Task Force Leatherneck or MEB-Afghanistan is a Marine Air-Ground Task Force that operated in

Helmand Province Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 13 ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. The name was originally given to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade during its 2009-10 operations for Operation Enduring Freedom as part of Regional Command South. It is also the name used by the

1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF). It is th ...

and

2nd Marine Division The 2nd Marine Division (2nd MARDIV) is a division of the United States Marine Corps, which forms the ground combat element of the II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF). The division is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Caroli ...

during their deployments to Afghanistan. Task Force Leatherneck was commanded by Brigadier General Lawrence D. Nicholson with the command element at

Camp Leatherneck Camp Leatherneck was a 1,600 acre United States Marine Corps base in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The site was mostly in Washir District and was conjoined with Camp Bastion, which was the main British military base in Afghanistan and Camp Sho ...

. The task force took over the battlespace from Special Purpose MAGTF-Afghanistan on May 29, 2009. In July 2009, Task Force Leatherneck participated in

Operation Strike of the Sword Operation Strike of the Sword or Operation Khanjar was a US-led offensive in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a la ...

(Operation Khanjar), the largest Marine Corps operation since the Battle of Fallujah, and then in February 2010 an even larger battle, the largest of the Afghan Campaign,

Operation Moshtarak Operation Moshtarak (Dari for ''Together'' or ''Joint''), also known as the Battle of Marjah, was an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) pacification offensive in the town of Marjah, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It involved a comb ...

(Operation Together).

Order of battle

Task Force Leatherneck comprised two regimental combat teams and four separate battalions with approximately 10,700 personnel.

Operation Enduring Freedom 9.2

*2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade(2nd MEB)/Task Force Leatherneck(TFL)/Feb 2009 - Mar 2010 :

5th Battalion 10th Marines 5th Battalion 10th Marines (5/10) was a US artillery battalion comprising three firing batteries and a headquarters battery. The battalion was stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, USA and its primary weapon system was the ...

(5/10th Marines) - Brigade Headquarters Group (BHG) ::Headquarters Battery, 5th Battalion, 10th Marines (HQ Battery 5/10th Marines) - Headquarters and Service Company (H&S Company) ::F Battery, 2nd Battalion, 10th Marines (Fox 2/10th Marines) - Tactical Combat Force (TFC) ::R Battery, 5th Battalion, 11th Marines (Romeo 5/11th Marines) - Tactical Combat Force (TFC) ::Military Police Company, (MPC) Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Marine Division(HQ Battalion 2nd Marine Division) - Police Mentoring Teams (PMTs) and Provost Marshal Office (PMO) :: 34 Squadron, Royal Air Force Regiment (34 Squadron RAF Regiment) - Force Protection Company (FP Company) :

3rd Marine Regiment The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment is a regiment of the United States Marine Corps that is optimized for littoral maneuver in the Indo-Pacific Theater. Based at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, the regiment falls under the command of the 3rd Marine Divi ...

(RCT 3) :: 2nd Battalion 3rd Marines (2/3rd Marines) :: 1st Battalion 5th Marines (1/5th Marines) :: 2nd Battalion 8th Marines (2/8th Marines) ::

3rd Battalion 11th Marines 3rd Battalion 11th Marines (3/11) is an artillery battalion comprising three firing batteries, a Liaison Unit, and a headquarters battery. The battalion is based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California and its pr ...

(3/11th Marines) :: BATTERY N 5th Battalion 14th Marines (N/5/14th Marines)MARADMINS Active Number: 615/12 ::Company D,

2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion is a mechanized battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Their primary weapon system is the Amphibious Assault Vehicle. The battalion is a separate battalion within the 2nd Marine Division and the II Marine E ...

(D/2nd AAB)(

MRAP Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP; ) is a term for United States Armed Forces, United States military light tactical vehicles produced as part of the MRAP program that are designed specifically to withstand improvised explosive device (IE ...

Company) ::Detachment L, 4th Civil Affairs Group(L/4th CAG) : 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (-) (2nd LARB) :Detachment,

2nd Reconnaissance Battalion The 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion (2nd Recon) is a reconnaissance battalion in the United States Marine Corps. Located at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, the battalion falls under the command of the 2nd Marine Division and the II ...

:Detachment, 2nd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company ( 2nd ANGLICO) :Detachment, 3rd Radio Battalion :

Marine Aircraft Group 40 Marine Aircraft Group 40 is a composite United States Marine Corps aviation unit that is based in Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009. They served as the aviation combat element for 2nd Marine Expedition ...

(MAG 40) :

Combat Logistics Regiment 2 Combat Logistics Regiment 2 (CLR 2) is a logistics regiment of the United States Marine Corps. The unit is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and falls under the command of the 2nd Marine Logistics Group (2nd MLG) and the ...

(CLR 2) *

(Forward) :: Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division(HQ Battalion 1st Marine Division) Marine Corps ends mission in Afghanistan

2nd Battalion, 11th Marines 2nd Battalion of the 11th Marines ("Patriot") is an artillery battalion comprising three firing batteries (Echo, Fox, and Golf) and a Headquarters Battery. The battalion is stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. Its primary wea ...

(2/11th Marines) :: 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion(3rd CEB) ::

1st Reconnaissance Battalion 1st Reconnaissance Battalion (abbreviated as 1st Recon Bn) is a reconnaissance battalion in the United States Marine Corps. It is a stand-alone battalion with no parent regiment. Instead, it falls directly under the command of the 1st Marine ...

(1st Recon Battalion) * Regimental Combat Team 5(RCT 5) :: 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment(2/9th Marine Regiment) :: 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment(2/6th Marine Regiment) :: 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment(3/3rd Marine Regiment) ::

1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion is a fast and mobilized armored terrestrial reconnaissance battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Nicknamed the "Highlanders," their primary weapon system is the LAV-25 Lig ...

(1st LARB) ::

Combat Logistics Battalion 1 Combat Logistics Battalion 1 (CLB 1) is a logistics battalion of the United States Marine Corps. They are part of Combat Logistics Regiment 1 and the 1st Marine Logistics Group. The unit is based out of the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif ...

(CLB 1) *

Regimental Combat Team 6 The 6th Marine Regiment (also referred to as "6th Marines") is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The regiment falls under the command of the 2nd Marine Division of the ...

(RCT 6) :: 1st Battalion, 8th Marines(1/8th Marines) ::

2nd Battalion, 5th Marines 2d Battalion 5th Marines (2/5 or "Two Five") is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps consisting of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors. They are based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and fall under the comm ...

(2/5th Marines) ::

1st Battalion, 7th Marines The 1st Battalion, 7th Marines (1/7) is an infantry battalion of the 7th Marine Regiment (United States), 7th Marine Regiment of the United States Marine Corps. It is currently based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms ...

(1/7th Marines) :: 31st Georgian Battalion

Operation Enduring Freedom 10.1

* 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade(2nd MEB) :

(5/10th Marines) - Brigade Headquarters Group (BHG) ::Headquarters Battery 3rd Battalion 10th Marines (HQ Battery 3/10) - Headquarters and Service Company (H&S) ::Company A, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (Alpha 4th LARB) - Tactical Combat Force (TFC) ::Military Police Company, Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division - Police Mentoring Teams (PMTs) and Provost Marshal Office (PMO) :: 3 Squadron, Royal Air Force Regiment (3 Squadron RAF Regiment) - Force Protection Company (FP Company) :

7th Marine Regiment The 7th Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California. Nicknamed the "Magnificent Seventh", the regiment falls under the command of the 1 ...

(RCT 7) :: 1st Battalion 3rd Marines (1/3rd Marines) ::

3rd Battalion 4th Marines 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines (3/4) is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Nicknamed "Thundering Third". Nicknamed "Darkside," it is based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, and consist ...

(3/4th Marines) ::

2nd Battalion 2nd Marines 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines (2/2) is a light infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Also known as "The Warlords", it consists of approximately 1,300 Marines and sailors an ...

(2/2nd Marines) ::

3rd Battalion 7th Marines The 3rd Battalion 7th Marine Regiment (3/7) is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. They are based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms and consist of approximately 800 Marines. The battalion falls u ...

(3/7th Marines) :: 3rd Battalion 10th Marines (3/10th Marines) ::Company B, 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion (Bravo 2nd AAB) (

Company) ::Detachment M, 4th Civil Affairs Group (M/4th CAG) : 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (-) (4th LAR) :Detachment

3rd Reconnaissance Battalion The 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion (3rd Recon) conducts amphibious and ground reconnaissance in support of the 3rd Marine Division and Marine Forces Pacific (MarForPac), operating in the commander's areas of influence. The Battalion is based ...

:Detachment 2nd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company ( ANGLICO) :Detachments 1st & 3rd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company ( ANGLICO) :

(MAG 40) :

(CLR 2)

Commanders

* 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade between 2009 and March 2010 * Brigadier General Joseph Osterman between March 2010 and March 15, 2011 (1st Marine Division (Forward))Task Force Leatherneck Changes Hands in Ceremony
/ref> * Brigadier General

Lewis A. Craparotta Lewis A. Craparotta (born March 7, 1960) is a retired United States Marine Corps Lieutenant general (United States), lieutenant general who last served as the commanding general of United States Marine Corps Training and Education Command. Crapar ...

between March 15, 2011 and February 25, 2012 (2nd Marine Division (Forward)) * Brigadier General Lawrence D. Nicholson

References

{{Reflist

External links

website
at marines.mill
official website
at regionalcommandsouthwest.wordpress.com Ad hoc units and formations of the United States Marine Corps United States Marine Corps in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)