Radio Battalions are tactical signals intelligence units of

Marine Corps Intelligence Marine Corps Intelligence is an element of the United States Intelligence Community. The Director of Intelligence supervises the Intelligence Department of HQMC and is responsible for policy, plans, programming, budgets, and staff supervision o ...

. There are currently three operational Radio Battalions in the Marine Corps organization: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. In fleet operations, teams from Radio Battalions are most often attached to the command element of

electronic intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of '' signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ...

operators organized into smaller tactical units with different roles. Basic collection teams consist of 4–6 operators using specialized equipment based in HMMWVs. A variation on this is the MEWSS (Mobile Electronic Warfare Support System), which is an amphibious

light armored vehicle A military armored (or armoured) car is a lightweight wheeled armored fighting vehicle, historically employed for reconnaissance, internal security, armed escort, and other subordinate battlefield tasks. With the gradual decline of mounted c ...

equipped with similar electronic warfare equipment. MEWSS crews serve dual roles as electronic warfare operators and LAV crewmen.

Radio Reconnaissance Platoon The Radio Reconnaissance Platoon is a specially trained Marine Corps Intelligence element of a United States Marine Corps Radio Battalion. A Radio Reconnaissance Team (RRT) was assigned as the tactical signals intelligence collection element fo ...

s serve in a

special operations Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...

role where the use of standard collection teams is not possible, such as covert infiltrations or tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel (TRAP).

History

In June 1943, 2nd Radio Intelligence Platoon was activated at Camp Elliott, California. The unit took part in the

Battle of Guadalcanal The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the ...

and the

Battle of Peleliu The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II by the US military, was fought between the United States and Japan during the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign of World War II, from September 15 to November 27, 1944, on the island of ...

. The 3rd Radio Intelligence Platoon was also formed in June 1943 and took part in the Battles of the Kwajalein Atoll and

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. General Alfred M. Gray Jr., who served as the 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1 July 1987 until his retirement on 30 June 1991, is considered the founding father of post-war Marine Corps signals intelligence (SIGINT). In 1955 then Captain Gray was tasked with forming two SIGINT units, one to be assigned to Europe and the other to the Pacific area, chosen from Marines undergoing Manual Morse intercept training. Captain Gray established the Pacific team at NSG Kamiseya, Japan in May 1956. In 1958 then-Captain Gray was assigned to Hawaii to form and activate the 1st Radio Company, a tactical signals intelligence (SIGINT) unit, where he would serve from September 1958 to May 1961. From World War II until the early 1960s, various units performed radio intercepts, growing from platoon to company and, in 1964, to 1st Radio Battalion. Sub-units of the battalion were deployed to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

from 1965 to 1975, including participation in evacuation efforts during the

Fall of Saigon The Fall of Saigon, also known as the Liberation of Saigon by North Vietnamese or Liberation of the South by the Vietnamese government, and known as Black April by anti-communist overseas Vietnamese was the capture of Saigon, the capital of ...

. In the early 1980s, 2nd Radio Battalion was part of the multinational peacekeeping force in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, Lebanon. More recently, Radio Battalions served in

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-Ma ...

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

, the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, and the 2004

Operation Phantom Fury The Second Battle of Fallujah, codenamed Operation al-Fajr ( ar, الفجر, ) and Operation Phantom Fury, was an American-led offensive of the Iraq War that lasted roughly 6 weeks, starting 7th November, 2004. Marking the highest point of the ...

in Fallujah. Radio Battalions also send detachments to augment intelligence efforts at

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Guantanamo Bay Naval Base ( es, Base Naval de la Bahía de Guantánamo), officially known as Naval Station Guantanamo Bay or NSGB, (also called GTMO, pronounced Gitmo as jargon by members of the U.S. military) is a United States military bas ...

, Cuba, and at other bases throughout the world. In Afghanistan, Radio Battalion proved especially effective against improvised explosive devices.

Organization

1st Radio Battalion

1st Radio Battalion, reformed in August 2004, is based at

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by O ...

, California, and supports the

I Marine Expeditionary Force The I Marine Expeditionary Force ("I" pronounced "One") is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) of the United States Marine Corps primarily composed of the 1st Marine Division, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and 1st Marine Logistics Group. It is ...

