6th Communication Battalion (6th Comm) is a

communications Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

battalion in the

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 ...

. It is part of

Force Headquarters Group The Force Headquarters Group (FHG) is a major subordinate command (MSC) of the United States Marine Corps based in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was established as a part of the command element for Marine Forces Reserve The Marine Forces Reserv ...

(FHG)

Marine Forces Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Reserve is an expedit ...

. The unit is headquartered out of

Floyd Bennett Field Floyd Bennett Field is an airfield in the Marine Park, Brooklyn, Marine Park neighborhood of southeast Brooklyn in New York City, along the shore of Jamaica Bay. The airport originally hosted commercial and general aviation traffic before bein ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York. The unit specializes in communications and is trained to provide radio, cyber, wire/switching, and satellite services to support Marine Expeditionary Forces (MEFs). 6th Communication Battalion also serves the surrounding New York community by running the

Toys for Tots Toys for Tots is a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve which distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas. It was founded in 1947 by reservist Major Bill Hendricks. The Marine T ...

program in the New York City and

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

area, attending parades and memorial services, and providing support for various other community activities that may arise.

Mission

The mission of 6th Communication Battalion is to:

Provide communication support to Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group (MHG) or to a designated Joint Task Force (JTF) command element when directed. Additionally, to provide
Ground Mobile Forces Ground Mobile Forces (GMF) is the term given to the tactical SATCOM portion of the Joint Service program called TRI-TAC developed by GTE-Sylvania in the mid-1970s. The Tri-Service Tactical signal system is a tactical command, control, and comm ...
Satellite support to Force Headquarters Group in the conduct of its mission, as directed.

History

Early years

6th Communication Battalion was activated on 15 May 1957 at

Fort Schuyler Fort Schuyler is a preserved 19th century fortification in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. It houses a museum, the Stephen B. Luce Library, and the Marine Transportation Department and Administrative offices ...

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, New York, as the 1st Communication Support Battalion and were re-designated on 1 July 1962 as the 6th Communication Battalion. The battalion was called to active duty in March 1970 for service in the U.S. postal strike of 1970.

1990s to present

The battalion participated in support of

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

in Southwest Asia from December 1990 to April 1991. They relocated during July 1997 to Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, New York. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, many 6th Comm Marines volunteered for Operation Rainbow Hope, organized by the New York State Naval Militia. This operation, which also included members of other local reserve units, provided security for New York City Metropolitan Area bridges, tunnels, the mayoral residence, relief supply distribution points, ground zero, and other potential target areas. During the operation, a number of Rainbow Hope volunteers were billeted on Governor's Island. The entire battalion was mobilized in 2003 in support of

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

. They participated in

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

from March to June 2003. After returning to New York, the unit was demobilized in September 2003. Elements of the battalion have again mobilized and deployed in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom since June 2004 to the present.

Casualties on September 11, 2001

Two Marines from the unit were killed during the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

on the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are the hundreds of sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may also refer to: Buildings * World Trade Center (1973–2001), a building complex that was destroyed during the September 11 at ...

in New York City. The Marines were Gunnery Sergeant Mathew Garvey, a firefighter with New York City Fire Department Squad Company 1 and Sergeant Major Michael Curtin, a police officer with New York City Police Department Emergency Service Unit Truck 2.

Unit awards

A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an organization for the action cited. Members of the unit who participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms the awarded unit citation. 6th Comm has been presented with the following awards:

Notable Marines

*Former

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

Raymond Kelly Raymond Walter Kelly (born September 4, 1941) is an American police officer who was the longest-serving New York City Police Commissioner, Commissioner in the history of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the first person to hold the ...

"Colonel Ray Kelly, USMC to NYPD" By CWO-4 Randy Gaddo, USMC (Ret) June 201
Retrieved 2016-6-28

References

External links

6th Comm's Official Website
{{US Marine Corps navbox Comm6 Military communications units and formations of the United States