4th Assault Amphibian Battalion

4th Assault Amphibian Battalion
4th AAV's Insignia
Active	August 19, 1943 - present
Country	United States
Branch	USMC
Type	Mechanized battalion
Role	Amphibious assault
Part of	4th Marine Division Marine Forces Reserve
Garrison/HQ	Tampa Bay, Florida
Nickname(s)	4th Tracks
Motto(s)	Gladius Ex Mari
Engagements	World War II * Battle of Kwajalein * Battle of Guam * Battle of Okinawa Operation Desert Storm Operation Iraqi Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom

4th Assault Amphibian Battalion is a mechanized battalion of the United States Marine Corps reserve. Their primary weapon system is the AAV-P7/A1 (formerly LVTP-7) Amphibious Assault Vehicle and they are part of the 4th Marine Division of the Marine Forces Reserve. The unit is based out of the Tampa Bay, Florida with subordinate units in Florida, Virginia and Texas.

Mission

To land the surface assault elements of the landing force and their equipment in a single lift from assault shipping during amphibious operations to inland objectives.

To conduct mechanized operations and related combat support in subsequent operations ashore.

Current units

Name	Location
H&S Company	Tampa, Florida
Alpha Company	Virginia Beach, Virginia
Bravo Company	Jacksonville, Florida
Charlie Company	Galveston, Texas
Delta Company	Tampa, Florida

History

1943 - 1945

Activated on August 19, 1943 at Camp Pendleton, California, as the 4th Amphibian Tractor Battalion, Division Special Troops, 4th Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force.

Reassigned during January 1944 to Corps Troops, Amphibious Corps, and deployed to the Pacific area.

Reassigned during April 1944 to Corps Troops, 3rd Amphibious Corps, and participated in the following campaigns in World War II:

Redesignated on September 8, 1944 as the 4th Amphibian Tractor Battalion, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific Troops, 3rd Amphibious Corps.

Detached on November 11, 1944 from the 3rd Amphibious Corps.

Redesignated on July 15, 1945 as the 4th Amphibian Tractor Battalion, 2nd Amphibian Tractor Group (Provisional), Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, and deployed to Guam, Marianas Islands.

Redesignated on September 30, 1945 as the 4th Amphibian Tractor Battalion, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific.

Redeployed during October 1945 to Camp Pendleton, California and deactivated on November 26, 1945.

1962 - 2000

Reactivated on July 1, 1962 at Tampa, Florida as the 4th Amphibian Tractor Battalion, Force Troops, Fleet Marine Force, United States Marine Corps Reserve
Redesignated on October 1, 1976 as the 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion, Fleet Marine Force, United States Marine Corps Reserve
Participated in CONUS and OCONUS training exercises throughout the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s
Participated in Southwest Asia during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm as augmentation force to sister Assault Amphibian Battalions

2000 - present

Marines from Dam Security Unit, Bravo Company, 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion patrol near Haditha Dam in 2006.

The 4th AABn has provided augmentation to its sister Assault Amphibian Battalions in the Regular Marine Corps during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. These latter battalions were in the 1st Marine Division and 2nd Marine Division.

The 4th AABn was activated in January 2003 and deployed to the Middle East in February 2003. On March 18, 2003 - hours after President George W. Bush's speech and aerial attacks on the country, all convoys were staged to push to Baghdad. Weeks later, Bravo Company (-) reservists were the first of the battalion to set foot in Baghdad. Although destroyed bridges were an obstacle to many units, the AAV's ability to cross the major rivers was an integral part of the overall mission.

The 4th AABn has deployed company sized elements in support of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Alpha Company 3rd Platoon Marines stationed at Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, Mississippi deployed when the backside of Hurricane Katrina was still pounding south Mississippi. The Marines ventured out into 70 plus mile per hour winds and navigated through a wall of water that Katrina dumped on Gulfport and Biloxi. At one point during the storm, the Marines picked up some Biloxi police and firefighters and together, they looked past the flooded roads and the storm soaked yards for anyone who appeared to be trapped.^[1]

Marines with 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion, 4th Marine Division, drive an amphibious assault vehicle off the back of the USNS SEAY, a Maritime Prepositioning Ship, at Blount Island in Jacksonville, Fla., Aug. 13, 2014.

