to the Azores to hunt U-boats in January 1918 and the  First Marine Air Squadron which deployed to France as the newly renamed 1st  Marine Aviation Force in July 1918 and provided bomber and fighter support to  the Navy's Day Wing, Northern Bombing Group. By the end of the war, several  Marine aviators had recorded air-to-air kills, and collectively dropped over 14  short tons (13,000 kg) of bombs. and their number totals included 282 officers  and 2,180 enlisted men operating from 8 squadrons. In 1919 the 1st  Division/Squadron 1 was formed from these units, and exists as VMA-231. Near the end of the war in June 1918, Marines were landed at Vladivostok in  Russia to protect American citizens at the consulate and other places from the  fighting of the Russian Civil War. That August, the Allies would intervene on  the side of the White Russians against the Bolsheviks to protect the  Czechoslovak Legions and Allied materiel from capture. Marines would return on  16 February 1920, this time to Russky Island to protect communications  infrastructure, until 19 November 1922. Opha May Johnson was the first  woman to enlist in the Marines; she joined the Marine Corps Reserve in 1918  during World War I, officially becoming the first female Marine. From then until  the end of World War I, 305 women enlisted in the Corps. The Marine Corps  had entered the war with 511 officers and 13,214 enlisted personnel and, by 11  November 1918, had reached a strength of 2,400 officers and 70,000 enlisted. The  war cost 2,461 dead and 9,520 wounded Marines, while eight would earn the Medal  of Honor. A new amphibious mission Between the world wars, the Marine  Corps was headed by Major General John A. Lejeune, another popular commandant.  The Marine Corps was searching for an expanded mission after World War I. It was  used in France as a junior version of the Army infantry, and Marines realized  that was a dead end. In the early 20th century they had acquired the new mission  of police control of Central American countries partly occupied by the US. That  mission became another dead end when the nation adopted a "Good Neighbor Policy"  toward Latin America, and renounced further invasions. The Corps needed a new  mission, one distinct from the Army. It found one: it would be a fast-reacting,  light infantry fighting force carried rapidly to far off locations by the Navy.  Its special role was amphibious landings on enemy-held islands, but it took  years to figure out how to do that. The Mahanian notion of a decisive fleet  battle required forward bases for the Navy close to the enemy. After the  Spanish-American War the Marines gained the mission of occupying and defending  those forward bases, and they began a training program on Culebro Island, Puerto  Rico. The emphasis at first was on defending the forward base against enemy  attack; they would be like the Turks who in 1915 inflicted 250,000 casualties on  the British, Australian and New Zealand invaders of Gallipoli, forcing their  withdrawal. As early as 1900 the Navy’s General Board considered building  advance bases for naval operations in the Pacific and the Caribbean. The Marine  Corps was given this mission in 1920, but the challenge was to avoid another  disaster like Gallipoli. The conceptual breakthrough came in 1921 when Major  "Pete" Ellis wrote “Advanced Base Operations in Micronesia” a secret 30,000-word  manifesto that proved inspirational to Marine strategists and highly prophetic.  To win a war in the Pacific, the Navy would have to fight its way through  thousands of miles of ocean controlled by the Japanese—including the Marshall,  Caroline, Marianas and Ryukus island groups. If the Navy could land Marines to  seize selected islands, they could become forward bases. Ellis argued that with  an enemy prepared to defend the beaches, success depended on high-speed movement  of waves of assault craft, covered by heavy naval gunfire and attack from the  air. He predicted the decision would take place on the beach itself, so the  assault teams would need not just infantry but also machine gun units, light  artillery, light tanks, and combat engineers to defeat beach obstacles and  defenses. Assuming the enemy had its own artillery, the landing craft would have  to be specially built to protect the landing force. The failure at Gallipoli  came because the Turks could easily reinforce the specific landing sites. The  Japanese would be unable to land new forces on the islands under attack. Not knowing which of the many islands