Anti-Terrorism Battalion
Encyclopedia
Anti-Terrorism Battalion is a specialized-infantry
battalion in the United States Marine Corps
. It falls under the 4th Marine Division as part of the Marine Forces Reserve
. This unique force possesses organic capabilities such as intelligence
and counter-intelligence
cells, combat engineers
, enhanced nuclear, biological and chemical teams, and riflemen trained in advanced urban warfare
.
, as well as to conduct crisis response in the event of a terrorist attack. It also augmented existing units with additional capabilities such as organic combat engineers
and a human intelligence
(HUMINT) exploitation team (HET).
, Marine Corps Security Guard Battalion and other various units. 3rd Battalion 8th Marines
, Commanding Officer LtCol Stephen W. Davis, was designated the Anti-Terrorism Battalion immediately after the 11 September attacks and began specialized training for rotations to Afghanistan
. 3/8's line companies began doing 3- to 4-month rotations in Afghanistan starting in December 2001. Lima Company had the first rotation followed by Kilo and then India. These rotations continued for 3/8 until another infantry battalion took over. Other Marine Infantry battalions such as 3/2
, 1st Battalion 25th Marines (2003), and 2/6
were rotated and designated as the "AT Bn" until 2005 when the official, separate, and permanent Anti-Terrorism Battalion was activated. The commissioning commanding officer was LtCol M.P. Killion.
and northern Diyala provinces of Iraq. Deployments included:
Numerous Marines also augmented other requirements for National Police Training Teams (NPTT), Military Transition Teams (MiTTs), and MEF augmentation requests to other infantry units when the battalion was redesignated the 2nd Bn 9th Marines
.
Most Marines in the Battalion completed two to three consecutive combat deployments in as many years.
as part of the increase in the size of the Marine Corps.
unit.
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
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 4th Marine Division as part of the Marine Forces Reserve
United States Marine Corps Reserve
The Marine Forces Reserve is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command in the U.S...
. This unique force possesses organic capabilities such as intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
and counter-intelligence
Counter-intelligence
Counterintelligence or counter-intelligence refers to efforts made by intelligence organizations to prevent hostile or enemy intelligence organizations from successfully gathering and collecting intelligence against them. National intelligence programs, and, by extension, the overall defenses of...
cells, combat engineers
Combat engineering
A combat engineer, also called pioneer or sapper in many armies, is a soldier who performs a variety of construction and demolition tasks under combat conditions...
, enhanced nuclear, biological and chemical teams, and riflemen trained in advanced urban warfare
Urban warfare
Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat is very different from combat in the open at both the operational and tactical level...
.
Mission
On short notice, rapidly organize, train, and deploy specially trained and sustainable task forces to detect, deter, and defend against terrorismCounter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
, as well as to conduct crisis response in the event of a terrorist attack. It also augmented existing units with additional capabilities such as organic combat engineers
Combat engineering
A combat engineer, also called pioneer or sapper in many armies, is a soldier who performs a variety of construction and demolition tasks under combat conditions...
and a human intelligence
Human intelligence
Human Intelligence may refer to:* Human intelligence in the species as the property of mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, plan, problem solve, think, comprehend ideas, use languages, and learn....
(HUMINT) exploitation team (HET).
