The 10th Marine Regiment is an

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of 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 ...

based at

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune ( or ) is a United States Armed Forces, United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for Amphibious warfare, amphibious assault training, an ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. They fall under the command of the

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 Carolina a ...

and the

II Marine Expeditionary Force The II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) is a Marine Air-Ground Task Force consisting of ground, air and logistics forces capable of projecting offensive combat power ashore while sustaining itself in combat without external assistance for a ...

Subordinate units

Headquarters Battery In United States Army units, a headquarters and headquarters company (HHC) is a company-sized military unit, found at the battalion level and higher. Considered one unit, a Headquarters and Headquarters Company is essentially two elements within ...

, 10th Marines *

1st Battalion, 10th Marines 1st Battalion, 10th Marines (1/10) is an artillery battalion composed of five firing batteries and a headquarters battery. The battalion is stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and falls under the command of 10th Marine Regiment, part of 2 ...

(1/10) *

2nd Battalion, 10th Marines 2nd Battalion 10th Marines (2/10) is an artillery battalion of the United States Marine Corps comprising two cannon batteries, three rocket batteries, and a headquarters battery. The battalion is stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Nor ...

(2/10) *

3rd Battalion, 10th Marines 3rd Battalion 10th Marines (3/10) was an artillery battalion that consisted of four cannon firing batteries and a headquarters battery. The battalion was stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and its primary weapon system w ...

(3/10) was disbanded on 26 April 2013. *

4th Battalion, 10th Marines 4th Battalion 10th Marines (4/10) was an artillery battalion in the United States Marine Corps that was formed on 11 April 1941 just prior to America's entrance into World War II and served until the end of the 1980s. It fought at the Battle of ...

(4/10) was disbanded. *

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 ...

(5/10) was disbanded on 1 June 2012.

Mission

Provide fire support to the

using organic indirect fire assets while coordinating both lethal and non-lethal fires from other

fire support agencies in order to suppress, neutralize or destroy the enemy.

History

Early years

10th Marines was originally formed in

Quantico, Virginia Quantico (; formerly Potomac) is a town in southeastern Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 578 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Quantico is approximately 35 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., bound ...

on 25 April 1914 as an

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

under the 1st Marine Brigade. As a battalion, the unit took part in conflicts in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

and the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

from August 1915 to May 1917. The battalion was expanded throughout mid-1917 and finally, on 15 January 1917 the unit was re-designated as the 10th Marine Regiment of Field Artillery. Between World War I and II, the Regiment filled many different roles, including building their Barracks and various other construction around the base, and guarding the mail. It even participated in annual reenactments of

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

battles. During this same time, the regiment was deployed to China and to

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

just prior to American involvement in World War II.

World War II

During the War the Regiment was involved in the assault on

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...

and later took part in the bloody battles of

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

Tinian Tinian () is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the four constituent municipalities of the Northern ...

and

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 ...

After World War II

After the end of World War II, the 10th Marines found themselves at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, which would be their home until present day. As the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

started, the 10th Marines were working with a skeleton crew, but five months later they were fully mobilized and back up to wartime strength and ready to fight. Again, during the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

, they were mobilized to participate in the blockade of Cuba.

Modern-Day Activities

Since the end of the Korean War, that time the Regiment has participated in exercises testing the methods of firing 155mm howitzers from landing craft, as well as the biannual Fire Exercise at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The Regiment has also continuously sent firing batteries and battalions to train in Okinawa; and to participate in CAX, a desert training operation held at Twenty-Nine Palms, California on the edge of the Mojave Desert; and to northern Norway in support of NATO training exercises.

First Gulf War

In January 1990, the Regiment deployed to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

in support of

Operation Desert Shield , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. The Regiment was tasked with providing fire support for the

in the war to oust Iraqi forces from occupied

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

Global War on Terrorism

10th Marines deployed to

in early 2003 and provided fire support for

Task Force Tarawa Task Force Tarawa (TFT) was the name given to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It was a Marine Air-Ground Task Force commanded by Brigadier General Richard F. NatonskiNatonski message. that was attached t ...

during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. Since 2003, the Regiment has continued to deploy battalion headquarters units and their subordinate batteries to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

to provide fire support and sometimes also act as provisional rifle companies especially in the

Al Anbar province Al Anbar Governorate (; ''muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār''), or Anbar Province, is the largest governorate in Iraq by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The population ...

of western part of the country. Units of the regiment also continued to deploy to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

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 ...

Unit Awards

* Presidential Unit Citation with 1 Bronze Star * Navy Unit Commendation * Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with 4 Bronze Stars * World War II Victory Medal * World War II Navy of Occupation Medal

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

*
10th Marines official website
{{2ndMarDiv 10 A 10th Marine United States Marine Corps in World War II Military units and formations established in 1914 10th Marine 1914 establishments in Virginia