would be the American target, the Japanese  would have to disperse their strength by garrisoning many islands that would  never be attacked. An island like Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands, would, Ellis  estimated, require two regiments, or 4,000 Marines. (Indeed, in February 1944  the Marines seized Eniwetok with 4,000 men in three battalions.) Guided by  Marine observer airplanes, and supplemented by Marine light bombers, warships  would provide sea-going artillery firepower so that Marines would not need any  heavy artillery (in contrast to the Army, which relied heavily on its  artillery.) Shelling defended islands was a new mission for warships. The Ellis  model was officially endorsed in 1927 by the Joint Board of the Army and Navy (a  forerunner of the Joint Chiefs of Staff). Actual implementation of the  new mission took another decade because the Corps was preoccupied in Central  America, the Navy was slow to start training in how to support the landings, and  a new kind of ship had to be invented to hit the beaches without massive  casualties. In 1941 British and American ship architects invented a new class of  "landing ship" to solve the problem. In World War II, the Navy built 1,150 LSTs.  They were large (2400 tons) and slow (10 knots); officially known as "Landing  Ship Tank," the passengers called them "Large Stationary Targets." Lightly  armored, they could steam cross the ocean with a full load on their own power,  carrying infantry, tanks and supplies directly onto the beaches. Together with  2,000 other landing craft, the LSTs gave the Marines (and Army soldiers) a  protected, quick way to make combat landings, beginning in summer 1943. In 1933, a "Fleet Marine Force" was established with the primary mission of  amphibious landings. The Force was a brigade with attached Marine aviation units  that were trained in observation and ground support. By paying special attention  to communications between ground and air, and between shore and sea, they  developed an integrated three-dimensional assault force. By 1940, having adding  enough men, the appropriate equipment, and a rigorous training program, the  Marine Corps had worked out, in theory, its doctrine of amphibious assaults.  Under the combat leadership of Holland "Howlin Mad" Smith, the general most  responsible for training, the Marines were ready to hit the beaches. The  Corps acquired amphibious equipment such as the Higgins boat which would prove  of great use in the upcoming conflict. The various Fleet Landing Exercises were  a test and demonstration of the Corps' growing amphibious capabilities. Marine aviation also saw significant growth in assets; on 7 December 1941,  Marine aviation consisted of 13 flying squadrons and 230 aircraft. The oldest  squadron in the Corps, known today as VMFA-232, was commissioned on 1 September  1925, as VF-3M. WWII In World War II, the Marines played a central role in the Pacific War,  participating in nearly every significant battle. The Corps also saw its peak  growth as it expanded from two brigades to two corps with six divisions, and  five air wings with 132 squadrons. In addition, 20 Defense Battalions were also  set up, as well as a Parachute Battalion. In all, the Corps totaled at a maximum  end strength of over 475,000 Marines, the highest in its history. The battles of  Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, Guam, and Okinawa saw fierce  fighting between U.S. Marines and the Imperial Japanese Army. The secrecy  afforded their communications by the now-famous Navajo code talker program is  widely seen as having contributed significantly to their success. The first  African American recruits were accepted in 1942 to begin the desegregation of  the Corps. During the battle for Iwo Jima, photographer Joe Rosenthal  took the famous photo Raising of the Flag on Iwo Jima of five Marines and one  Navy corpsman raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi. Secretary of the  Navy James Forrestal, who had come ashore earlier that day to observe the  progress of the troops, said of the flag raising on Iwo Jima, "...the raising of  that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next five hundred years."  