U.S. Marine Corps in 1983

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For the Marine Corps, 1983 was a piv­otal year in a decade of transition. This was reflected symbolically at mid-year by the Corps’ quadrennial change of Com­mandants, but the shift in leadership did not bring immediate sweeping changes. As the 28th Commandant, General Paul X. Kelley has continued to implement the policies and programs he helped to fash­ion with his predecessor, General Robert H. Barrow.

Nevertheless, the rate of change within the Corps is accelerating. By the end of the 1980s, Marines will move, shoot, and communicate in markedly different ways than they did at the beginning of the dec­ade. They will have undergone their most significant restructuring since the crea­tion of the Fleet Marine Force in the mid- 1930s. And they will have new doctrine to reflect their new look.

To a great extent, this period of change is being driven by the Corps’ deepening involvement in national strategic mobility concerns, through enthusiastic commit­ment to a number of prepositioning pro­grams. One of these is the Near Term Prepositioned Force (NTPF), whose cargo ships—positioned at Diego Garcia and Guam—contain heavy equipment and 30 days of supplies for the Califor­nia-based 7th Marine Amphibious Bri­gade. The NTPF will be followed by the Maritime Prepositioning Ships (MPS) program, for which 13 new-construction TAK cargo ships have already been au­thorized and funded. Construction has begun on ten of these. On 26 July 1983, the headquarters of the first of three MPS brigades was activated at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The full brigade will achieve an initial operating capability in fiscal year 1984 and the second and third MPS brigades will become operational during fiscal year 1985 and fiscal year 1986, respectively, as the NTPF phases out. Each brigade will have a strength of 16,000.

In a related initiative, the Marines have been prepositioning selected equipment and supplies in Norway, in order to re­duce response time to crisis on NATO’s northern flank from weeks to days. A bri­gade of more than 13,000 Marines—sup­ported by at least 150 aircraft—has been earmarked and tailored for this assign­ment. The program is running smoothly, substantially aided by host country coop­eration. Procurement of storage items is fully programmed through 1989, delivery is proceeding on schedule, and the first operational test occurred this spring.

The new emphasis on brigade-level strategic mobility goes to the heart of the profound change the Corps is now expe­riencing. Nevertheless, the Marines re­tain their long-held position that the Ma­rine amphibious force (MAF)—in an earlier incarnation, the division/wing team—is the basic sizing entity for ship­ping requirements, among other things. The Department of the Navy’s mid-term amphibious warfare shipping objective, in fact, is stated in terms of the number of ships required to carry the assault eche­lons of both a Marine amphibious force and a Marine amphibious brigade (MAB). The new factor is the extraordi­nary increase in responsiveness to crisis by a MAB when that responsiveness is enhanced by prepositioned material.

In time, as the concept matures, each of the Corps’ three MAFs will eventually field two permanent MAB headquarters, which will provide the nucleus for the formation of full MABs on short notice. Three of these six MABs will be pack­aged and trained within an MPS context— though not exclusively so. The others— not greatly dissimilar—will retain their amphibious orientation, although not necessarily to the exclusion of all other modes of operation.

This positive movement toward multi­ple modes of employment reflects both the realities of amphibious shipbuilding priorities and the promise of strategic mobility enhancement programs. Through it all, however, the Corps con­tinues to honor its amphibious charter. Long-held dreams of an over-the-horizon assault capability will begin to be realized when the first of six landing craft air cushion (LCAC) become operational in 1986. Their arrival will coincide with the delivery of the USS Whidbev Island (LSD-41), the first ship specifically de­signed to carry LCACs in her well deck and the lead ship in a class of at least eight. In combination with the heavy lift capability of the CH-53E helicopter, the LCAC’s ability to deliver a 60-ton pay­load at speeds greater than 50 knots has the potential of revolutionizing the am­phibious assault. Being truly amphibian, the LCAC can cross four times as many of the world’s beaches as conventional craft can now reach. This opens new realms of possibility for planners of am­phibious operations.

Beyond these eye-catching changes are many others of significance, as the Corps continues to introduce new systems for enhanced tactical mobility, firepower, and command/control/communications, and restructures its units accordingly. The manpower in the infantry batallion, for example, is being reduced by 10% while the batallion’s organic firepower is being increased by 25%.

