KADENA AIR BASE, OKINAWA, Japan (July 12, 2010) -   — Marines assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, based out of Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twenty-nine Palms, Calif., arrived in Okinawa July 11 to be deployed with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.

The 1/7 Marines are arriving as the new battalion landing team, and are expected to remain with the 31st MEU during the MEU’s fall patrol of the Asia-Pacific reigon.

Dear General Conway,

On the behalf of the United States Forces-Iraq, I wish to personally thank you and your Marines for nearly seven years of faithful service in Iraq, which formally ended on 23 January 2010. Beginning with the initial invasion and continuing through counterinsurgency operations, the U.S. Marine Corps played....

Read Official Letter Here

A look back into history. SuicideCharley.Com was able to find a couple Declassified reports from the National Archives of 1st Battalion, 7th Marines Command Chronologies. These documents are a complete situation report of what the battalion was doing operational wise and what problems they were facing administratively and logistically. This document dated 2 Sept 1966 is attached at the bottom this article.

b. Operations
(1) The Battalion had 144 contacts with the VC 15 of those being probes of the defensive positions. As a result of these contacts 25 VC were killed, 20 VC were wounded and 73 VC/VCS were captured. The Battalion sustained 5 WIA's and 1 KIA during this month.

U.S. Marines from 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment Charlie Company and Iraqi soldiers inspect the wreckage left from a suicide truck bomber against one of the Marines’ forward operating bases along the Iraqi-Syrian border, July 13, 2006. All that remains of the incident is a burnt chassis. The car bomb was described by Lt. Col. Nicholas F. Marano, the battalion’s commanding officer, as possibly the largest IED attack against Marines deployed near the border.

Dear First Team Family,
My family and I recently joined your battalion upon returning to the United States after three years overseas in Okinawa. It has been a thrill to return home and become a part of such a marvelous organization. We have been to Twentynine Palms many times, but this is our first time stationed here. We are learning the ropes of the local area. We look forward to meeting as many of you as possible and hearing your ideas on how we can best serve our Marines, sailors and families. We wish Lieutenant Colonel and Mrs. Fosdal the best of luck at their next assignment and thank them for their contributions to the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine’s family.