The acts of the Marines during the war added to their already significant  popular reputation, and the Marine Corps War Memorial adjacent to Arlington  National Cemetery was dedicated in 1954. As the Marine Corps grew to its  maximum size, Marine aviation also peaked at 5 air wings, 31 aircraft groups and  145 flying squadrons. The Battle of Guadalcanal would teach several lessons,  such as the debilitating effects of not having air superiority, the  vulnerability of unescorted targets (such as transport shipping), and the vital  importance of quickly acquiring expeditionary airfields during amphibious  operations. After being dissatisfied with Navy air support at the Battle of  Tarawa, General Holland Smith recommended that Marines should do the job, put  into effect at New Georgia. The Bougainville and 2nd Philippines campaigns saw  the establishment of air liaison parties to coordinate air support with the  Marines fighting on the ground, and the Battle of Okinawa brought most of it  together with the establishment of aviation command and control in the form of  Landing Force Air Support Control Units Though the vast majority of  Marines served in the Pacific Theater, a number of Marines did play a role in  the European Theater, North Africa, and Middle East. Mostly serving aboard  warships and as guards for naval bases, especially in the British Isles; though  some volunteered for duty with the Office of Strategic Services. Numerous  observers were dispatched to learn tactics from allied nations, such as Roy  Geiger aboard HMS Formidable. Interservice rivalry may have played a role in  this; for example, when briefed of a plan for Project Danny, Army Chief of Staff  General George Marshall stood and walked out, stating "That's the end of this  briefing. As long as I'm in charge, there'll never be a Marine in Europe." By the war’s end, the Corps had grown to include six divisions, five air  wings and supporting troops totaling about 485,000 Marines. 19,733 Marines were  killed and 68,207 wounded during WWII and 82 received the Medal of Honor. Marine  Aviators were credited with shooting down 2,355 Japanese aircraft while losing  573 of their own in combat, as well as 120 earning ace. POST WAR Despite Secretary  Forrestal's prediction, the Corps faced an immediate institutional crisis  following the war. Army brass pushing for a strengthened and reorganized defense  establishment also attempted to fold the Marine mission and assets into the Navy  and Army. Drawing on hastily assembled Congressional support, the Marine Corps  rebuffed such efforts to legislatively dismantle the Corps, resulting in  statutory protection of the Marine Corps in the National Security Act of 1947.  Despite the introspective crisis, Marines also suffered from major post-war  cutbacks and drawdowns in size. For example, aviation fell from 116,628  personnel and 103 squadrons on 31 August 1945 to 14,163 personnel and 21  squadrons on 30 June 1948, with another 30 squadrons in the reserves. Secretary of Defense Louis A. Johnson in particular singled the Navy and Marine  Corps out for budget cuts. A strong believer in unification and the idea that  the United States' monopoly on the atomic bomb was adequate protection against  any and all external threats, he began a campaign to strip away much of  America's military power, especially naval and amphibious. Shortly after his  appointment, Johnson had a conversation with Admiral Richard L. Connally, giving  a revealing look at his attitudes towards the Navy and Marine Corps and any need  for non-nuclear forces: “Admiral, the Navy is on its way out. There’s no  reason for having a Navy and a Marine Corps. General Bradley tells me amphibious  operations are a thing of the past. We’ll never have any more amphibious  operations. That does away with the Marine Corps. And the Air Force can do  anything the Navy can do, so that does away with the Navy.” However, the  Marines were included in the Women's Armed Services Integration Act in 1948,  which gave women permanent status in the Regular and Reserve forces of the  Marines. President Harry S. Truman had a well-known dislike of the  Marines dating back to his service in World War I, and would say in anger in  August 1950, "The Marine Corps is the Navy's police force and as long as I am  President, that is what it will remain. They have a propaganda machine that is  almost equal to Stalin's." Johnson exploited this to reduce or eliminate many  Marine Corps' budget requests. Johnson attempted to eliminate Marine Corps  aviation entirely by transferring its air assets to the Navy and Air Force, and  again proposed to progressively eliminate the Marine Corps altogether in a  series of budget cutbacks and decommissioning of forces. Johnson ordered that  the Commandant be barred from attending Joint Chiefs of