1st Reconnaissance Battalion (abbreviated as 1st Recon Bn) is a reconnaissance

Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....

 battalion in the United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

. It falls under the command of the 1st Marine Division and the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF).

1st Recon Battalion was reactivated on July 5, 2000 as part of Marine Corps Commandant

Commandant of the Marine Corps

The Commandant of the Marine Corps is normally the highest ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff...

 General James L. Jones

James L. Jones

James Logan Jones, Jr. is the former United States National Security Advisor and a retired United States Marine Corps General....

’ mission to revitalize Marine Corps reconnaissance.
The mission of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion is to provide task organized forces in order to conduct amphibious reconnaissance, ground reconnaissance, battlespace

Battlespace

Battlespace is a term used to signify a unified military strategy to integrate and combine armed forces for the military theatre of operations, including air, information, land, sea, and space to achieve military goals. It includes the environment, factors, and conditions that must be understood...

 shaping opertaions, raids

Raid (military)

Raid, also known as depredation, is a military tactic or operational warfare mission which has a specific purpose and is not normally intended to capture and hold terrain, but instead finish with the raiding force quickly retreating to a previous defended position prior to the enemy forces being...

, and specialized insertion and extraction.
1st Reconnaissance Battalion currently consists of four Reconnaissance companies: a Headquarters and Service Company, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Force Reconnaissance Company.