7th Communication Battalion

7th Communication Battalion
7th Comm's insignia
Active	1 October 1957 – present
Country	United States
Branch	USMC
Type	Communications
Part of	III Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group
Nickname(s)	The Mighty 7th Communication Battalion
Mascot(s)	Sun Devil
Engagements	Vietnam War Operation Desert Shield Operation Restore Hope
Commanders
Current commander	Lieutenant Colonel Thomas B. McGee

7th Communication Battalion (7th Comm) is a communications battalion in the United States Marine Corps.

Mission

7th Communication Battalion will establish, maintain, and defend communication networks and services simultaneously for Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) command elements (CE), Marine component headquarters, and/or a Combined/Joint Task Force headquarters (C/JTF HQ) in order to facilitate a commander's ability to command and control forces.

History

Activated in 1957 at Camp Pendleton, California, the first deployment of the 7th was to Taiwan in 1960, stationed at Kaohsiung. The 7th were deployed from MARINE CORPS BASE, TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIFORNIA≥ http://www.iiimef.marines.mil/Units/IIIMHG/7thCommunicationBattalion/Lineage to Vietnam on 1 July 1966 to Chu Lai, and assigned to the 1st Marine Division. They participated in the Vietnam War from then until 1969, also operating out of Da Nang. They were briefly reassigned to Okinawa in late 1969, before returning several months later to Vietnam, and serving there until 1972, except for a short break in late 1971 to early 1972. 7th communications battion also participated in operations Eagle Pull and Frequent Wind at the official conclusion of the Vietnam conflict from Dec. 1974 to May 1975.

After Vietnam

The 7th were deployed to Thailand in May 1972, until 1973 as part of the 3rd Marine Amphibious Task Force. They participated in minesweeping off the North Vietnam coast in early 1973, before aiding in evacuations, and search and rescue in Southeast Asia in 1974–75.

1990s to present

The battalion participated in support of Operation Desert Storm in Southwest Asia from December 1990 to April 1991. They also participated in Operation Desert Shield, at around the same time. They participated in Operation Sea Angel in Bangladesh in mid-1991, and also served in Somalia in 1992 and 1993.

Unit awards

A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an organization for the action cited. Members of the unit who participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms the awarded unit citation. 7th Comm has been presented with the following awards:

Award	Year(s)	Additional Info
Presidential Unit Citation Streamer two Bronze Stars	1966–1967, 1967–1968	Vietnam
Meritorious Unit Commendation with one Bronze Star	1968, 2010	Vietnam
National Defense Service Streamer with two Bronze Stars	1961–1974, 1990–1995, 2001–present	Vietnam War, Gulf War, War on Terrorism
Vietnam Service Streamer with one Silver and three Bronze Stars		Chu Lai, Da Nang
Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Streamer

External links

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

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