3rd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion

3d Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion
3d LAAD insignia
Active	8 March 1982 - present
Country	United States
Allegiance	United States of America
Branch	United States Marine Corps
Role	Air defense
Part of	Marine Air Control Group 38 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Garrison/HQ	Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
Nickname(s)	3d LAAD
Motto(s)	“Feel the Sting”
Engagements	Operation Desert Storm Operation Iraqi Freedom * 2003 invasion of Iraq Operation Enduring Freedom
Commanders
Current commander	LtCol Henry R Prokop

The 3d Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion (3d LAAD) is an air defense unit of the United States Marine Corps. It is part of Marine Air Control Group 38 (MACG-38) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rd MAW) and is currently based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California.

Provide close-in, low altitude, surface-to-air weapons fires in defense of Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) assets by defending forward combat areas, maneuver forces, vital areas, installations and/or units engaged in special/independent operations & to provide a task organized, ground security force in defense of MAGTF air sites when not engaged in air defense operations.

The United States Marine Corps has a long history of seizing and defending advance bases. Prior to World War I, base defense was the Marine Corps’ primary mission. During World War I, the Advance Base Force was created to seize and defend enemy territory consisting primarily of bases. In 1933, the Advance Base Force transformed into the Fleet Marine Force (FMF) under Commandant Major General Ben Fuller. By 1939, the looming threat of Japanese aggression in the Pacific solidified the need for advance base defense in the region. Commandant Major General Thomas Holcomb formed four Defense Battalions to defend advance naval bases from ground and air attack. The core of the original battalions was formed from two infantry battalions, 1st and 2nd Battalion, 15th Marine Regiment. Subsequent Defense Battalions were formed with air defense personnel and artillerymen; infantrymen were attached as required. The first Defense Battalions included nearly 900 Marines divided into three anti-aircraft batteries, three seacoast batteries, and ground and anti-aircraft machine gun batteries. Follow-on evolutions included more sophisticated artillery, anti-aircraft guns, and search radars. These Defense Battalions provided the first combined arms teams and proved to be a very effective fighting force.

By December 1941, the Marine Corps’ six Defense Battalions consisted of 5,000 Marines and constituted 20 percent of the total FMF. These six battalions were given sole responsibility for defending the islands of Wake, Johnston, and Midway, and represented the Allies’ first line of defense against the Japanese onslaught in the Pacific. Defense Battalions were among the first to embrace the “detachment concept” and task organize as required for the mission on each island. On Midway Island, First Lieutenant George H. Cannon of the 6th Defense Battalion earned the war’s first Medal of Honor on December 7, 1941. Severe Japanese shelling wounded Cannon and he refused to evacuate his post until other wounded Marines were evacuated first. He later died from his wounds.

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Wikipedia