Despite this evidence of material change, the Marine Corps retains its cen­tral focus on the quality of the individual Marine. Of all Marines recruited during fiscal year 1983, 92% were high school graduates, which bodes well for the Corps’ prospects of operating and main­taining its new systems and for supplying its noncommissioned officer ranks with a steady flow of new talent. Anticipating that the favorable recruiting climate will continue, the Marines have requested a fiscal year 1985 end strength of 199,500— an increase of 2,900 over fiscal year 1984—to cover the manpower require­ments generated by their modernization. This modest increase will bring the Corps to its highest strength in over a decade.

As the following chronologies bear out in detail, the very readiness of the Ma­rines to respond to international crises had some tragic consequences—as well as heart-warming success—during 1983. The somber realities of combat tend to shrink other considerations into insignifi­cance. Against that stark background, however, the Corps continues its resolute march .through the 1980s with a renewed sense of dedication, drawing inspiration from the professional performance of duty of its newest breed of Marines.

1983 Chronology

January

1: The strength of the U. S. Armed Forces was              2,112,500—of whom

195,700 were Marines.

1: The activation of the U. S. Central Command (USCentCom) as a permanent outgrowth of the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force crystallized the commitment of the United States to an enhanced stra­tegic mobility posture. The new com­mand, with contingency authority to de­ploy Marine Corps forces, is responsible for protecting security interests in the Middle East, Persian Gulf, and Indian Ocean areas.

6: Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361 (HMH-361), based at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, logged its 25,000th accident-free flight hour. The record was compiled over a five-year pe­riod.

7: Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 (VMFA-314), the first tactical squadron to receive the F/A-18 Hornet, began flight operations at MCAS El Toro. The Marines from VMFA-314 had received preliminary training at NAS Lemoore with the joint Navy/Marine Fleet Readiness Squadron 125. The F/A- 18 will replace the F-4 Phantom.

13: General David Monroe Shoup, 78, died of a heart ailment at Circle Terrace

Hospital, Alexandria, Virginia. General Shoup held the Medal of Honor for hero­ism during the World War II assault on Tarawa, and served as the 22nd Com­mandant of the Marine Corps from 1960 through 1963. He was buried with full honors at Arlington National Cemetery on 17 January.

22: Brigadier General Rudolf M. Pun- salang, Commandant of the Philippine Marine Corps, began a ten-day visit to U. S. Marine Corps operational and sup­port commands.

February

15: Retired Brigadier General Robert Hugh Williams, 75, died of cancer at his farm “Bryn Mawr” near Wales, Wiscon­sin. During World War II, General Wil­liams commanded the 1 st Parachute Bat­talion and later became the first commanding officer of the 1st Parachute Regiment. He held the Navy Cross for heroism at Gavutu, in the Solomons, and was the executive officer of the 28th Marines when that regiment captured

Mount Suribachi and raised the flag on Iwo Jima.

16: Marine Helicopter Training Squad­ron 301 (HMT-301) at MCAS El Toro celebrated eight years of accident-free flying. HMT-301 trained both Navy and Marine Corps pilots during this period.

26: An honor platoon of recruits from MCRD San Diego joined a platoon of Navy recruits and a Navy/Marine Corps color guard to render honors to Her Maj­esty Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh on the first stop of their tour of the Western United States.

March

1: Team Spirit-83, a three-week com­bined exercise with 188,000 American and South Korean participants, opened with land, sea, and air operations. Ap­proximately 8,000 Marines from III MAF took part in operations near Pohang, in conjunction with Republic of Korea Navy and Marine forces. The annual Team Spirit exercise is designed to test the command structure and to showcase the close working relationships between American and South Korean forces.

11: Elements of the 4th MAB and ships of Amphibious Squadron Four joined with naval and air forces of Nor­way, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands for exercise Cold Win­ter-83 in Norway. The biennial exercise, hosted by the Norwegian Brigade North, is designed to test procedures for coordi­nating the actions of Allied forces during combat operations in winter.

