page_title: 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines
section_title: Global War on Terrorism - Iraq
hierarchical_section_title: 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines / History / Global War on Terrorism - Iraq
caption_attribution_description: Statue of Saddam Hussein being toppled in Firdos Square after the US invasion of Iraq. Found on the US military website. CAPTION:The statue of Saddam Hussein topples in Baghdad's Firdos Square on April 9, 2003. Three years later, Iraqi forces increasingly are taking the lead in securing their country.
context_page_description: 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Nicknamed "Thundering Third". The current commander is Lt. Col. Barclay, radio callsign is "Darkside 6”. They are based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, and consist of approximately 1,000 Marines. The unit currently falls under the command of the 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, but — along with its two sister battalions — is hosted by the 3rd Marine Division, at Camp Schwab in Okinawa, Japan, when training in jungle warfare. The 3rd falls under the 4th Marine Regiment at such times.
context_section_description: 3/4 deployed to Kuwait in January 2003 and went on to participate in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The group was led by Lt. Col. Brian P. McCoy.  They were the first U.S. Marine unit to enter Baghdad. This battalion was shown in the famous scene of the statue of Saddam in Firdos Square being pulled down. The battalion redeployed to Iraq in March 2004 and subsequently took part in Operation Vigilant Resolve while attached to the 1st Marine Regiment. They subsequently deployed to Fallujah, Iraq in January 2005 and provided oversight for Iraq's first national election in decades. 3/4 deployed again in September 2006 to the Al Qaim region in the Euphrates River Valley of Iraq, in Western Al Anbar Province, conducting counter insurgency combat operations and support and security operations. 3/4 saw heavy fighting throughout the deployment. The Marines were spread out in individual platoon-sized combat outposts along the river side, where fighting was especially intense, particularly in the first half of their extended 9-month deployment. Around Spring time in the second half of the Marines' deployment, the fighting turned to more small scale ambushes and IED attacks conducted by the enemy, who had become increasingly affected by losses in manpower and equipment in the large scale fighting that took place throughout the Fall and Winter months of 2006 and 2007. The battalion suffered 12 KIA, and over 100 WIA during the nearly 9-month deployment, which was due to being extended for the Troop Surge in early 2007. After returning home to Twentynine Palms in late May, 2007, the battalion again deployed in early 2008 to Al Anbar with dual missions of carrying out combat operations, training Iraqi security forces, and supervising the Iraqi peacekeeping effort. Their area of operations reached from Haditha to Hit, becoming the largest area any military unit had controlled in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  The battalion also became the first U.S. military unit to reach 5 straight Iraq deployments and returned from their deployment in early September 2008.  They are also one of only two Marine battalions with eight straight combat deployments, the other being 3/7.
caption: The April 2003 toppling of Saddam Hussein’s statue in Firdos Square in Baghdad shortly after the Iraq War invasion.
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