The 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade was a brigade-sized unit of the United States Marine Corps that was designed specifically to be an anti-terrorism unit. The mission of this unit was to be a quickly deployable unit to wherever needed in the world so they could fight terrorism and deter, detect and defend from terrorist groups both domestically and internationally. The unit became operational on 29 October 2001,[2] and was deactivated in February 2006.
The reason a MEB exists is that they are large enough to support themselves without needing help from local infrastructure. They are also small enough to transport easily, especially in amphibious mechanized landing craft. The 4th MEB was specifically trained to find and stop terrorist plots so civilians and other active military personnel stay safe. There are different types of MEBs, and not all are anti-terrorism, like the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade. The MEBs are designed so no matter what mission comes up, there is always a force that can handle that specific situation effectively.[2]
History
James G. Harbord commanded the 4th Marine Brigade in France 1918.
The 4th Brigade was originally formed during World War I as the 4th Marine Brigade. It served in France as one of the two infantry brigades of the U.S. Army2nd Infantry Division and all Marine combat units in World War I were organized under the 4th Marine Brigade. The 4th fought actions at Belleau Wood, Soissons, and Meuse-Argonne campaign.[2]
Following World War I, the brigade was deactivated until just before the commitment to the war in Vietnam in 1964 when it was activated as the 4th Marine Amphibious Brigade and deployed to the East Coast and Caribbean for counterinsurgency exercises.[2] It participated in the intervention in the Dominican Republic in 1965. In the 1970s, the 4th MAB's task changed from counter-terrorism to defending NATO's north flank against the Soviet Union. It was designated to reinforce Norwegian airfields and support a naval campaign to protect Norway.[2] The next major operation for the 4th Marine Amphibious Brigade was going to the Middle East for Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm in the 1990s. The main mission performed by the 4th MAB was Operation Eastern Exit during which the brigade rescued the Soviet ambassador, the U.S. ambassador, and 300 other dignitaries from Mogadishu, Somalia.[4][5]
After a period of deactivation, the 4th Brigade was reactivated as the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (Anti-Terrorism) on 29 October 2001 at ceremonies held at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina[4][5][6] to combat domestic and international terrorism.[7]
Organization
Room-to-room house-clearing techniques are a part of the training simulated at Combat Town, Camp Lejeune in 2005.
The organization of the 4th MEB was a unit designed to work independently, but also trained to work with other Marine units. This unit was organized with a couple of other units like the Chemical, Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF). Being paired with this and many other units like the security force battalion broadened the range of response circumstances that the 4th MEB could respond to. With all of the assets the 4th MEB had, it made them very deadly and able to perform the job extremely well. When a mission came up the MEB team could be paired with almost any other unit in the Marines like aviation and ground forces so the mission would have a greater chance of success.[2] The way the Marine Corps set up its forces like the MEB is by having them be part of larger task forces. The category that MEB falls into is Marine air-ground task force (MAGTF) which means they operate both in the air and on the ground. This MAGTF is then subdivided with the Marine Expeditionary Forces (MEF) being the largest of the three subdivisions. The medium-sized one is the Marine Expeditionary Brigade and the smallest is the Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). This makes the Marine Expeditionary Force a good size, with about 4,800 Marines and Sailors, because it is large enough to sustain itself for long periods but can also send smaller units on patrol.[2][8]
The 4th MEB Marines went through extensive training to become part of the anti-terrorism team. The main goal of their training was to learn urban combat tactics. An example was when the team went through BUST, which is Basic Urban Skills Training. The goal of this course is to better train soldiers to be safer when they're in urban environments and perform breaching and other tactics used in urban combat. This training helped the anti-terrorism group become better at eliminating their targets so there were fewer terrorism threats.[9] They also go through normal marine boot camp like all Marines must go through. Also, they must train with other units they are paired with like Chemical, Biological Incident Response Force.[3] They do this so if the need arises they are prepared for whatever circumstances could arise. This is extremely important to do because if the units aren’t trained together and they are needed in a time of war the mission could go badly and there would be a larger chance for loss of life.[7]
Awards
On 26 July 2002, the 4th MEB became the first regular military unit to ever receive the Department of State Group Superior Honor Award for the hard work and dedication of its Marines and sailors during Operation Enduring Freedom. The award recognized Company K, 4th MEB (AT) for outstanding service while stationed at the American Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.[10]
Higgins, Sgt. Joshua S. (6 November 2001). "4th MEB focuses on MOUT"(asp). News Release. USMC, Camp Lejeune Public Information Office. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
Jones, 1st Lt. Charlie (24 October 2001). "Marine Corps Brigade Reactivation". News Release. USMC, Camp Lejeune Public Information Office. Archived from the original on 5 November 2001. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
Traynham, Stephen L. (24 February 2006). "4th MEB to deactivate". II Marine Expeditionary Force. U.S. Marine Corps website. Archived from the original(asp) on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
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