Staff meetings in his  role of chief of service (including meetings involving Marine readiness or  deployments), deleted him from the official roll of chiefs of service branches  authorized a driver and limousine, and for whom a special gun salute was  prescribed on ceremonial occasions. He further specified that there would be no  future official recognition or celebration of the Marine Corps birthday. The  Navy's surface fleet and amphibious ships were drastically reduced, and most  landing craft were reserved for Army use. After Johnson announced the  cancellation of the 65,000-ton USS United States, under construction and the  Navy's hope to participate in strategic nuclear air operations, without  consulting the Department of the Navy nor Congress, Secretary of the Navy John  L. Sullivan abruptly resigned, beginning the Revolt of the Admirals. In June  1949, the House Committee on Armed Services launched an investigation into  charges of malfeasance in office against Secretary Johnson. While ultimately  cleared of any wrongdoing, the congressional rebuke weakened Johnson's power  with the military and President Truman, and few subsequent cuts were made. After  his severe cutbacks resulted in a military too weak to perform effectively in  the initial days of the Korean War, Johnson resigned on 19 September 1950,  replaced with George Marshall. Ironically, the Marines, as part of an amphibious  corps with the US Army 7th divison who deployed, and made an amphibious  operation at Inchon at the opening of the war. Shortly after, in 1952,  the Douglas-Manfield Bill afforded the Commandant an equal voice with the Joint  Chiefs of Staff on matters relating to the Marines, and established the  structure of three divisions and air wings that remains today. This allowed the  Corps to permanently maintain a division and air wing in the Far East and  participate in various small wars in Southeast Asia – in Tachen, Taiwan, Laos,  Thailand, and Vietnam. A small guard force was sent to Jerusalem to protect the  United States Consul General in 1948 Marines would take a large role in  the initial days Occupation of Japan, beginning with the 4th Marine Division  landing at Kanagawa on 28 August 1945, just 13 days after Emperor Hirohito  announced surrender. It was soon replaced by the Eighth United States Army in  1946. About 50,000 Marines would take part in the post-war occupation of North  China from 1945 until 1947, and would reappear in 1948 and 1949. III Amphibious  Corps would control major infrastructure points and repatriate Japanese and  Soviet troops, as well as evacuate Americans when the Communist Party of China  began to win the Chinese Civil War. Despite cuts in number, Marine  aviation did progress in technology: propeller aircraft were gradually phased  out as jet aircraft improved and helicopters were developed for use in  amphibious operations. The first Marine jet squadron came in November 1947 when  VMF-122 fielded the FH Phantom, while HMX-1, the first Marine helicopter  squadron, stood up in November 1947. General Geiger had observed the atomic bomb  tests at Bikini Atoll the year earlier and instantly recognized that atomic  bombs could render amphibious landings difficult because of the dense  concentrations of troops, ships, and materiel at the beachhead. The Hogaboom  Board recommended that the Marine Corps develop transport helicopters in order  to allow a more diffuse attack on enemy shores, resulting in HMX-1 and the  acquisition of Sikorsky HO3S-1 and the Piasecki HRP-1 helicopters. Refining the  concept for several years, Marines would use the term "vertical envelopment"  instead of "air mobility" or "air assault". KOREAN WAR The Korean War  (1950–1953) saw the hastily formed 1st Provisional Marine Brigade holding the  line at the Battle of Pusan Perimeter, where Marine helicopters (VMO-6 flying  the HO3S1 helicopter) made their combat debut. To execute a flanking maneuver,  General Douglas MacArthur called on Marine air and ground forces to make an  amphibious landing at the Battle of Inchon. The successful landing resulted in  the collapse of North Korean lines and the pursuit of North Korean forces north  near the Yalu River until the entrance of the People's Republic of China into  the war. Chinese troops surrounded, surprised and overwhelmed the overextended  and outnumbered American forces. However, unlike the Eighth Army, which  retreated in disarray, the 1st Marine Division, while attached to the Army's X  Corps regrouped and inflicted heavy