Organization
Its components are organized as follows:| Unit | Location |
|---|---|
| Headquarters and Service Company Headquarters and Service Company A Headquarters and Service Company is a company sized military unit, found at the battalion level and higher in the United States Marine Corps. In identifying a specific headquarters unit, it is usually referred to by its abbreviation as H&S... |
Bessemer Bessemer, Alabama Bessemer is a city outside of Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States eight miles west of Hoover. The population was 29,672 at the 2000 Census, but by the 2009 U.S... , Alabama |
| Support Company (-) | Bessemer Bessemer, Alabama Bessemer is a city outside of Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States eight miles west of Hoover. The population was 29,672 at the 2000 Census, but by the 2009 U.S... , Alabama |
| Company A | Rochester Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City... , New York |
| Company B (-) | Amarillo Amarillo, Texas Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census... , Texas |
| 3rd Platoon, Company B | Reno Reno, Nevada Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area... , Nevada |
| Company C | Jackson Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census... , Mississippi |
| Company D (-) | Anchorage Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States... , Alaska |
| 2nd & 3rd Platoon, Company D | Billings Billings, Montana Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, and is the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area, the largest metropolitan area in over... , Montana |
| Company E (-) | Bessemer Bessemer, Alabama Bessemer is a city outside of Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States eight miles west of Hoover. The population was 29,672 at the 2000 Census, but by the 2009 U.S... , Alabama |
| 2nd & 3rd Platoon, Company E | Tallahassee Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by... , Florida |
| Company F (-) | Lafayette Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census... , Louisiana 2nd & 3rd Platoon, Company F Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Machine Gun Platoon | Chicopee Chicopee, Massachusetts Chicopee is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States of America. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 55,298, making it the second largest city in... , Massachusetts |
| Scout Sniper Platoon | Reno Reno, Nevada Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area... , Nevada |
Activation
The Battalion was activated in 2001 as a rotational unit responsibility as part of the USMC's 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (AT) along with Marine Corps Security Forces, CBIRFChemical Biological Incident Response Force
The Chemical Biological Incident Response Force is a unit in the United States Marine Corps responsible for countering the effects of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive incident. They were activated in April 1996 by General Charles C. Krulak, then Commandant...
, Marine Corps Security Guard Battalion and other various units. 3rd Battalion 8th Marines
3rd Battalion 8th Marines
3rd Battalion 8th Marines is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina consisting of approximately 1,100 Marines and Sailors...
, Commanding Officer LtCol Stephen W. Davis, was designated the Anti-Terrorism Battalion immediately after the 11 September attacks and began specialized training for rotations to Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
. 3/8's line companies began doing 3- to 4-month rotations in Afghanistan starting in December 2001. Lima Company had the first rotation followed by Kilo and then India. These rotations continued for 3/8 until another infantry battalion took over. Other Marine Infantry battalions such as 3/2
3rd Battalion 2nd Marines
3rd Battalion 2nd Marines is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina consisting of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors...
, 1st Battalion 25th Marines (2003), and 2/6
2nd Battalion 6th Marines
2nd Battalion, 6th Marines is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Also known as "The Ready Battalion" or "2/6 Spartans", it consists of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors and falls under the command of the 6th Marine Regiment and...
were rotated and designated as the "AT Bn" until 2005 when the official, separate, and permanent Anti-Terrorism Battalion was activated. The commissioning commanding officer was LtCol M.P. Killion.
Transfer
The AT Battalion was transferred 24 February 2006 from the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (Anti-Terrorism) to the 2nd Marine Division. 4th MEB (AT) was officially deactivated on the same date. The first commanding officer was LtCol. M.P. Killion. The second and last commanding officer was LtCol. R.C. Jackson.Iraq
Between 2004 and 2007, the AT Battalion had served in western Al Anbar, central BaghdadBaghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
and northern Diyala provinces of Iraq. Deployments included:
- A detachment of 30+ Marine Officers and SNCO's fulfilled the Border Transition Team's (BTT) mission on the SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n border for a year over 2005–2006. - The Personal Security DetachmentSecurity detailA security detail more often known as a PSD, standing for Protective Services Detail, Personal Security Detachment, or Personal Security Detail is a protective team assigned to protect the personal security of an individual or group. PSDs can be made up of military personnel, private security...
(PSD) for the II MEF Commanding General. Rotations were 1 year each in 2005–2006 and 2007–2008 at Camp FallujahMEK Compound (Fallujah, Iraq)The MEK Compound in Fallujah, Iraq is a large compound used by the U.S. Marines from 2004 to 2009. Prior to Marine occupation, the Iranian dissident group called Mujahideen-e-Khalq used the MEK as a training camp, but turned it over to the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne on May 11, 2003 after the...
