The 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion (2nd Recon) is a

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. Located 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 ...

, the battalion falls 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 Caroli ...

and the II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF). 2nd Recon specializes in reconnaissance and surveillance, although its personnel are also trained in

close quarters battle Close-quarters combat (CQC) or close-quarters battle (CQB) is a tactical situation that involves a physical fight with firearms involved between multiple combatants at short range. It can occur between military units, police/corrections officer ...

(CQB) tactics and other special missions. Recon Marines are sent to various schools to learn various special skills including: Scout Sniper, Jump, Military Free Fall, Combatant Dive, Ranger, various civilian run schools (i.e., McMillian sniper school), and other

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

(DOD) and Special Operations Command (SOCOM) sponsored schools.

Mission

The 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion's mission is to conduct ground and amphibious reconnaissance and surveillance and other operations as directed in support of the 2d Marine Division and to provide reconnaissance forces to meet II MEF reconnaissance requirements.

Subordinate units

The 2nd Reconnaissance battalion consists of the following sub-units: * Headquarters and Services Company * Alpha Company * Bravo Company * Charlie Company * Force Recon Company

History

When the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions were created in 1941, each had a Scout Company consisting of seven officers and 132 NCOs and enlisted men divided into a headquarters unit and three platoons. The unit was equipped with

M3 Scout Car The M3 Scout Car (known as the White Scout Car in British Commonwealth service) was an American-produced armored car. The original M3 Scout Car was produced in limited numbers, while the improved M3A1 Scout Car saw wide service during World War ...

s and a motorcycle platoon. In 1949, the formation of an Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion on the East Coast was approved and the battalion was officially activated on 1 December 1950 at a tent camp area at Lejeune. It was later moved to Stone Bay Camp. The battalion's first commanding officer was Major Regan Fuller. Upon formation, the new battalion perpetuated the history of the marine scout companies that had served in the Pacific during World War II.

World War II

Tarawa, November 1943

In November 1943, the Marine recon units of

participated in the seizure and occupation of

Tarawa Atoll Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
'' D-Day on November 10, no preliminary reconnaissance was performed except the submarine periscope photography taken by Capt. James Jones, of VAC Amphib Recon Company aboard the . The first ashore at

Betio Betio is the largest township of Kiribati's capital city, South Tarawa, and the country's main port. The settlement is located on a separate islet at the extreme southwest of the atoll. Betio Post Office opened on 5 April 1957 and closed in 1964 ...

was a Scout-Sniper Platoon of

2nd Marine Regiment The 2nd Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps. They are based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and fall under the command of the 2nd Marine Division (United States), 2nd Marine Division and th ...

led by 1st Lieutenant William D. Hawkins. Hawkins was tasked with securing the island ramp on one of the two long piers extending into the lagoon. He and his recon-scout platoon raced ahead of the first wave in two Higgins Boats and landed on the pier where they were placed under heavy machine gun fire. Since there were petrol drums at the end of the pier in the line of enemy fire, Hawkins sent most of his Marines back down the ramp then proceeded with only five men, four scouts and one combat engineer with a flamethrower. Once they burned and had blown up every hiding place left on the pier, they withdrew to the boat. Hawkins then commandeered three LVTs and transferred his men from both LCVPs to these for the trip to shore where they joined their regiment for the rest of the battle.Joseph H. Alexander, ''Across the Reef: The Marine Assault on Tarawa.'' Historical monographs. (Wash., D.C.:History and Museums Div., HQMC 1993) Hawkins was later killed during this action and was posthumously awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

. Another Scout-Sniper Platoon from the 8th Marines assisted in the main assault landing on D-Day, while the Company D (Scouts), 2nd Tank Battalion worked extensively in the seizure and occupation of other islands in the Tarawa Atoll. This included

Eita is a Japanese actor from Tokyo. He has appeared in many Japanese television dramas and movies; most notable is the TV series '' Water Boys''. He also appeared in '' Summer Time Machine Blues'' and '' Tokyo Friends: The Movie''. Career In 2009, ...

and many unnamed islets between Betio and

Bairiki Bairiki is a settlement in South Tarawa of Kiribati. The State House, the National Stadium, the High Commissions of Australia and New Zealand as well as the embassy of China, and most of the Government Ministries are based in Bairiki. Bairiki is a ...

. The adjacent atolls of

Abaiang Abaiang, also known as Apaiang, Apia, and in the past, Charlotte Island, in the Northern Gilbert Islands, is a coral atoll of Kiribati, located in the west-central Pacific Ocean. Abaiang was the island of the first missionary to arrive in the G ...

, Marakei and Maiana were inspected for fortifications, supplies or recent occupancy.

Saipan, June 1944

During the

Battle of Saipan The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June to 9 July 1944 as part of Operation Forager. It has been referred to as the "Pacific D-Day" with the ...

, the 2nd Marine Division's scout company performed a series of special missions with 4th Marine Division's scout company, which included a recon detachment with 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment (1/9). Seizing the summit of

Mount Tapochau Mount Tapochau is the highest point on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. It is located in the center of the island, north of San Vicente village and northwest of Magicienne Bay, and rises to a height of 474 m (1555 ...

, the highest point on the island, they later repulsed a Japanese counterattack.Bruce F. Meyers, ''Swift, Silent, and Deadly: Marine Amphibious Reconnaissance in the Pacific, 1942–1945'', (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2004). Both Admiral

Richmond K. Turner Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner (May 27, 1885 – February 12, 1961), commonly known as Admiral Kelly Turner, served in the United States Navy during World War II, and is best known for commanding the Amphibious Force during the campaign across ...

and General Holland M. Smith declared Saipan secured on July 9, 1944.

Cold War

Royal Bermuda Regiment Sergeant and US Marines Sergeants 1989

* Elements participated in the intervention in the Dominican Republic, April–June 1965. * Elements participated as part of the multinational peacekeeping force in Lebanon, August 1982 – February 1984. * Elements participated in the landing on Grenada-Carriacou, October–November 1983.

1990s

* Elements participated in

Operation Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

and

Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, Southwest Asia, December 1990 – April 1991. * Redesignated April 18, 1994, as Reconnaissance Company, Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Marine Division. * Reconnaissance Company and Force Reconnaissance Company, 2nd Marine Division, combined October 1, 1996, to form Reconnaissance Battalion (Provisional), 2nd Marine Division * Redesignated January 1, 1998, as 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion

Global War on Terror

* Participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq, March–May 2003. * Elements participated in Operation Secure Tomorrow, Haiti, March–July 2004 * Participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq, October 2004 – April 2005 * Participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq, March–October 2006 * Participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq, October 2007 – May 2008 * Elements participated in Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan, February 2008 – October 2008 * Elements participated in Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan, May 2009 – December 2009 * Participated in Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan, November 2010 – June 2011 * Elements participated in Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan, May 2012 – December 2012

Unit awards

Presidential Unit Citation
(OIF I Deployment, CO A (REIN) attached to I MEF) * Navy Unit Commendation (OEF Deployment)

Trivia

A very loose interpretation of the battalion was featured as the main unit in the 1986 movie '' Heartbreak Ridge'' starring Clint Eastwood. The film depicts the battalion's involvement in Operation Urgent Fury, the invasion of Grenada. A 2017 autobiographical short-story collection, titled ''No Joy'', depicts life in the battalion from late 2003 to mid 2006.

References

External links

The 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion Association

2nd Recon's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:2nd Reconnaissance Battalion (Usmc) Recon2 Military units and formations established in 1950