casualties during their fighting withdrawal  to the coast. Now known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, it entered Marine  lore as an example of the toughness and resolve of the Marine. Marines would  continue a battle of attrition around the 38th Parallel until the 1953  armistice. The Korean War saw the Marine Corps rebound from its drastic  cuts of about 75,000 at the start to a force, by the end of the conflict in  1953, of 261,000 Marines, most of whom were reservists. Aviation grew to four  air wings, 20 aircraft groups and 78 flying squadrons, a level that has remained  more or less consistent to this day. 4,267 Marines were killed and 23,744  wounded during the war, while 42 were awarded the Medal of Honor. Interim: Korea-Vietnam In  the intervening years, Marines would continue to be dispatched to regional  crises. During the Suez Crisis in the fall of 1956, Marines from 3rd Battalion  3rd Marines evacuated Americans from Alexandria. In 1958, Marines were  dispatched to Lebanon as part of Operation Blue Bat in response to the crisis  there. Marines returned to Cuba from 1959 to 1960 to protect Americans during  the Cuban Revolution. 5,000 Marines were sent to Thailand on 17 May 1962 to  support the government's struggles against Communists until withdrawn on 30  July. Marines also returned to Haiti for Operation Power Pack on 28 April  1965. Originally sent to evacuate Americans in the midst of fighting between  forces loyal to assassinated dictator Rafael Trujillo and the Dominican  Revolutionary Party supporting Juan Bosch, President Lyndon B. Johnson expanded  the intervention to prevent a second Communist nation on America's doorstep.  Joined by the 82nd Airborne Division and the Organization of American States,  Marines quickly forced a cease-fire, but would continue to be harassed by  small-scale combat and sniper fire until their withdrawal on 31 August.  Remaining peacekeepers enforced a truce, and Bosch would never regain power. VIETNAM The Marines  also played an important role in the Vietnam War at battles such as Da Nang,  Huế, and Khe Sanh. The Marines operated in the northern I Corps regions of South  Vietnam and fought both a constant guerilla war against the Viet Cong and an off  and on conventional war against North Vietnamese Army regulars. Marines also  conducted the less well-known Combined Action Program that implemented  unconventional techniques for counterinsurgency warfare. The Marine presence was  withdrawn in 1971, but returned briefly in 1975 to evacuate Saigon and attempt  to rescue the crew of the Mayagüez. 13,091 Marines were killed and 88,594  wounded during the war. As a footnote the Marines in Vietnam suffered more  casualties than both WWI and WWII combined. Fifty-seven were awarded the Medal  of Honor. Interim: post-Vietnam Returning from Vietnam, the Marine Corps hit one of the lowest points in its  history with high rates of courts-martial, non-judicial punishments,  unauthorized absences, and outright desertions. The re-making of the Marine  Corps began in the late 1970s when policies for discharging inadequate Marines  were relaxed leading to the removal of the worst performing ones. Once the  quality of new recruits started to improve, the Marines began reforming their  NCO corps, an absolutely vital element in the functioning of the Marine Corps.  After Vietnam, the Marine Corps resumed its expeditionary role. On 4  November 1979, Islamist students supporting the Iranian Revolution stormed the  Embassy of the United States in Tehran and took 53 hostages, including the  Marine Security Guards. Marine helicopter pilots took part in Operation Eagle  Claw, the disastrous rescue attempt on 24 April 1980. An unexpected sandstorm  grounded several RH-53 helicopters, as well as scattering the rest, and  ultimately killing several when one struck an EC-130 Hercules staged to refuel  them. The mission was aborted, and the Algiers Accords negotiated the release of  the hostages on 20 January 1981. The mission demonstrated the need for an  aircraft that could take off and land vertically, but had greater speed than a  helicopter, realized decades later in the V-22 Osprey. Marines returned  to Beirut during the 1982 Lebanon War on 24 August with the arrival of the 32nd  Marine Amphibious Unit (later redisignated as 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit)  and the Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF). As part of a peace treaty, the  Palestine Liberation Organization was withdrawn to Tunisia, and the Marines  returned to their ships. Due to increased violence from the still-ongoing  Lebanese Civil War, President Ronald Reagan ordered the Marines to return on 29  September in the form of 2nd Battalion 8th Marines. Relieved by 3rd Battalion  8th Marines in October, the MNF increasingly drew fire from different factions.  