12: More than 3,200 Marines from the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing took part in the two-week Operation Skyhawk, the larg­est exercise yet held for Marine air re­servists. Personnel from every Marine Corps Reserve unit in the continental United States and approximately 100 air­craft from 48 separate units conducted close air support, combat air patrolling, troop lifts, electronic warfare missions and aerial refueling, in support of ground units from the 3d Marine Amphibious Brigade, with the help of Marine Aircraft Group 42. The exercise was conducted at MCAS Yuma and other bases in Nevada and California.

18: Bachelor enlisted quarters at Hen­derson Hall, Arlington, Virginia were dedicated in honor of Marine Lance Cor­poral Miguel Keith, who had received the Medal of Honor posthumously for hero­ism in Vietnam.

18: Marines from I MAF were among 13,000 participants in exercise Gallant Knight-83, conducted under the aegis of the U. S. Central Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and San Diego and Camp Pendleton, California. The

exercise was designed to test command and control procedures in executing de­ployment plans.

21: Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323 (VMFA-323), stationed at MCAS El Toro, received the first of 12 F/A-18 Hornet aircraft. VMFA-323 became the second squadron to convert to the new aircraft.

26: Five Marines garnered awards at the annual Navy League convention in Washington, D.C.: General John A. Le- jeune Award for Inspirational Leadership to Captain Kenneth T. McCabe, 2d Ma­rine Division; General Holland N. Smith Award for Operational Competence to Colonel James M. Mead, Commanding Officer, 22d MAU, and to Master Ser­geant Harold E. Scalf, 2d Marine Divi­sion; General Gerald C. Thomas Award for Inspirational Leadership to Sergeant Steven R. Head, 2d Marine Division; Rear Admiral William S. Parsons Award for Scientific and Technical Progress to CWO-4 Bruce M. Wincentsen, MCDEC, Quantico.

27: Retired Brigadier General Samuel Blair Griffith, II, an eminent military writer and authority on Chinese military history, died of respiratory arrest at the Naval Regional Hospital in Newport, Rhode Island. General Griffith com­manded U. S. Marine forces in Tsingtao for two years, shortly after the end of World War II. He was 76.

April

1: Final arrangements were made dur­ing April for a $59.8 million contract award to the AM General Corporation for production of the high mobility multipur­pose wheeled vehicle (HMMWV), the newest addition to the Marine Corps’ in­ventory of tactical vehicles. The first year of a five-year procurement calls for 2,334 vehicles with spare parts, provisioning support, publications, and training pack­ages. The full multi-year contract will expend $1.8 billion for 54,973 vehicles. The 5/4-ton HMMWV can be adapted for multiple missions, including reconnais­sance, command and control, troop and Weapons carrier, and utility roles.

S: Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Mat­tingly won the third annual Colonel Rob­ert D. Heinl Award for Marine Corps History, for his article, “Who Knew Not Fear. ’ ’ The article had appeared in Stud­ies In Intelligence, a quarterly publication of the Central Intelligence Agency.

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17: Roughly 16,000 Marines from II NlAF were numbered among the 47,000 Participants in Solid-Shield-83, the 21st ^ln a series of joint exercises conducted annually by the Commander in Chief At­lantic Command. With twin centers of

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activity at Camp Lejeune, North Caro­lina, and Fort Stewart, Georgia, the three-week exercise included extensive air operations and was designed to test command and control capabilities in a simulated combat environment.

25: A monument at Arlington National Cemetery was dedicated to the eight crewmen from the Air Force and Marine Corps who died in the 1980 attempt to rescue hostages held in Iran.

26: Marine Medium Helicopter Squad- dron 266 (HMM-266) was activated as part of Marine Aircraft Group 26 (MAG- 26) at MCAS(H) New River, North Car­olina.

27: The guided missile frigate Nicho­las (FFG-47) was launched at Maine’s Bath Iron Works. The ship was named for Major Samuel Nicholas, the Revolution­ary War officer generally considered to be the first Commandant of the Marine Corps. The 24th Commandant, General Leonard F. Chapman, Jr., was the princi- .when it really counts!

pal speaker at the ceremony.

May

7: Lieutenant General Sir Steuart Prin­gle, Commandant General of the Royal Marines, UK, began a two-week tour of Marine Corps installations in the Wash­ington, D.C., area and in Southern Cali­fornia.

