2nd Marine Division
The 2nd Marine Division ( German 2nd Marine Infantry Division , 2ndMarDiv for short ) is one of the four divisions of the US Marine Corps and represents the ground forces of the II Marine Expeditionary Force . The division is commanded by Major General Richard T. Tryon and is stationed at Camp Lejeune , North Carolina .
history
Second World War
The 2nd Marine Division was formed from the 2nd Marine Brigade on February 1, 1941. The division took part in the following combat operations in the Pacific theater during World War II :
- The Battle of Guadalcanal - January 4th to February 8th, 1943.
- The 2nd Marine Regiment reinforced the troops during the landing on Guadalcanal - Tulagi from August 7th to 9th, 1942 and took part in the capture and defense of Guadalcanal from August 10th, 1942 to January 31st, 1943.
- The 8th Marine Regiment reinforced the forces on Guadalcanal during the conquest and defense from November 2, 1942 to February 8, 1943.
- The Battle of the Gilbert Islands in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands - November 20 to December 4, 1943.
- The Battle of Saipan in the Mariana Islands - June 15 to July 24, 1944.
- The Battle of Tinian - July 24th to August 10th, 1944.
- The Battle of Okinawa (as reserve) - April 1 to April 10, 1945. The 8th Marine Regiment and a division of division command reinforced the 1st and 6th Marine Divisions from June 1 to June 30, 1945.
The 2nd and 8th Marine Regiments (reinforced by other units of the division) received the Presidential Unit Citation for participation in the fighting on Guadalcanal, while they were operating with the 1st Marine Division from August 7 to November 4, 1942 . The entire division received the Presidential Unit Citation for the fighting on Tarawa and the Gilbert Islands from November 20 to 24, 1943 .
Cold War
The division did not take part in any major campaigns until 1958. Parts of the division participated in the US intervention during the Lebanon crisis (July to October 1958). Units of the division reinforced the troops at the Guantánamo Bay naval base during the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) ; In 1965 they landed in the Dominican Republic as part of Operation Power Pack . Parts of the division took part in a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War from August 1982 to February 1984 as part of the Multinational Forces (Lebanon). The attack on the US base in Beirut on October 23, 1983 killed 220 members of the division. In 1989, Marines of the division took part in the US invasion of Panama ( Operation Just Cause ).
Second Gulf War and the 1990s
In 1990, Marines of the division participated in Operation Sharp Edge under the command of the 22nd and 26th Marine Expeditionary Units . In this operation, US and international civilians were evacuated from the chaos of war in Liberia . After that, the division was relocated to Saudi Arabia and was part of Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm . After this war, parts of the division took part in Operation Provide Comfort in northern Iraq and Turkey, in which the Kurds were protected from attacks by the Iraqi army.
Iraq war
Parts of the division were moved to Kuwait in spring 2003 and strengthened the I. Marine Expeditionary Force there . These units formed the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, under the command of Brigadier General Richard F. Natonski , called Task Force Tarawa . This unit took part in heavy fighting for the city of Nasiriyya and the liberation of US soldier Jessica Lynch at the beginning of the Iraq war . After the end of the official fighting, the said units were relocated further north to Kut to take on security and stabilization tasks for central Iraq .
In February and March 2005, the division replaced the 1st Marine Division in Iraq. This was the largest Marine Corps relief and detachment operation in its history.
assignment
The main task of the 2nd Marine Division is to carry out amphibious landing operations and similar military missions at the maritime and litioral level.
organization
The 2nd Marine Division was composed as follows in 2019:
- Headquarters - Battalion
- 2nd Marine Regiment ( Infantry )
- 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines
- 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines
- 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines
- 6th Marine Regiment (Infantry)
- 1st Battalion, 6th Marines
- 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines
- 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines
- 8th Marine Regiment (Infantry)
- 1st Battalion, 8th Marines
- 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines
- 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines
- 10th Marine Regiment ( Artillery )
- 2nd Tank Battalion ( M1A1 Abrams Tank Battalion)
- 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion (light reconnaissance battalion)
- 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion ( LAV-25 Reconnaissance Battalion )
- 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion (Combat Pioneers)
- 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion ( AAVP-7A1 Amphibious Battalion)
- 2nd Marine Division Band
Today the 2nd Marine Division is an expeditionary and ground combat force. The division is used as a ground combat element of the II. Marine Expeditionary Force ( II MEF ) or as a special task-oriented force for attack operations. Therefore, the division must be able to conduct amphibious ground combat , promoted by the US Navy , in any environment.
guide
Command group
The Command Group of the Division Headquarters consists of Commander Major General Walter E. Gaskin Sr. , Deputy Brigadier General David H. Berger, his Chief of Staff Colonel and the Division Sergeant Major Michael F. Jones.
References
Web links
- Official site of the 2nd Marine Division (English)
- 2nd Marine Division Association (English)
- Battle Honors of the Six Marine Divisions in World War II (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ 2nd Marine Division History , accessed January 20, 2013 (English)
- ^ History of the 1st Marine Division . United States Marine Corps. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
