2nd Tank Battalion The 2nd Tank Battalion ( 2nd Tanks ) is an armored battalion of the United States Marine Corps which is based out of the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune , North Carolina . It falls under the command of the 2nd Marine Division and the II Marine Expeditionary Force . History . World War II . The battalion formed on December 20 , 1941 at Camp Elliott , San Diego , California , growing to the standard organization with a headquarters , service and four letter companies ( Able , Baker , Charlie , Dog ) . Baker Company deployed to Samoa in January and Charlie Company sailed with the 2nd Marine Division to Tulagi , landing in an assault there on November 7 , 1942 against heavy resistance . 2nd Tanks participated in every action of the 2nd Marine Division to include the Battle of Tarawa , Battle of Saipan and Battle of Okinawa . After a brief tour with the Japan occupation force , the battalion returned to its permanent garrison at MCB Camp Lejeune . Korean War . With the coming of the Korean War , most of the battalion ' s personnel immediately augmented the 1st Tank Battalion . It also provided the cadre for the 8th Tank Battalion , a wartime expansion force battalion . Garrison duty on the East Coast of the US involved support to routine deployments in the Mediterranean and Caribbean . 2nd Tank Battalion units became involved in two interventions in Lebanon , the Cuban Missile Crisis deployment , the Dominican Republic and the Guantanamo Base defense effort . Vietnam & Post - war years . The Vietnam War again caused the battalion to provide replacements for the tank battalions deployed there . After the Vietnam War , peacetime deployments swelled with participation in NATO exercises . Units of the battalion also saw brief combat in the invasion of Grenada . Gulf War . The battalion as a whole saw its first combat since the Second World War in 1991 , as it moved with the 2nd Marine Division to Saudi Arabia for the liberation of Kuwait . Augmented by companies of the 4th Tank Battalion , 2nd Tanks served as the division reserve for the four - day war in Kuwait . Iraq War . The opening of 2003 found 2nd Tank Battalion preparing for deployment to Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . Led by Lt Col Michael J . Oehl they deployed under the operational control of the 1st Marine Division and were attached to Regimental Combat Team 5 ( RCT - 5 ) upon arrival in theater . On March 20 , 2nd Tank Battalion led RCT - 5 and 1st Marine Division across the southern Iraqi border , initiating an attack that would ultimately result in the seizure of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad and the destruction of the Saddam Hussein regime . 2nd Tank Battalion fought numerous engagements in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom , to include battles in An Numaniyah , Al Aziziyah , and eastern Baghdad . Following the seizure of Baghdad , Company D and the AT - TOW Platoon supported Task Force Tripoli and their movement into Tikrit . Upon the cessation of combat operations , 2nd Tank Battalion participated in humanitarian operations in Baghdad . The battalion redeployed to MCB Camp Lejeune on May 29 , 2003 . In November 2004 while deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom 2 - 2 , Company C attached to Regimental Combat Team 1 ( RCT - 1 ) , 1st Marine Division and Company A attached to Regimental Combat Team 7 ( RCT - 7 ) , 1st Marine Division participated by assisting in portions of Operation Phantom Fury , the recapture of Fallujah . 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 . 2nd Tanks has been presented with the following awards :