15: The Veterans Administration dedi­cated, at Quantico, Virginia, a new na­tional cemetery that will relieve mounting pressure on Arlington National Ceme­tery, which had been forced to restrict eligibility for burial. The designation of the Quantico site was made possible by the transfer of 725 acres from the Quan­tico Marine Base to the Veterans Admin­istration.

25: Sergeant Major Robert E. Cleary was named by the Commandant as the next Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, succeeding retiring Sergeant Major Leland D. Crawford as the Corp’s highest ranking enlisted Marine, effective 1 July 1983. Sergeant Major Cleary became the tenth Marine named to the post.

29: At the urgent request of the Gover­nor of Louisiana, the Marine Corps pro­vided assault amphibian vehicles (AAVs) to assist in flood control efforts, as the rising Mississippi River threatened the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

June

7: Marines of the 9th MAB conducted exercise Valiant Blitz-83 on and around Okinawa, Japan. Exercise planners capi­talized on the presence of two amphibi­ous squadrons, during a turnover period, to form a MAB at sea prior to the land­ing. The exercise was also characterized by extensive air operations, with 250 air­craft (Marine, Navy, and Air Force) tak­ing part.

16: UNITAS XXIV/West African Training Cruise-83 began, with 2d Ma­rine Division personnel embarked. The six-month cruise through Caribbean, South American, and West African wa­ters featured an eight-phase training exer­cise and seven port visits.

26: Before an audience that included the President of the United States, at the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., General Paul X. Kelley became the 28th Commandant of the Marine Corps, re­lieving General Robert H. Barrow.

30: The mid-year strength of the U. S. Armed Forces was 2,113,400—of whom 193,993 were Marines.

July

6: More than 6,000 American ser­vicemen joined forces with troops from

(Continued on page 297)

Marine Corps in 1983

gust

%

Exercise Bright Star/Eastem

hailand in Cobra Gold-83, a three-week “^Xercise in and around the Gulf of Thai- ^a“*E The exercise included training op- P°hunities in minelaying and mine- ^SWeeping_j explosive ordnance disposal, ^sPecial warfare operations, simulated air ^and sea battles, amphibious assault, and ““sequent operations ashore. The battle- “'P New Jersey made a brief appearance yshore. The 31st MAU headed the list 0 Marine participants from III MAF.

|E The nation’s oldest continuously y^tlVe military musical organization, the , ““ed States Marine Band, observed its j birthday with a concert in Wash- p®t°n D.C.’s Kennedy Center for the “■forming Arts, with the Commandant “d the President of the United States in tendance. The band was conducted by °|onel John R. Bourgeois, t. • The 6th MAB was activated by '““tenant General John H. Miller, Corn­ending General, FMFLant, at Camp ^ J^eUne, North Carolina. The 6th MAB s specifically designated to operate ’.“in the context of the Maritime Prepo- ■°ning Ships (MPS) program.

4u.

^ted-83, involving military forces from

^NEu- douglar the United States and Somalia, was con­ducted near Berbera. The week-long ex­ercise emphasized training and equip­ment maintenance in a desert environ­ment, and involved Marines from the 31st MAU and the 3d Marine Aircraft Wing.

26: Captain Ronald L. King, 3d Bat­talion, 12th Marines, won the 1983 Leftwich Trophy, as the company grade officer in the Fleet Marine Forces best exemplifying the principles of leadership.

September

15: The sixth in a series of U. S. Read­iness Command exercises, Bold Eagle- 84, with 19,000 participants from all four Services, was conducted at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Over a two-month period, participating forces tested Joint doctrine and techniques in a sophisticated air environment.

16: The Commandant of the Marine Corps was the principal speaker at the keel-laying ceremony for the first two of 13 maritime prepositioning ships (MPS) to be built at the Quincy, Massachusetts, Shipbuilding Division of General Dy­namics. General Kelley announced that the ships would be named in honor of two deceased Marine Medal of Honor recipi­ents: Second Lieutenant John P. Bobo and Private First Class Dewayne T. Wil­liams.

October

1: The 31st MAU sailed from the Med­iterranean toward the Indian Ocean, to take station off the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. The move was linked to threats by Iran to blockade the Strait, severing the oil pipe­line to the Gulf.

4: Marine Air Control Squadron 1 (MACS-1) was activated at Camp Pen­dleton as part of Marine Air Control Group 38 (MACG-38).