(I MEF). The battalion maintains four companies: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and H&S Companies. 1st Radio Battalion was first based at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kāneohe Bay, and operated out of there for several decades until it was reformed at Camp Pendleton. Chronology and Summary of Operations 2nd Radio Intelligence Platoon What is now 1st Radio Battalion began as 2nd Radio Intelligence Platoon, activated during World War II on 14 June 1943 at Camp Linda Vista, Camp Elliott, California. 14 June 1943 Activated and designated 2nd Radio Intelligence Platoon December 1943 Relocated to Pacific Theater January 1944 Participated in the Solomon Islands (Guadalcanal) 31 July 1944 Reassigned to the 1st Marine Division, Fleet Marine Forces August 1944 Relocated to the Carolina Islands September 1944 Participated in the Battle of Peleliu 2nd Radio Separate Intelligence Platoon 20 October 1944 Redesignated 2nd Separate Radio Intelligence Platoon November 1944 Relocated to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory 8 March 1945 Deactivated 24 May 1945 Reactivated at Wahiawa, Hawaii Territory 28 September 1945 Deactivated After deactivation on 28 September 1945, personnel were assigned to other Radio Intercept Platoons, which were located in Naval Radio Stations in Guam and in China. They remained there during part of the early China Occupation, and most of them returned to the United States near the end of January and February 1946. 1st Radio Company 15 September 1958 Reactivated at Camp Smith, Territory of Hawaii as 1st Radio Company. June 1959 Relocated from Camp Smith to Kaneohe Bay, Marine Corps Air Station. 1st Composite Radio Company 8 September 1959 Redesignated as 1st Composite Radio Company. 2 January 1962 Deployed to Pleiku, South Vietnam as Detachment One under the command of Captain John K. Hyatt, Jr. 17 September 1963 Redesignated as 1st Radio Company, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. 1st Radio Battalion 14 July 1964 Redesignated as 1st Radio Battalion, FMF at Kaneohe Bay under the command of Major Henry Vod der Heyde. February 1967 Deployed to Danang, South Vietnam as Sub-Unit One. 1 March 1969 Sub-Unit one merged into 1st Radio Battalion, FMF, Camp Horn, Danang, South Vietnam October 1970 Elements (Sub-Unit 2) assisted US Army unit in Udorn, Thailand. An Army Unit Commendation was authorized. April 1971 Redeployed to Marine Corps Station, Kaneohe, Hawaii. April 1971 Sub-Unit 2, 1st Radio Battalion deactivated and merged back into 1st Radio Battalion, FMF, Kaneohe, Hawaii. Major L. K. Russell was in command of Sub-Unit 2 and LtCol Ed Resnick was the 1st Radio Battalion Commander. Shortly thereafter, date unknown, LtCol John K. Hyatt, Jr. took command. April 1972 Elements returned to South Vietnam in support of the 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade under the command of Brigadier General Miller abroad the U.S.S Blue Ridge and other naval ships. Several members were authorized the Combat Action Ribbon during this period. April 1975 Elements participated in evacuations in Southeast Asia. May 1975 Elements participated in the recovery of the SS Mayaguaez. Unit Commanders 1stLt Marcus J. Couts 09112/0200 USMC 14 June 1943 – 5 May 1944 2ndLt Walter C. Smith 010462/0225 USMC 6 May 1944 – 27 January 1945 2ndLt Jack Evans 043139/0225 USMC 28 February 1945 – 8 March 1945 Capt Marcus J. Couts 09112/0225 USMC 28 May 1945 – 28 September 1945 LtCol John K. Hyatt, Jr. ?-1973 LtCol Carl W. Kachaukas 1973-? Casualties World War II (20–23 September 1944 Peleliu Island 'Palau Group', Carolina Islands) Wounded in Action Name (Military Occupational Specialty) Keith K. Bean (776 High Speed Intercept Operator) Carter D. Bucy (405 Administration) Edward W. Clark (641 Telephoneman) Glenn C. Erwin (641 Telephoneman) Julius f. Harder (739 High Speed Intercept Operator) John H. Maynard (766 High Speed Radio Operator) H. Riffle (unknown) Killed in Action Rank/Name/ Service No. (MOS)/Date of Death PFC William J. Hughes Jr. 00500585 (unknown) 23 September 1944 Cpl Josephe A. Prete 00440073 (739 Intercept Operator) 20 September 1944 Cpl Stephen J. Weber 00454532 (unknown) 20 September 1944 Vietnam Killed in Action Rank/Name/MOS/Date of Death Capt James Westley Ayers 2502, 26 May 1967 Cpl Stephen Lee Traughber 2575, 10 September 1967 LCpl Larry Allan Jones 2571, 24 April 1968 Sgt Paul Jay Kingery 2571, 13 May 1968 MGySgt Edward Reynold Storm 2578, 28 December 1969 Sgt Larry Wade Duke 2571, 10 March 1970 Sgt Robert Hrisoulis 2571, 21 January 1971 Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan Killed in Action Sgt Lucas Todd Pyeatt 2676, 5 February 2011 Unit Honors World War II American Campaign Streamer Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Streamer with three Bronze Stars 1. Defense of Guadalcanal 2. Consolidation of Solomon Islands 3. Western Carolines Operation World War II Victory Streamer Navy Unit Commendation Streamer with One Bronze Star 1. 1 December 1943 to September 1944 (while assigned to the Signal Battalion, III Marine Amphibious Corps) 2. 14 June 1943 to 2 September 1945 (as component of Naval Communications Intelligence Organization) Vietnam Navy Unit commendation - 31 October 1968 to 31 July 1969 for support of twenty-five major combat operations in Republic of Vietnam. Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation 1. 1 August 1969 – 9 March 1970 for Combat Operations Pinestone Canyon, Iroquouis Grove, Arlington Canyon, Idaho Canyon, Georgia Tar, Fulton Square, and Durham Peak in support of Vandergrift Combat Base, Dong Ha Mountain and Dong Ha Combat Base, Con Theien, Hill 327, Hill 37, Hill 55, An Hoa and Danang. 2. 10 March 1970 to 3 April 1971 for Combat Operations Imperial lake, Pickens Forest, Catawaba Falls, Tulare Falls and Upshur Stream. Vietnam Service Streamer with two Silver Stars 1. 1969 – 1970 2. 1970 – 1971 Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Streamer – 1969 – 1970 National Defense Service Streamer – 1969 – 1970 Army Meritorious Unit Commendation – Elements of 1st Radio Battalion, FMF serving with the 7th Radio Research Field Station, Udorn, Thailand (11 November 1970 – 26 February 1971) Philippine Presidential Unit Commendation – Elements of the 1st Radio Battalion, FMF serving with the 9th MAB during 21 July 1972 – 15 August 1972 Operation Iraqi Freedom During the battle for Diyala Bridge in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), 1st RadBn supported Regimental Combat Team-1 (RCT-1) with an operational control element (OCE) and a SIGINT Support Team (SST) that identified Iraqi conduct of fire nets and Iraqi forward observers preparing to call in artillery fire on RCT-1. The RadBn OCE coordinated via the RCT-1 air officer with a Marine EA-6B "Prowler" from VMAQ-2 to jam the conduct of fire net for the duration of RCT-1's assault, resulting in the inability of Iraqi Army units defending the bridge to call in artillery on the RCT-1 units.

