3rd Battalion, 23rd Marines

3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment
3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine insignia
Active	July 22, 1942 - November 10, 1945 July 1, 1962 – present
Country	United States
Branch	USMC
Type	Infantry regiment
Role	Locate, close with and destroy the enemy with fire and maneuver
Size	1,000
Part of	23rd Marine Regiment 4th Marine Division
Garrison/HQ	Saint Louis, Missouri
Motto(s)	"Non Sibi, Sed Patria"
Engagements	World War II *Battle of Kwajalein *Battle of Tinian *Battle of Saipan *Battle of Iwo Jima Operation Desert Storm Operation Iraqi Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom
Commanders
Current commander	Lieutenant Colonel Alexander "Sander" Snowden

3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment (3/23) is a reserve infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps located throughout the Midwestern United States consisting of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors. The battalion was first formed in 1943 for service in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II, taking part in a number of significant battles including those at Saipan and Iwo Jima before being deactivated at the end of the war. In the early 1960s, the unit was reactivated as a reserve battalion. The battalion is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri with outlying units throughout the Midwestern United States. 3/23 falls under the command of the 23rd Marine Regiment and the 4th Marine Division. Recent operations have included tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The unit's mission is to provide a well-trained and credible force, capable of rapidly mobilizing to augment or reinforce active duty Marine Corps forces participating in missions ranging from humanitarian/peacekeeping operations to major conflicts, in time of war, national emergency or contingency operations and during peacetime to provide operation tempo relief for active forces throughout the spectrum of operations including Joint and Combined Operations. Infantry battalions are the heart and soul of the ground combat element. The mission of locating, closing with, and destroying the enemy with fire and maneuver and repelling the enemy's assault with fire and close combat lies with the "grunts". Marine infantry battalions often have limited organic equipment outside of small arms (maneuvering by foot as light infantry, and must be supplemented with additional trucks to become motorized infantry or Amphibious Assault Vehicles to become mechanized infantry).