15: Lieutenant Colonel William G. Barnes, Jr., received the Alfred A. Cun­ningham Award as Marine Corps Avia­tor of 1983, at the annual convention of the Marine Corps Association in San Diego, California. The CH-46 helicopter pilot was honored for his performance of duty as Commanding Officer, HMM- 263, the aviation combat element of the 24th MAU in Beirut, between 29 October 1982 and 14 February 1983.

21: A naval task force, with 1,900 Marines of the 22d MAU embarked, was ordered to close on the Caribbean island of Grenada, in lieu of its original destina­tion of Lebanon.

25: U. S. Army and Marine forces landed simultaneously on Grenada to re­store order to a chaotic situation that had followed in the wake of the violent over­throw of that island’s government. Amer­ican intervention had been requested by neighboring Caribbean nations, six of whom committed troops to the action.

November

1: The 22d MAU conducted simulta­neous surface and helibome landings on the island of Carriacou, 15 miles north­east of Grenada, to search for Cuban mil­itary installations and personnel. Arms, ammunition, training sites, and 17 Grenadian soldiers were found.

2: The 22d MAU re-embarked from the Carriacou operation and once again

set course for Beirut, where it was sched­uled to relieve the 24th MAU later in the month.

4: The President and Mrs. Reagan paid tribute to American servicemen killed and wounded in Grenada and Lebanon, at a rainy outdoor memorial service at­tended by 5,000 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

6: Staff Sergeant Farley Simon, a na­tive of Grenada, became the first Marine ever to win the Marine Corps Marathon, in Washington, D.C. Staff Sergeant Simon, stationed at Camp Smith, Ha­waii, completed the run in 2 hours, 17 minutes, and 45 seconds. More than 11,000 runners took part in this eighth

annual marathon.

10: In his birthday message to Marines around the world, the Commandant of the Marine Corps said, “. . . If there is one word that more accurately describes pride than any other, that word is ‘Marine.’ . . . pride is what draws together those of us who have earned the title ‘Marine’ to celebrate our 208th birthday.”

18: The 28th MAU teamed up with Honduran infantrymen to conduct a com­bined amphibious landing exercise as part of Big Pine II on the Honduran coast. This highlighted a series of exercises in Central American waters and in Hon­duras, which had begun during the sum­mer of 1983.

December

14: Marines assigned to the U. S- Embassy Security Guard detachment in Kuwait experienced a suicide attack simi" lar to earlier ones in Beirut, when an ex- plosives-laden truck crashed into the embassy compound, killing 5 and injur­ing 37. There were no American casual' ties. The attack was coordinated with other explosions at the French Embassy, the Kuwait airport control tower, a Ku­waiti power station, a Raytheon Com­pany headquarters compound, and a sep­arate residential building.

31: The year-end strength of the U- S- Armed Forces was 2,123,915—of who® 193,858 were Marines.

Chronology: Marines in Lebanon

1982

August

25: Roughly 800 men of the 32d Ma­rine amphibious unit (MAU), com­manded by Colonel James M. Mead, landed in Beirut as part of a multinational peacekeeping force to oversee evacuation of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) guerrillas under Israeli siege. The force also included 400 French and 800 Italian soldiers.

September

10: Evacuation of PLO completed; 32d MAU was ordered out of Beirut by the President of the United States.

26: Preparations for redeployment got under way, in the wake of the assassin^ tion of Lebanese President-elect Bash>^r Gemayel, an Israeli push into Mosk’¹’¹ West Beirut, and the massacre of P^a^^eS tinians at the Sabra and Shatilla rebUfj camps. Marines and sailors of the MAU received the Navy Unit Coinrne11 dation for their part in the PLO ^evaC1ij tion, in ceremonies on board the U5

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3: The 35th MAU was activated i*¹

tional Airport from Druze positions

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29: The 32d MAU returned to Beirut, to join 2,200 French and Italian troops already in place.

30: Marines suffered first casualties (one killed in action, three wounded in action) while clearing unexploded ord­nance from the vicinity of Beirut Interna­tional Airport.

October

30: The 32d MAU was relieved by the 24th MAU, commanded by Colonel Thomas M. Stokes, Jr.

