3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion ( 3rd LAR ) is a mechanized infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps . Their primary weapon system is the LAV - 25 and they are part of the 1st Marine Division and I Marine Expeditionary Force . The unit is based out of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms , California . Organization . An LAV Company consists 5 Platoons which utilize 3 - 4 vehicles usually divided into Headquarters ( HQ ) 1st , 2nd , 3rd and Weapons Platoons . Each platoon has a commander whom controls each section and is also the vehicle commander ( VC ) of one of the LAV ' S , while the platoon sergeant will command another vehicle . A senior corporal or sergeant will command the other vehicles . The company commander commands a LAV - 25 in the HQ platoon , the other HQ platoon LAV - 25 is commanded by the company ' s Master Gunner or HQ platoon Sergeant . The company First Sergeant and Company Ops Chief command the 2 LAV - LOGs in the HQ platoon . A crew consists of a driver , usually the least senior ( 0313 , the MOS designation for LAV Crewman ) , a VC and the gunner . The gunner operates the main gun , the M242 Bushmaster chaingun . The VC makes target acquisition changes and helps the gunner make adjustments . The remaining crew consists of Scouts ( 0311 ) . The LAV can hold as many as 6 scouts , but in most cases there are only 3 - 4 in the back . There is also 1 corpsman and 1 2147 LAV Mechanic per platoon . History . Early years . The 3d Light Armored Vehicle Battalion originally began as Company A ( Reinforced ) , 1st Light Armored Vehicle Battalion in May 1983 , and began receiving LAVs in April 1984 . Company A , 1st Light Armored Vehicle Battalion became Company A , 3d Light Armored Vehicle Battalion in late 1985 . The 3d Light Armored Vehicle Battalion , 27th Marines , 7th Marine Amphibious Brigade was activated on 11 September 1986 . The Battalion was re - designated as the 3d Light Armored Infantry Battalion on 1 October 1988 and subsequently relocated to Okinawa , Japan in February 1989 . The Battalion returned to Twentynine Palms on 18 July 1991 as part of Regimental Combat Team 7 ( RCT - 7 ) . Gulf War and the 1990s . Detachment 3d Light Armored Infantry Battalion deployed to Saudi Arabia on 16 August 1990 in support of Operation Desert Shield , as part of the 7th Marine Expeditionary Brigade , Task Force Lima . Later , the battalion conducted screening and deception operations as part of Task Force Shepherd , the forward unit of 1st Marine Division . On 25 January 1991 , Company B saw combat in the first ground offensive action of the war by participating in an artillery raid with 5th Battalion , 11th Marines . On the night of 29 January 1991 , during the battle of Umm Hjul , Company D was the primary unit to turn back a major Iraqi attack . Once the ground war commenced , 3d Light Armored Infantry Battalion again found itself at the forefront of action . While assigned to the First Marine Division Command Post on the second day of the ground war , Company B decisively repelled an Iraqi counterattack on the Command Post . Additionally , Company D provided a mobile screen for Task Force Ripper , the leading unit for the Division . On the third day of the ground offensive , Task Force Shepherd was the first coalition force to enter Kuwait City and captured the Kuwait International Airport . When a large earthquake hit the Philippines , the Company A participated in relief efforts . In April 1991 , Mount Pinatubo erupted and once again , Company A was called upon to provide security against looters and participated in the clean up efforts . Company A returned to TwentyNine Palms on 7 August 1991 , completing an arduous 15 - month deployment . From December 1992 to April 1993 , 3d Light Armored Infantry Battalion deployed Company B and Company C along with the forward command group and forward logistics support for Operation Restore Hope in Somalia . The mission consisted of convoy escorts , delivering over 4 , 000 metric tons of grain to outlying areas . On 1 March 1994 , 3d Light Armored Infantry Battalion was re - designated as 3d Light Armored Reconnaissance ( LAR ) Battalion . The Battalion also participated in counter - drug operations in support of Joint Task Force 6 in Arizona throughout 1994 . It was during the early 1990s that the battalion ’ s nickname and radio call sign became “ Wolfpack . ” 3d LAR Battalion also continued to support the 1st Marine Division ’ s Unit Deployment Program requirement by rotating an LAR company to Okinawa , Japan every six months . In December 1998 , Company A , 2nd Platoon participated in Operation Desert Fox while attached to Battalion Landing Team ( BLT ) 2 / 4 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit ( MEU ) . Operation Desert Fox was a major coalition air campaign launched against Iraq for failing to comply with U . N . Security Resolutions . During this operation , BLT 2 / 4 established defensive positions in Kuwait , along Mutla Ridge , to deter a potential counter offensive by Iraq . Global War on Terror . Operation Iraqi Freedom . In late January through February 2003 , the Battalion , with the exception of Company C ( on unit deployment in Okinawa ) , deployed with the 1st Marine Division to Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom . Upon arrival , the Battalion attached Company B , 4th LAR Battalion , which was subsequently re - designated as Company E . On 21 March , 3d LAR Battalion and its attachments crossed into Iraq with