The United States embassy was bombed on 18 April 1983 in opposition to the MNF's  presence; 1st Battalion 8th Marines was rotated in under the command of the 24th  MAU. On 23 October 1983, the Marine barracks in Beirut was bombed, causing the  highest peacetime losses to the Corps in its history: 220 Marines, 18 sailors,  and three soldiers, as well as 55 French Paratroopers of the 1st Parachute  Chasseur Regiment and 3 French Paratroopers of the 9th Parachute Chasseur  Regiment in a near-simultaneous bombing 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) away. As violence  increased, public pressure mounted to withdraw forces from Lebanon. After an  additional 24 American deaths, the Marines were ordered to leave and began on 7  February 1984, and finished on the 26th. Marines recovered from this low  point and began a series of successes. The Invasion of Grenada, known as  "Operation Urgent Fury", began on 25 October 1983 in response to a coup by  Bernard Coard and possible "Soviet-Cuban militarization" on the island. The 22nd  Marine Amphibious Unit quickly took the northern sectors, and were withdrawn by  15 December. Interservice rivalry and cooperation issues shown during the  invasion resulted in the Goldwater–Nichols Act of 1986 altering the chain of  command in the United States military. When Operation Classic Resolve began on 2  December 1989 in the Philippines (in retaliation for the coup attempt), a  company of Marines was dispatched from Naval Base Subic Bay to protect the  Embassy of the United States in Manila. The Invasion of Panama, known as  "Operation Just Cause" began on 20 December of the same year, and deposed the  military dictator Manuel Noriega. The  1990s Gulf War Marines were also responsible for  liberating Kuwait during the Gulf War (1990–1991), as the Army III, VII and  XVIII corps made an attack to the west and north directly into Iraq to kill the  Iraqi army and cut off forces in Kueait. The I Marine Expeditionary Force had a  strength of 92,990 making Operation Desert Storm the largest Marine Corps  operation in history. A total of 24 Marines were killed in action or later died  of wounds, while 92 were wounded. Bosnian War Marines played a modest role in the Bosnian War  and NATO intervention. Operation Deny Flight began on 12 April 1993, to enforce  the United Nations no-fly zone in Bosnia and Herzegovina and provide air support  to the United Nations Protection Force. The F/A-18D Hornet was proven to be a  "highly resourceful multirole platform", in addition to showcasing the  importance of precision-guided munitions. In 1995, the mission was expanded to  include a bombing campaign called "Operation Deliberate Force". On 2 June 1995,  Air Force Captain Scott O'Grady's F-16 was shot down by a Bosnian Serb Army  surface-to-air missile in the Mrkonjić Grad incident. Marines from the 24th MEU,  based on the USS Kearsarge, rescued him from western Bosnia on 8 June. Marines  would support the IFOR, SFOR, and KFOR until 1999. On 3 February 1998, an EA-6B  Prowler from VMAQ-2, deployed to Aviano Air Base to support the peacekeeping  effort, hit an aerial tram cable and killed 20 European passengers. Other In the summer of  1990, the 22nd and 26th Marine Expeditionary Units conducted Operation Sharp  Edge, a noncombatant evacuation in the west Liberian city of Monrovia. Liberia  suffered from civil war at the time, and citizens of the United States and other  countries could not leave via conventional means. With only one reconnaissance  team having come under fire with no casualties incurred on either side, the  Marines evacuated several hundred civilians within hours to Navy vessels waiting  offshore. On 8 April 1996, Marines returned for Operation Assured Response,  helping in the evacuation of 2,444 foreign and United States citizens from  Liberia. On 23 May 1996, President Bill Clinton diverted Marines from Joint Task  Force Assured Response to Bangui, Central African Republic until 22 June, where  they provided security to the American Embassy and evacuated 448 people. Due to  increased threats against Americans as part of the fallout from the Lottery  Uprising in Albania, 200 Marines and 10 