November

4: The 24th MAU extended its pres­ence in Beirut to the eastern (Christian) sector, patrolling the “Green Line” that divides the city into sectarian parts.

December

3: 24th MAU artillery was moved ashore. (Battery of six 155-mm. howit­zers)

10: 24th MAU armor was moved ashore. (Platoon of five M60A7 tanks)

13: Marines commenced training of Lebanese Armed Forces. About 75 Leba­nese soldiers underwent 21 days’ training in basic infantry skills and helicopter as­saults.

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1983

January

29: Emergency communication net­work was established between American and Israeli forces as tensions mounted between adjacent ground units.

February

2: Captain Charles B. Johnson con­fronted three Israeli tanks as they at­tempted to pass through his company check point, in the most serious incident to date.

15: The 32d MAU, redesignated the 22d MAU and still commanded by Colo­nel Mead, returned to Lebanon to relieve the 24th MAU.

21: Marines began four days of relief operations in the town of Quartaba during Lebanon’s worst blizzard in memory. With Syrian acquiescence, Marine heli­copters also flew into Syrian-held terri­tory in Lebanon’s central mountains to rescue victims of frostbite and exposure.

March

16: Five Marines were wounded in action in the first direct attack on Ameri­can peacekeeping troops. An Islamic fun­damentalist group claimed responsibility.

17: The 24th MAU received the Navy Unit Commendation for Lebanon service from October 1982 to February 1983.

April

18: A large car bomb exploded at the U. S. Embassy in Beirut, causing mas­sive structural damage and killing 61, including 17 Americans. More than 100 were injured. Islamic fundamentalists again claimed responsibility.

May

5: A Marine helicopter with six men aboard, including Colonel Mead, was hit by ground fire as it investigated artillery duels between Druze and Christian gun­ners.

17: Lebanon-Israeli withdrawal agree­ment was signed.

30: The 24th MAU, commanded by Colonel Timothy J. Geraghty, relieved the 22d MAU.

June

25: Marines conducted first combined patrols with Lebanese Army troops.

27: The 22d MAU received the Navy Unit Commendation for Lebanon service from 15 February to 30 June 1983.

July

22: Two Marines and one sailor wounded in action by shrapnel during shelling of Beirut International Airport, part of a general pattern of increasing indirect fire against the Lebanese Army- the airport, and the multinational for^ce'

August

10: About 27 artillery and mortar rounds were fired by Druze militia from the high ground east of Beirut into Bein'¹ International Airport, resulting in one Marine wounded in action. Rockets als° hit the Defense Ministry and the Presi' dential Palace, and three Cabinet min>^s' ters were kidnapped by the Druze.

11: Eight more rocket/artillery round⁵ fired into Beirut International Airport. N° casualties.

16: Commandant of the Marine Corp^s visited the 24th MAU.            .

28: A combat outpost manned by d Marines and Lebanese Army troops e^aS of Beirut International Airport cam^e under fire from semiautomatic weapon5 and rocket-propelled grenades. Marine5 returned fire for the first time, with rifle5 and M-60 machine guns. No friendly ^caS ualties, after a 90-minute firefight.

29: A heavy rocket, mortar, and art' lery attack on 24th MAU positions 0(1 eastern side of Beirut International A*^r port resulted in 2 Marines killed in actio*¹ and 14 Marines wounded in action. fines retaliated with 155-mm. artille^,

30: French and Italian command p°^s hit by mortar fire. One French killed 1 action; five Italians wounded in acti°^

31: Department of Defense authorize hostile fire pay of $65 per month for fines and sailors of the 24th MAU scrvin? in Lebanon.

31: Marines retaliated with 155-m¹^' artillery after Moslem shelling of U- Embassy residence.

September

1: Joint Chiefs of Staff directed d^e ployment of Amphibious Ready *Jr0 ' Alfa with the 31st MAU embarked, ff0 the Western Pacific to the Mediterranean in the vicinity of Lebanon.

Western Pacific to replace the 31st 4: Israeli forces withdrew to P⁰⁵'¹'⁰^, on the Awali River, creating a void to filled by factional hostilities among 1 Lebanese.

