1st Battalion 1st Marines

1st Battalion 1st Marines (1/1st Marines) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Camp Pendleton, California, consisting of anywhere from 800 to 2,000 Marines and Sailors, but the number fluctuates depending on the Battalion's mission. They fall under the command of the 1st Marine Regiment and the 1st Marine Division. Commonly referred to as "The first of the First."

Organization

1/1st Marines is a battalion-level infantry unit composed of infantry Marines and support personnel.

The battalion has been organized around fire and maneuver warfare in tropical, woodland, desert, or Arctic environments. From at least 1989, the units were organized as such:
*Company A” Red Death” (Helicopter company) - trained for insertion by ( V-22 Osprey, CH-53E Super Stallion)
*Company B “Raiders” (Boat company) - trained for insertion by boats ( zodiacs). Also complemented with mountain warfare and various swimming specialties (CWSS, scout swimmer, etc.)
*Company C” Chosen” (AAV company) - trained for insertion by Assault Amphibious Vehicle.
*Weapons company "Whiskey" - usually split into 3 infantry platoons, each vehicle-borne through a variation of the Humvee.
**Mortar platoon - deploys and deliver 81 mm mortars via a M252 mortar system.
**Javelin platoon - employs the SMAW and, since its introduction in 2002, the Javelin weapons systems.
** CAAT platoon - includes heavy machine gunners (the 50-caliber machine gun or the Mk-19) and anti-armor missilemen (employ the TOW-2 missile).
*Headquarters and Service Company - The largest company, H&S includes the Battalion Commander and the Sergeant Major. It is organized as such:
**S-1 (personnel)
**S-2 (intelligence)
**S-3 (operations)
**S-4 (supply and logistics)
**S-6 (communications)
**BAS (Battalion Aid Station staffed by U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsmen)

Variations

Since 2003, after the fall of Saddam Hussein's government, the strategic operations in the Middle East (Iraq, Afghanistan) have encompassed more than just a single objective. For Marine Corps units operating on a tactical level (relative to the Department of Defense) such as a battalion landing team, the actual execution of its traditional mission-oriented operations have adapted depending on the unit's objective (capturing high-value targets, providing stability and support operations, training local police and military units, and a three block war). Some of these operations have demanded reconfiguring the battalion's organization in order to conduct missions which are not included in traditional maneuver warfare (such as fire-team rushing, and anti-armor tactics).

Military transition teams

Military transition teams (MiT teams) have been used to provide assistance for the transition of power from the coalition forces to the local police and army in Iraq. While these MiT teams would draw personnel from other companies, Marines for other part of the division would often rotate into the battalion for a deployment in order to supplement the various companies' rosters.

Infantry company reorganization

In addition, the various companies were redrawn in order to reflect their new duties. Normal training was complemented with responsibilities befitting an urban environment:
*Rifle companies (A, B, and C) focused less on fire team rushing and more on variations of it within an urban environment (accounting for the 360 degree fields of fire of the enemy and the possibilities of improvised explosive devices).
*The mortar platoon of the Weapons company (usually resigned to the rear of the fighting line in linear warfare in order to set up and deliver indirect mortar projectiles) has experimented with various vehicle of mortarmen as riflemen.
*Weapons company utilized Mobile Assault Platoon

http://weaponscompany11.blogspot.com/2006/06/weapons-co-11-june-2006-news-letter.html] to provide quick reaction and mobility in urban missions.

1/1 in a MEU (SOC)

When trained as a battalion landing team, the battalion can attach to a Marine Expeditionary Unit

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases