The 3rd Dental Battalion is a unit of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

that supports

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

forces on

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The battalion includes nine dental clinics, approximately 77 Dental Officers, 4 Medical Service Corps officers, 181 Dental Technicians, and 26 civilians. The unit is based out of

Camp Foster Camp Foster (), formerly known as Camp Zukeran, is a United States Marine Corps camp located in Ginowan City with portions overlapping into Okinawa City, Chatan town and Kitanakagusuku village in the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa Island. It ...

and falls under the command of the

3rd Marine Logistics Group The 3rd Marine Logistics Group (3rd MLG) is the Logistics Combat Element (LCE) for III Marine Expeditionary Force currently headquartered on Camp Kinser, Marine Corps Base Smedley D. Butler, Okinawa, Japan. 3rd MLG provides combat service supp ...

and the

III Marine Expeditionary Force III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) is a formation of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force of the United States Marine Corps. It is forward-deployed and able to rapidly conduct operations across the spectrum from humanitarian assistance and ...

Mission

Ensure dental readiness and optimize dental health for all beneficiaries while supporting operational and humanitarian mission.

Subordinate units

Headquarters and Services Company A headquarters and service company is a company-sized military unit, found at the battalion and regimental level in the U.S. Marine Corps. The U.S. Army equivalent unit is the headquarters and headquarters company. In identifying a specific hea ...

3rd Dental Company Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

* 11th Dental Company * 21st Dental Company * U.S. Naval Dental Center.

History

The 3rd Dental Battalion was activated on November 1, 1979, at

Camp Kinser Camp Kinser is a United States Marine Corps logistics base in Okinawa, Japan. Overview Camp Kinser is a major logistics base for Marine Corps Forces on Okinawa. Its flagship command is the 3rd Marine Logistics Group. It sits adjacent to the Eas ...

, Okinawa, Japan and assigned to the 3rd Force Service Support Group, Fleet Marine Forces, Pacific. 3rd Dental Company and 11th Dental Company were activated in 1955. Both companies served in the

Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the French Union, with it ...

from June 1965 to November 1969 and were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, the

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It was awarded to every member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served during any one of four s ...

Vietnam Service Medal The Vietnam Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces established on 8 July 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The medal is awarded to recognize service during the Vietnam War by all members of the U.S. ...

and the

Vietnam Cross of Gallantry The Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross also known as the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross or Vietnam Cross of Gallantry () is a military decoration of the former Government of South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam). The medal was created on August 15, 1 ...

with palm. 3rd Dental Battalion headquarters relocated from Camp Kinser to Camp Foster in April 1992.

External links

3rd Dental Battalion's official website

3rd Dental Battalion on the Marines website
{{US Marine Corps navbox Medical battalions of the United States Marine Corps Naval dentistry

Mission

Subordinate units

History

See also

External links