6: Rocket attack on Beirut Intc¹¹¹.^

Shouf mountains resulted in two Man killed in action; two Marines wounde ^ action. Total since 28 August: 4 KlA-

WIA.                                               . a 5­

8: Frigate Bowen (FF-1079) f*^red ,,f inch guns in the first American use naval gunfire support, silencing a ‘jp militia battery that had shelled Bein'*

Ami

to

0untains village of Suq-el-Gharb.

Am

Cease-fire went into effect at

eifut International Airport. Almost

10: Battleship New Jersey (BB-62) ^^as alerted for deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean.

12: 31st MAU arrived off Lebanon, ^assumed standby role.

10: Destroyer John Rodgers (DD-983) ^ar|d frigate Bowen responded with 5-inch SUrtfire into Syrian-controlled parts of ebanon, after continued shelling near ^ae residence of the U. S. ambassador.

10: Destroyer John Rodgers and ^Cru'ser Virginia (CGN-38) fired 338 5- j^nch rounds to help Lebanese Army

°°ps retain hold on strategic Shouf Mr ^encan role shifted from “presence” p direct support of Lebanese Armed 0rces, in perception of rebel factions. 20: Residence of U. S. ambassador j!^as shelled; USS John Rodgers and USS ,r8inia responded.

,^1: USS John Rodgers and USS Ar- Ur lv Radford (DD-968) responded to ^£lling of Marines at Beirut Interna- ^l0r|al Airport.

. ?3: Indirect fire attacks on Marine po- p^ll|°ns countered by 155-mm. artillery

lre and 5-inch gunfire from USS Vir- S>ni_a

n USS New Jersey arrived off Leba- j. ^Se coast following high-speed transit ^f0rn duty off Central America.

0600.

bounced by Saudi Arabian and Syrian ^ ^1C|als in Damascus, supported by ^rUze- Talks began on formation of new . ^dl>tion government for Lebanon. Ma- J¹® casualties to date; five killed in ^lQn, 49 wounded in action.

°ctober

31st MAU departed Mediterranean ^r Indian Ocean, in response to threat- ^ crisis near Strait of Hormuz. g_r 1 Two Marine helicopters hit by ^*nd fire.

Two Marines wounded in action by Vr fire.

p_r One Marine wounded in action by ^nde fragments.

One Marine killed in action, three a^ded in action by sniper fire. Marine fi’shooters responded, setting off S^'hour fire fight. Cease-fire of 26 j ember allegedly still in place.

^^: Marine sharpshooters killed four

J* One Marine killed in action, five l^dcd in action by sniper fire.

3(_te 1 ^^our Marines wounded in action as to ambush Marine convoy with ^°mb was thwarted.

Ie_n( ' Suicide truck loaded with equiva- st_ro '2,000 pounds of explosives de- ^^ed headquarters building of BLT 1/8

simultaneous suicide attack destroyed building occupied by French paratroop­ers. U. S. casualties: 241 killed in action, 70 wounded in action. French casualties: 58 killed in action. Marine replacement airlifts, via 13 C-141 aircraft, began the same day.

25: Commandant of the Marine Corps visited wounded in West German hospital and flew on to Lebanon to inspect scene of suicide attack.

November

4: Department of Defense established commission headed by Admiral Robert L. G. Long, USN (Ret.), to investigate 23 October suicide attack at Beirut Inter­national Airport. Suicide driver blew up Israeli headquarters in Tyre, killing 29 soldiers and 32 prisoners.

7: Brigadier General James R. Joy ar­rived in Beirut to assume command of Marine operations in Lebanon.

19: The 24th MAU was relieved by the 22d MAU, which had participated in the 25 October-2 November Grenada inter­vention en route to the Mediterranean. Brigadier General Joy was in overall command of Lebanon operations for the Marines.

22: Defense Secretary Caspar Wein­berger stated that the 23 October suicide attack on the Marines was carried out by Iranians with the “sponsorship, knowl­edge, and authority of Syrian govern­ment.”

December

4: Marines at Beirut International Air­port came under heavy fire from gun po­sitions in Syrian-held territory. Marine casualties: eight killed in action, two wounded in action. Naval gunfire mis­sions fired in retaliation. Earlier in the day, a 28-plane raid was conducted on Syrian antiaircraft positions in the moun­tains east of Beirut, in retaliation for Syr­ian fire directed at American aerial recon­naissance missions. Two U. S. aircraft were downed in this first combat mission over Lebanon.