Bravo Company (-) reservists from Jacksonville, Florida deployed to the New Orleans in support of rescue and recovery operations. The unit was active for an estimated three weeks until active duty units could arrive and take over operations. While in the Area of Operations (AO), B(-) ran rescue operation on a daily basis, even while Marines were injured due to the conditions after the destruction of the storm. B(-) made it to the AO within 96 hours of the storms passing, commanding the AAV-7A1 down the I-10 corridor. Upon arrival to New Orleans, in 10 AAV units, the Marines began to commence search and rescue operations before arriving at their base of operation at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

Alpha Company, 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion, was deployed to Iraq in 2008 to support Regimental Combat Team 5. There they conducted provisional infantry missions as Helo Quick Reaction Force and other infantry operations throughout the Al Anbar province. They also assisted with the retrograde of excess equipment out of Iraq and into Afghanistan or back to the United States.

Bravo Company, 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion, was deployed in 2009 to Al Asad, Iraq, attached to 1st Battalion, 8th Marines. While attached to 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, several legal issues plagued the company. The most well known incident was that a vehicle assigned to the company was found to have several gallons of water in the fuel tank. While an intense and lengthy investigation was conducted, no one was ever found guilty of the destruction of government property.

In 2011, the unit als0 participated in the Landing Force Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (LF CARAT)^[2] exercises in Thailand.

Honors

Presidential Unit Citation - WORLD WAR II
Presidential Unit Citation - OKINAWA 1945
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Streamer with Three Bronze Stars
WORLD WAR II Victory Streamer

Notes

References

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.

Web

4th AAV's official website]

External links

4th AA Bn unit page

United States Marine Corps

Leadership	Secretary of the Navy Under Secretary of the Navy Commandant of the Marine Corps Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Marine Corps generals United States Congress House Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Senate Subcommittee on Seapower

Major commands	Organization of the Marine Corps Headquarters Marine Corps Marine Forces Command II Marine Expeditionary Force Marine Forces Pacific I Marine Expeditionary Force III Marine Expeditionary Force Marine Forces Reserve Fleet Marine Force Atlantic Pacific

Structure	Marine Air-Ground Task Force Bases Battalions Regiments Brigades Divisions MEF/Corps Marine aviation Marine expeditionary unit Special Operations Marine Raider Regiment Recon Force Division

Personnel and training	Personnel Rank insignia MOS Notable Marines Historical Marines Marine Astronauts Criminal Investigation Division Judge Advocate Division Chaplain of the Marine Corps Associated organizations Training Recruit Training School of Infantry Officer Candidates School The Basic School Martial Arts Program

Uniforms and equipment	Uniforms Awards Badges Weapons Vehicles and aircraft Individual equipment

History and traditions	History Culture Acronyms and terms Birthday Ball Eagle, Globe, and Anchor Marine Band Drum and Bugle Corps Service Numbers Marine Corps War Memorial Flag Marine One Marines' Hymn National Museum Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima Rifleman's Creed Semper Fidelis Silent Drill Platoon History of Hispanics in the USMC History of women in the USMC Women's Reserve Honorary Marine Toys for Tots White House Sentries

Portal Category

4th Marine Division

14th Marines	1st Battalion 2nd Battalion 3rd Battalion 4th Battalion 5th Battalion

23rd Marines	1st Battalion 2nd Battalion 3rd Battalion TOW Platoon

24th Marines	1st Battalion 2nd Battalion 3rd Battalion

25th Marines	1st Battalion 2nd Battalion 3rd Battalion

Other Battalions	4th Combat Engineer 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance 4th Reconnaissance 4th Tank 4th Assault Amphibian Anti-Terrorism

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