. - A Combined Anti-Armor TeamCombined Anti-Armor TeamA Combined Anti-Armor Team is a concept of operations in the United States Marine Corps where a platoon in a weapons company is employed to combat armored vehicles with heavy machine guns and TOW missiles, in addition to providing security for convoys...
(CAAT) platoon (CAAT III) deployed in support of the II MEF Headquarters Group as a motorized heavy machine gun platoon based out of Camp Fallujah October 2005 – March 2006 - Combined Anti-Armor TeamCombined Anti-Armor TeamA Combined Anti-Armor Team is a concept of operations in the United States Marine Corps where a platoon in a weapons company is employed to combat armored vehicles with heavy machine guns and TOW missiles, in addition to providing security for convoys...
(CAAT) platoons (CAAT I,II) deployed in support of OIF to FOB Spartan (later Grizzly) located adjacent and within Camp Ashraf, Ashraf city, Diyala Province Iraq October 2005 – May 2006 - The PSD for Regimental Combat Teams (RCT) 2 and 6 Commanders. Each team deployed for a year over 2007–2008.
- Four rotations to the American Embassy in BaghdadEmbassy of the United States in BaghdadThe Embassy of the United States in Baghdad is the diplomatic mission of the United States in Iraq. It is located in Baghdad and is home to the Ambassador to Iraq. Ambassador James F. Jeffrey is currently the Chief of Mission....
(initially company size, later reduced to platoon sized.) A Co, D Co, two separate platoons from B Co rotated on seven month deployments from 2005 to 2007. - Three company size rotations (B Co 2005 (Reinforced by CAAT I, II teams), A Co 2006–2007, and B Co 2007) to Camp AshrafCamp AshrafCamp Ashraf or Ashraf City is situated northeast of the Iraqi town of Khalis, about 120 kilometers west of the Iranian border and 60 kilometers north of Baghdad, and is the seat of the People's Mujahedin of Iran in Iraq...
/ Forward Operating Base GrizzlyForward Operating Base GrizzlyFOB Grizzly is a US Army Forward Operating Base located within Camp Ashraf, Iraq. It is near Al Khalis, approximately 20 kilometers west of the Iranian border and 60 kilometers north of Baghdad....
in Diyala Province in support of US Army 16th MP Brigade. A Co 1st Bn 9th Marines1st Battalion 9th MarinesThe 1st Battalion 9th Marines is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Formed during World War I, it served until the mid-1990s when it was deactivated to make room for one of three light armor reconnaissance battalions...
(2005–2006) and a Task Force from the Marine Corps National Capital Region (TF NCR 2007–2008) also deployed to Ashraf. - The PSD requirement for the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) was supported by a squad size element from the ATBN in 2005–2006.
Numerous Marines also augmented other requirements for National Police Training Teams (NPTT), Military Transition Teams (MiTTs), and MEF augmentation requests to other infantry units when the battalion was redesignated the 2nd Bn 9th Marines
2nd Battalion 9th Marines
The 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Formed during World War I, the unit played an instrumental role in the defeat of the Japanese forces in the Battles of Guam and Iwo Jima during the World War II...
.
Most Marines in the Battalion completed two to three consecutive combat deployments in as many years.
Deactivation
On 13 July 2007, The AT Battalion was deactivated and replaced by 2nd Battalion 9th Marines2nd Battalion 9th Marines
The 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Formed during World War I, the unit played an instrumental role in the defeat of the Japanese forces in the Battles of Guam and Iwo Jima during the World War II...
as part of the increase in the size of the Marine Corps.
Reactivation
The battalion was recently reactivated as a reserveUnited States Marine Corps Reserve
The Marine Forces Reserve is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command in the U.S...
unit.
- The reserve component has existed since mid 2005 without deactivation.
- The battalion has been activated several times to support the Global War on TerrorismWar on TerrorismThe War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, with missions including Iraq, Africa, and PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
.