14: The battleship New Jersey deliv­ered 16-inch gunfire on antiaircraft posi­tions in the Syrian-occupied mountains southeast of Beirut, as the Syrians contin­ued to fire at U. S. reconnaissance flights over the area. This was the New Jersey’s first action off Lebanon.

28: The Long Commission released an unclassified 140-page report on the 23 October suicide attack.

1984

January

8: A Marine was killed by unidentified assailants as he exited from a helicopter at a landing zone on the edge of down­town Beirut. The helicopter flew to safety, after returning fire with its ma­chine guns.

13: Marines in the Beirut International Airport area fought a 30-minute battle with gunmen firing from a building east of their perimeter.

15: Druze gunners closed Beirut Inter­national Airport for three hours with in­tense 23-mm. fire on Marine positions east and southeast of the airport. U. S. forces responded with small arms fire, mortars, rockets, tank fire, and naval gunfire from the battleship New Jersey and destroyer Tattnall (DDG-19). No U. S. casualties.

February

2: Heavy fighting erupted in the sub­urbs of Beirut, between the Lebanese Army and Shiite militiamen.

3: Shiite leadership called for resigna­tion of Moslem cabinet members and urged Moslems in the Lebanese Army to disregard the orders of their leaders. Prime Minister Wazzan and the Lebanese cabinet resigned, to clear way for forma­tion of new coalition government.

6: Druze and Moslem militiamen seized much of Beirut in street fighting and demanded resignation of President Gemayel.

7: President Reagan announced deci­sion to redeploy Marines from Beirut In­ternational Airport to ships offshore, leaving a residual force behind to protect the U. S. Embassy and other American interests. Increased reliance on air strikes and naval gunfire support indicated.

8: USS New Jersey bombarded Druze and Syrian gun positions as part of the heaviest naval gunfire support since the arrival of the Marines in 1982.

10-11: American civilians and other foreign nationals were evacuated from Beirut by helicopter.

21: Marines began their redeployment to ships of the Sixth Fleet offshore. About 150 Marines departed in the first increment.

26: Redeployment of the 22d MAU to offshore ships completed.

Ann A. Ferrante has been a member of the Reference Section at the Marine Corps Historical Center since 1981. A graduate of George Washington University, she served as a senior technician at the Smithsonian Institution before joining the Historical Center.

V_tert.

^Q|ngs / Naval Review 1984

Colonel John G. Miller is currently the Deputy Direc­tor of Marine Corps History. His most recent Fleet Marine Force assignment was as Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3 (Operations and Plans), III Marine Am­phibious Force, during 1982-1983.

tot.

AL OPERATING

^Attack

NAVY ACRFT SQDRNS

yCES (NUMBER)

^0tAL battle forces

strategic forces

^f Submarines (SSBN)

^SuPport (AS. TAK)

^li5TTLE FORCES Carriers (CV, CVN)

Carriers (CVS)

Battleships (BB)

Cruisers (CG, CAG, CGN, CA, CC) Destroyers (DD, DDR)

Destroyers (DDG)

^gates (FF, FFG)

Submarines (SS, SSN, SSG, SSGN) atrol Combatants Amphibious Warfare Ships Mine Warfare Mobile Logistics

SUPPORT FORCES Mobile Logistics Ships Support Ships

Si°BiLIZA TIOX FORCES CAT A Surface Combatants (NRF)

■ophibious Warfare Ships (NRF) Submarines ®rol Combatants Mobile Logistics Ships

&,^{Uaries AND} SEALIFT ^H'LlZATION forces cat b

a_Ct ^Al aircraft inventory

t'lP>c!^VE iNVENTORY ■SJNE

s.

(^'Submarine

^Servatio_n

y Wing Control

Jp®

L^ter/Attack (VF/VA) Heii^naissance

«VP)^(HC)

o£(VS/HS)

A&RPS ACFT SQDRNS

Heii^Pighter vDth_er ^Pter (Assault)

—___________________

957

645

479

513

PLAN

525                545

ACTUAL

484

fJscal

YEARS

Force Summary, U.

1968

S. Navy and Marine Corps

1972              1976              1980

1983

1984

1985

CORPS DIVISIONS