2nd Radio Battalion

2nd Radio Battalion, also known as America's Radio Battalion, is the oldest Radio Battalion having been established as the 1st Radio Intelligence Platoon, Signals Company, Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division on 2 January 1943. 2nd Radio Battalion (informally known as RadBn) based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, supports the II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF). The battalion consists of three operations companies and a Headquarters and Support company. Alpha Company consists of Operation and Control Element's (OCE) 1 and 2 and an Operation Control and Analysis Center (OCAC). Bravo company is charged with supporting the 22nd, 24th and 26th

Marine Expeditionary Unit A Marine expeditionary unit (MEU, pronounced as one syllable "" IPA: ) is the smallest air-ground task force (MAGTF) in the United States Fleet Marine Force.EAS platoon for those Marines about to get out and a training platoon for new Marines arriving from MOS School. Headquarters and Support Company supports all activities of Alpha, Bravo and Charlie companies as needed. In 2011, Sgt. Paul Boothroyd of 2nd Radio Battalion notably survived being shot in the head by a round fired from a 7.62 x 54mm Dragunov sniper in Afghanistan. The bullet reportedly pierced his kevlar helmet and was deflected into his neck. The round was later surgically removed.LAMOTHE, Da
"Why is this Marine smiling? He survived a sniper shot to the head".
''Marine Corps Times'', 5 April 2011. On the same deployment, during a combat operation, Sgt Lucas Todd Pyeatt was killed by an IED while approaching Taliban insurgents in Machi Kehyl, Kajaki District, Helmand Province. Luke was Charlie Co. SIGINT Support Team 6 team leader and insisted on taking the first patrol so he would have a better understanding of the area to better prepare his team for similar actions. For this action Luke was awarded the Director of National Intelligence Medal of Valor. Luke's name has also been added to the National Security Agency Wall of Honor. He is buried in Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery.

3rd Radio Battalion

3rd Radio Battalion, located aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kāneohe Bay, traces its lineage to 1943 with the creation of the 3d Radio Intelligence Platoon. Most recently, since August 2003, the Battalion has served in a dual support role of both I and

III Marine Expeditionary Force III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) is a formation of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force of the United States Marine Corps. It is forward-deployed and able to rapidly conduct operations across the spectrum from humanitarian assistance and ...

including providing the signals intelligence support platoon for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. Following the units return from Iraq in February 2006, 3d Radio Battalion began focusing on supporting the Global War on Terrorism, most notably by providing personnel to SOCPAC in support of

Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines (OEF-P) or Operation Freedom Eagle was part of Operation Enduring Freedom and the global War on Terror. The Operation targeted the various Jihadist terror groups operating in the country. By 2009, abou ...

In October 2008 3rd Radio Battalion deployed as part of SPMAGTF-A to

Helmand Province Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan Afghanistan is divided into 34 provinces (, '' wilåyat''). The provinces of Afghanistan are the primar ...

in Southern

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

as part of the ISAF troop surge, and participated in several major operations including the

Battle of Now Zad The Battle of Nawzad (also called the Battle of Now Zad) (2006–2014) was a battle between ISAF (coalition) forces and Taliban insurgents in Nawzad at the center of Nawzad district in the northern half of Helmand Province, southern Afghanist ...

as well as

Operation Khanjar Operation Strike of the Sword or Operation Khanjar was a US-led offensive in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. About 4,000 Marines from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade as well as 650 Afghan troops were involved, supported by NATO ...

References

External links

1st Radio Battalion Home Page2nd Radio Battalion Home Page3rd Radio Battalion Home Page

Story on 1st Bn's redesignation as 3rd Bn

MEWSS information

1st Radio Battalion Vietnam Veterans Site

2nd Radio Battalion Lineage

2nd Radio Battalion Organizational History
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