List of United States Marine Corps battalions

This is a list of current United States Marine Corps battalions, sorted by the mission they perform.__TOC__

=Active units=

Ground Combat Element battalions

Infantry battalions

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.

A Marine infantry battalion is usually organized into three rifle companies, a weapons company, and a headquarters company. The rifle company has three or four rifle platoons and a weapons platoon with medium machineguns and mortars. The weapons company includes a heavy machinegun platoon, a mortar platoon, and an assault platoon. Sometimes, the commander will mix these into Combined Anti-Armor Teams. The headquarters company includes all command, administration, intelligence, operations, logistics, and communication Marines and equipment, as well as the battalion's Surveillance and Target Acquisition teams (which include scout snipers).

scout sniper

Armor battalions

The mission of an armor unit is to conduct and support amphibious operations and other operations as required by landing and transporting to inland objectives the surface assault elements and their equipment, and by conducting light armored reconnaissance and limited offensive and defensive operations. When task-organized with infantry, tanks, and other forces, the battalion conducts combined arms operations as a separate maneuver element in support of the Marine Division.Currently, Assault Amphibian battalions utilize the Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAVP-7A1), though plans are to replace it with the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. Light Armored Reconnaissance battalions use the LAV 25 series of vehicles. The Combat Assault Battalion is unique in that it combines both vehicles into a single battalion.

Headquarters battalions

Headquarters battalions serve as the command and control nexus for a Marine division. They contain the administration, intelligence, operations, planning, logistics, communication, and public affairs control of the division.

Engineer Support battalions

Engineer support battalions provide engineer support past the level available from organic engineers. ESBs also provide the storage and distribution of water and fuels.Engineer support battalions

Dental battalions

Dental battalions are responsible for the oral health of Marines and Sailors within the MAGTF. On deployment, they can also be used to support field hospitals and act as nurses when not performing dental roles. In garrison, they run dental health clinics and various Marine installations.

Communications battalions

Communications battalions provide communication support for the MAGTF as part of the MEF headquarters groups. They also perform networking and data services when deployed.

Recruit Training battalions

Only the MCRD Parris Island logos are listed below. The logos for MCRD San Diego differ slightly; additionally, San Diego does not have a Fourth Recruit Training Battalion (as it is the only female recruit training battalion in the Marine Corps).

=Inactive units=

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5th Marine Division
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=27th Marine Regiment=

=
6th Marine Division
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29th Marine Regiment

=21st Marine Regiment=

"Note: Personnel from this unit were transferred to the 5th Marine Division."

1st Marine Raider Regiment

Armored Amphibian Tractor battalions

Independent battalions

=See also=
*Ground combat element
**List of vehicles of the United States Marine Corps
**List of weapons of the U.S. Marine Corps
*Logistics combat element
*Aviation Combat Element
**List of United States Marine Corps aircraft squadrons

=References=;Notes:Marine Corps

;Bibliography
*cite book
title=U.S. Marine Corps World War II Order of Battle - Ground and Air Units in the Pacific War, 1939 - 1945.’’
author=Rottman, Gordon L.
date=2002
publisher=Greenwood Press
id=ISBN 0-313-31906-5

;Web
* [http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/websites.nsf/unitsalpha Units of the United States Marine Corps]