Home of the Thundering Third
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LtCol Benjamin T. Watson |
SgtMaj Scott A. Samuels |
Avoiding IED's in Garmsir, Afghanistan
May 21, 2010 by Terry McCarthy, CBS News
PATROL BASE KARMA, AFGHANISTAN - Sergeant Jim Morse of 3/1's Weapons Company is a big bear of a man. He is from Austin, TX, likes country music, and manages to keep a good sense of humor - even when tension was high in his company as they took some significant contact around their patrol base from the Taliban in the past two weeks.
Daily Media Report
May 18, 2010 by Headquarters marine Corps, Division of Public Affairs
Daily Media Report: Marine Corps Prepares For Budget Cuts and Uncertain Future; Reports: Hatoyama, Clinton to discuss US base; Military's economic might in Beaufort County just as strong as tourism, report says
Marines Navigate Poppy Fields and the People in Afghanistan
May 10, 2010 by Terry McCarthy, CBS News
Staff Sergeant Paul Worley is a tall, deep-voiced Marine from tobacco-farming country in North Carolina.
When he led a foot patrol out of Forward Operating Base Karma this morning, we didn't come across any tobacco - but there were fields and fields of opium poppies, which have just come to the end of their harvesting season, as well as large patches of cannabis, whose strong odor could be smelt clearly in the early morning air.
"Thundering Third" Meet with Local Afghan Leaders
May 5, 2010 by Terry McCarthy, CBS News
We were sitting in the shade of some mulberry trees on the edge of Koshtay village when I met a man who had never made a telephone call in his life, and didn't know how to use a telephone.
His name was Sher Mohammed Khan, and he is an influential local elder. He, along with about 60 other elders, had assembled under the mulberry trees for a shura - or meeting - with the U.S. Marine officers responsible for security in their area.
"Thundering Third" Adapts to IED Threat
May 3, 2010 by Terry McCarthy, CBS News
We drove south today from the main 3/1 base to Koshtay where Lima company is based.
But because of the IED threat, we took quite a roundabout route.
Garmsir district is shaped, they like to say, like a snake - there is a broad head at the top and then it is a long narrow body tapering down in the direction of the Pakistan border, following the Helmand river.
"Thundering Third" Handing Over Command in Garmsir
May 2, 2010 by Terry McCarthy, CBS News
The commander of 3/1 (Third Battalion, First Marine Division), Lieutenant Colonel Ben Watson, hasn't had a lot of sleep lately.
You can see it in his face.
He has been in Afghanistan for barely a week, and has been in meeting after meeting with local Afghan officials and members of the battalion he is replacing, trying to understand the area he and his Marines will be operating in for the next seven months.
Afghan Drug Traffickers Face More Resistance
By Jim Michaels, USA Today
May 10, 2010
Stepped up U.S. and Afghan military operations in southern Afghanistan have loosened the Taliban's grip on narcotics trafficking, a key funding source for the militant group, a top Marine commander said.
Thundering Third arrives, trains to take over operations in Afghanistan
4/28/2010 By Lance Cpl. Benjamin Crilly, Regimental Combat Team 7
CAMP DWYER, HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan — Marines and sailors of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment hit the ground running with Reception, Staging, Onward movement and Integration training here April 24-25.
Throughout the training, elements of the Thundering Third received an array of classes and conducted practical application directly related to their area of operations.
Boots and paws on the ground for OEF
MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. — Dogs have long been known as man’s best friend, and the military working dog is still that, but they are also an invaluable tool for Marines deployed overseas, because of their abilities to smell, which Marines from 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment learned during their Enhanced Mojave Viper pre-deployment training evolution here at Range 220.
3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, Changes Focus From Sea to Desert
MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. - Marines and sailors with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., completed their Enhanced Mojave Viper pre-deployment training evolution Feb. 4 here, as part of the unit's shift from supporting Marine Expeditionary Units to serving in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Operation Cinderella
On October 3rd, 2009, the Huntington Beach 3/1 Foundation came to Camp Horno - home of the Thundering Third. With them came volunteers with loads of ball gowns, shoes, jewelry and much more. Kicking off our Annual Ball Gown Give Away, dubbed “Operation Cinderella,” Huntington Beach set up in style.
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234th Marine Corps Ball
On November 14, 2009, the Thundering Third celebrated the 234th Marine Corps Ball at the Hyatt Hotel in Huntington Beach. The Huntington Beach 3/1 Marines Foundation was gracious enough to once again sponsor the event for the battalion.
The Hyatt Hotel is located across the street from Huntington Beach shoreline offering an appropriately pleasant setting to celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday. The event was held in one of the Hyatt’s luxurious ballrooms accommodating 1,300 Marines and guests.
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3/1 Marines Take it to the Streets
From 21-26 September the Marines of Brahma conducted rifle company tactical evaluations. This evolution consisted of several complex training activities throughout Camp Pendleton. It took several months to plan, but offered the Marines a unique opportunity to engage in combat training in numerous environments over a three day period for each line company. Each company was evaluated by Marines from a sister battalion as well as the command and staff.
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September 11th Memorial Hike
On September 11, 2009, Marines and Sailors from 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines conducted a memorial hike to the “Cross.” The Cross sits atop the ridge line above Camp Horno. The hike to the Cross is a grueling four miles straight up, but its significance is far more important: the Cross represents the heart and soul of the 1st Marine Regiment.
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Mountain Training Gets Afghan War Twist
PICKEL MEADOW, Calif. - They invaded Iraq, fought pitched battles with insurgents in Fallujah, operated in the jungles of Southeast Asia and raided beaches from amphibious ships with Republic of Korea marines.
By next spring, Marines and sailors with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines will be on new terrain in a different combat zone, this time with counterinsurgency as their primary mission. So before they step into Afghanistan, their commander brought them here, to the Corps’ Mountain Warfare Training Center, an isolated camp in the eastern Sierra Mountains.