Navy SEALs were deployed on 16 August  1998 to the American embassy there. As Indonesian occupation of East Timor ended  in the fall of 1999, President Clinton authorized the 31st Marine Expeditionary  Unit, based on the USS Belleau Wood, to deploy there until the International  Force for East Timor could arrive in October. Marines participated in  combat operations in Somalia (1992–1995) during Operations Restore Hope, Restore  Hope II, and United Shield. While Operation Restore Hope was designated as a  humanitarian relief effort, Marine ground forces frequently engaged Somali  militiamen in combat. Elements of Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion 9th  Marines with 15th MEU were among the first troops of the United Nations effort  to land in Somalia in December 1992, while Marines of Battalion Landing Team 3rd  Battalion 1st Marines participated in the final withdrawal of United Nations  troops from Somalia in 1995. 21st  Century Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, President  George W. Bush announced the War on Terrorism. The stated objective of the  Global War on Terror is "the defeat of Al-Qaeda, other terrorist groups and any  nation that supports or harbors terrorists". Since then, the Marine Corps,  alongside other military and federal agencies, has engaged in global operations  around the world in support of that mission. These operations have worn  out their equipment and reduced their readiness because equipment is not  available for training. In 2002, Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of  Africa was stood up at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti to provide regional security.  Despite transferring overall command to the Navy in 2006, the Marines continued  to operate in the Horn of Africa into 2010. In the summer of 2006,  Marines from the 24th MEU evacuated Americans from Lebanon and Israel in light  of the fighting of the 2006 Lebanon War. The 22nd and 24th MEUs returned to  Haiti after the 2010 earthquake in January as part of Operation Unified  Response. Afghanistan Marines and other American forces began staging in Pakistan and Uzbekistan on  the border of Afghanistan as early as October 2001 in preparation for Operation  Enduring Freedom. The 15th and 26th Marine Expeditionary Units were the first  conventional forces into Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in  November 2001, and in December, the Marines seized Kandahar International  Airport. Since then, Marine battalions and squadrons have been rotating through,  engaging Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces. Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary  Unit flooded into the Taliban-held town of Garmsir on 29 April 2008, in Helmand  Province, in the first major American operation in the region in years. In June  2009, 7,000 Marines with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade deployed to  Afghanistan in an effort to improve security, and began Operation Strike of the  Sword the next month. Thus far, 109 Marines have been reported killed. Iraq Most recently, the  Marines have served prominently in the Iraq War as part of Operation Iraqi  Freedom. The I Marine Expeditionary Force, along with the Army's 3rd Infantry  Division, spearheaded the 2003 invasion of Iraq and received the Presidential  Unit Citation, the first time a Marine unit has received that award since 1968.  The Marines left Iraq in the fall of 2003, but returned for occupation duty in  the beginning of 2004. They were given responsibility for the Al Anbar Province,  the large desert region to the west of Baghdad. During this occupation, the  Marines spearheaded both assaults on the city of Fallujah in April (Operation  Vigilant Resolve) and November 2004 (Operation Phantom Fury) and also saw  intense fighting in such places as Ramadi, Al-Qa'im and Hīt. Their time in Iraq  has also courted controversy with the Haditha killings and the Hamdania  incident. The Anbar Awakening and 2007 surge reduced levels of violence. On 1  March 2009, President Barack Obama announced an accelerated withdrawal during a  speech at Camp Lejeune, promising all combat troops out by August 2010. The  Marine Corps officially ended its role in Iraq on 23 January 2010 when they  handed over responsibility for Al Anbar Province to the United States Army.  1,022 Marines were killed in the war with an additional 8,623 wounded, while  only Cpl Jason Dunham received the Medal of Honor.
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