14th Marine Regiment (United States)

14th Marine Regiment

14th Marines insignia
Active November 26, 1918 – June 19, 1919
June 1, 1943 – November 20, 1945
February 1, 1966 – present
Country  United States
Branch United States Marine Corps
Type Artillery
Role Provide fires in support of 4th Marine Division
Part of 4th Marine Division
Marine Forces Reserve
Garrison/HQ Fort Worth, Texas
Engagements World War II
*Battle of Kwajalein
*Battle of Saipan
*Battle of Tinian
*Battle of Iwo Jima
Operation Desert Storm
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Commanders
Current
commander		 Colonel Joseph J. Russo [1]
Notable
commanders		 Randall M. Victory
Louis G. DeHaven

The 14th Marine Regiment (14th Marines) is a reserve artillery regiment of the United States Marine Corps consisting of three artillery battalions and a headquarters battery. The regiment is based in Fort Worth, Texas however its units are dispersed among 15 different sites in 12 states. Its primary weapon system is the M777A2 Howitzer with a maximum effective range of 30 km however one of its battalions has converted to fire the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) weapon system.

Mission

14th Marine Regiment provides the Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) with a Force Artillery Headquarters in order to command, control, and coordinate Force Artillery delivered fires. On order, 14th Marines assumes the civil military operations mission for the MAGTF with focus on coordinating and achieving unity of effort among all forces and non-military organizations participating in stability operations in the MAGTF’s battle space.[2]

Current units

History

World War I

The 14th Marine Regiment was activated at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, on November 26, 1918. It was created to replace the 10th Marine Regiment, an artillery unit, that was being sent to Indian Head Proving Grounds in Maryland to transition to new tractor-mounted 7-inch (180 mm) naval guns. The 14th Marines had a headquarters detachment and ten artillery batteries divided into three battalions. Each battery was allotted four officers, twenty-four non-commissioned officers, and seventy-five privates. About one-third of their number comprised a cadre of trained artillerymen left behind by the 10th Regiment, the remainder were newly minted Marines fresh from recruit training or part of the pool of men available for overseas deployment.

Throughout this initial tenure, the regiment remained at MCB Quantico and was armed with carriage-mounted Navy 3-inch (76 mm) landing guns. These guns had been developed by the Naval Weapons Factory at the turn of the 20th century. Unfortunately, these guns and their ammunition were not compatible with contemporary U.S. Army field guns. Training days consisted of three intervals. Mornings were devoted to normal military duties and infantry drill, afternoons were used for gun drills and technical training, in the evenings junior enlisted men cared for the more than one hundred horses and mules assigned to the regiment.

As part of the massive demobilization of the American military following the signing of the treaties ending World War I, the 14th Marine Regiment was deactivated in June 1919 and would remain inactive until the Second World War.[3]

World War II

The 14th Marine Regiment was reactivated on June 1, 1943 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Randall M. Victory as the part of 4th Marine Division. The regiment was divided in two echelons for basic training. First Echelon, constisting of 1st and 3rd Battalions, was located at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Second Echelon (2nd and 4th Battalions) was located at Camp Pendleton, San Diego.

On June 7, 14th Marines received new Commanding officer, Colonel Louis G. DeHaven, who succeeded Lt.Colonel Victory. Randall M. Victory was subsequently appointed Regimental Executive Officer.

Regiment arrived in Pacific Theater on January 30, 1944 and subsequently participated in the Battle of Kwajalein


See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 14th Marine Regiment (United States).

Notes

  1. ↑ "Marine Corps Forces Reserves > Marine Forces Reserve Leaders > Biography View". Marforres.marines.mil. 2013-05-18. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  2. ↑ "14th Marines Regiment Mission". Retrieved 2006-09-17.
  3. ↑ Brown (1990), p.1-3.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.
Bibliograbhy
  • Ronald J. Brown, A Brief History of the 14th Marines (Washington, DC: Hist&MusDiv, HQMC, 1990)
Web
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