6th Communication Battalion (6th Comm) is a
communications
Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...
battalion 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 ...
. It is part of
Force Headquarters Group
Force Headquarters Group (FHG) is a major subordinate command (MSC) of the United States Marine Corps based in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was established as a part of the command element for Marine Forces Reserve. It was activated on July 18, 2012 ...
(FHG)
Marine Forces Reserve
The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned pe ...
. The unit is headquartered out of
Floyd Bennett Field
Floyd Bennett Field is an airfield in the Marine Park neighborhood of southeast Brooklyn in New York City, along the shore of Jamaica Bay. The airport originally hosted commercial and general aviation traffic before being used as a naval air ...
,
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York. The unit specializes in communications and is trained to provide radio, cyber, wire/switching, and satellite services to support
Marine Expeditionary Forces (MEFs). 6th Communication Battalion also serves the surrounding New York community by running the
Toys for Tots
Toys for Tots is a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve which distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas. The program was founded in 1947 by reservist Major Bill Hendricks.
The ...
program in the New York City and
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
area, attending parades and memorial services, and providing support for various other community activities that may arise.
Mission
The mission of 6th Communication Battalion is to:
Provide communication support to Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group (MHG) or to a designated Joint Task Force (JTF) command element when directed. Additionally, to provide Ground Mobile Forces
Ground Mobile Forces (GMF) is the term given to the tactical SATCOM portion of the Joint Service program called TRI-TAC developed by GTE-Sylvania in the mid-1970s. The Tri-Service Tactical signal system is a tactical command, control, and commun ...
Satellite support to Force Headquarters Group in the conduct of its mission, as directed.
History
Early years
6th Communication Battalion was activated on 15 May 1957 at
Fort Schuyler
Fort Schuyler is a preserved 19th century fortification in the New York City borough of the Bronx. It houses a museum, the Stephen B. Luce Library, and the Marine Transportation Department and Administrative offices of the State University of ...
,
Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
, New York, as the 1st Communication Support Battalion and were re-designated on 1 July 1962 as the 6th Communication Battalion. The battalion was called to active duty in March 1970 for service in the
U.S. postal strike of 1970
The U.S. postal strike of 1970 was an eight-day strike by federal postal workers in March 1970. The strike began in New York City and spread to some other cities in the following two weeks. This strike against the federal government, regarded a ...
.
1990s to present
The battalion participated in support of
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-Man ...
in Southwest Asia from December 1990 to April 1991. They relocated during July 1997 to Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, New York. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, many 6th Comm Marines volunteered for Operation Rainbow Hope, organized by the
New York State Naval Militia. This operation, which also included members of other local reserve units, provided security for New York City Metropolitan Area bridges, tunnels, the mayoral residence, relief supply distribution points, ground zero, and other potential target areas. During the operation, a number of Rainbow Hope volunteers were billeted on Governor's Island. The entire battalion was mobilized in 2003 in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom
Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...
. They participated in
Operation Iraqi Freedom
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, Øرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, Ø´Û•Ú•ÛŒ عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
from March to June 2003. After returning to New York, the unit was demobilized in September 2003. Elements of the battalion have again mobilized and deployed in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom since June 2004 to the present.
Casualties on September 11, 2001
Two Marines from the unit were killed during the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
on the
World Trade Center
World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association.
World Trade Center may refer to:
Buildings
* List of World Trade Centers
* World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
in New York City. The Marines were Gunnery Sergeant Mathew Garvey, a firefighter with
New York City Fire Department Squad Company 1
New York City Fire Department Squad Company 1, also known as Squad 1, is one of eight special operations squads in the New York City Fire Department's (FDNY) Special Operations Command (SOC). Squad 1 responds to fires and other emergencies throu ...
and Sergeant Major Michael Curtin, a police officer with
New York City Police Department Emergency Service Unit Truck 2.
Unit awards
A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an organization for the action cited. Members of the unit who participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms the awarded unit citation. 6th Comm has been presented with the following awards:
Notable Marines
*Former
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
Commissioner
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
Raymond Kelly
Raymond Walter Kelly (born September 4, 1941) is the longest serving Commissioner in the history of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the first man to hold the post for two non-consecutive tenures. According to its website, Kelly †...
["Colonel Ray Kelly, USMC to NYPD" By CWO-4 Randy Gaddo, USMC (Ret) June 201]
Retrieved 2016-6-28
See also
*
List of United States Marine Corps battalions
This is a list of current United States Marine Corps battalions, sorted by the mission they perform.
__TOC__
Active units
Ground Combat Element battalions
The ground combat element (GCE) consists of those combat and combat support units whose ...
*
Organization of the United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is organized within the Department of the Navy, which is led by the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV). The most senior Marine commissioned officer is the Commandant of the Marine Corps, responsible for organizing, recr ...
References
External links
6th Comm's Official Website
{{US Marine Corps navbox
Comm6
Military communications units and formations of the United States