the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom , attacking into the Rumaylah oil fields . The Wolfpack , along with 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion , led the Division ’ s lightning attack north , passing through Task Force Tarawa 56 hours after attacking into Iraq , crossing the Euphrates , and continuing to attack north along Highway 1 . On 23 March 2003 , while advancing hundreds of kilometers in front of the Division to seize a bridge over the Tigris River , the battalion uncovered a night ambush by dozens of Iraqi irregular forces known as the Fedeyeen . This was the first major and only battalion - level engagement of the war which resulted in several dozen enemy killed in action and the destruction of Iraqi armor forces attempting to maneuver south against the Division . From the afternoon of 24 March until 1 April , the Battalion was attached to Regimental Combat Team 5 . On 31 March , the Battalion attacked north as part of Regimental Combat Team 5 and secured the northern portion of Hantush Airfield . On 10 April , the Battalion was tasked to provide a headquarters and two companies to Task Force Tripoli . This ad - hoc task force , composed of elements of 1st , 2nd and 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalions , as well as G / 2 / 23 and TOW plt , 1st Tank Battalion , and commanded by the assistant Division commander , continued to attack north towards Tikrit . The remainder of Task Force Wolfpack , Companies B , E , and approximately half of H & S Company , as well as the Rear Command Post element , remained outside Baghdad conducting stabilization operations while attached to 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion . In its advance north towards Tikrit , the element of the Battalion attached to Task Force Tripoli made national headlines in the town of Samarra on 13 April when members of Company D rescued 7 American servicemen who had been taken prisoner earlier in the conflict . The rescued prisoners included two Army helicopter pilots and Shoshanna Johnson , a soldier from the same unit as Jessica Lynch . An image from this moment is captured in the “ Operation Iraqi Freedom ” mural on a building in 29 Palms . The Battalion reformed in Ad Diwaniyah on 21 April . By mid - June , the entire Battalion had redeployed to Twenty - nine Palms , with the last elements of the Division following in September . The Battalion suffered two non - combat deaths , no killed in action , and nine wounded in action during this deployment . Operation Iraqi Freedom II . In November 2003 , the Battalion was given a warning order to prepare to redeploy in August to Iraq in support of the Division ’ s resumption of support and stability operations in the Al Anbar province . The Battalion was ordered to deploy in August 2004 for a seven - month period . 3rd LAR conducted a relief in place with 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion at Korean Village , west of the city of Ar Rutbah , and fell under Regimental Combat Team 7 . During the early part of the deployment , Company D operated out of Al Qaim , north of the Euphrates River and along the Syrian border , while the remainder of the Battalion operated out of Korean Village . Beginning 7 November 2004 Task Force Wolfpack led by Company C and parts of Company A participated in Operation Phantom Fury , the Division ’ s operation to retake Fallujah . Task Force Wolfpack ’ s primary mission was to attack to seize three key objectives on the Fallujah Peninsula — - the North and South Bridges and the Fallujah Hospital . Task Force Wolfpack suffered one killed in action and sixty - two wounded in action during this battle . During this time , Company D was attached to 1st Battalion , 23rd Marines and operated near the cities of Hit and Haditha securing the main supply routes and patrolling known insurgent areas . In late November , Task Force Wolfpack departed the Fallujah peninsula and was attached to the US Army ’ s 2nd Brigade Combat Team ( 2BCT ) , 2nd Infantry Division in Ramadi and supported the 2005 Iraqi national and provincial elections . Upon completion of these operations in early March , Task Force Wolfpack returned to Korean Village where the Battalion reformed and subsequently conducted a relief in place with 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion . The Battalion redeployed to the United States in early April 2005 and began preparations to redeploy to Iraq the following year . Operation Iraqi Freedom 05 - 07 . In March 2006 , 3rd LAR deployed in support of OIF 05 - 07 . 1 and subsequently became Task Force WOLFPACK by attaching C / 1 / 10 as a provisional infantry company , one HET detachment and one CAG detachment . Immediately upon arrival , Task Force WOLFPACK detached Company D to RCT - 5 in Fallujah to reinforce this AO in order to support decisive operations in and around Baghdad , Iraq . In June 2006 , Task Force WOLFPACK received Company D back from RCT - 5 and began conducting more aggressive Counter Insurgency ( COIN ) operations in and around Ar Rutbah , Iraq . In July 2006 , Task Force WOLFPACK was tasked with splitting the battalion by providing a headquarters and maneuver capability to operate near Rawah , Iraq . Task Force Rutbah , which consisted of Company A , 3d LAR , C / 1 / 10 and one half of Headquarters and Service Company ( - ) , 3d LAR continued to conduct counter - insurgency operations in and around Ar Rutbah , Iraq . Task Force Rawah , consisting of one half of Headquarters and Service Company ( - ) ( REIN ) , 3d LAR and Company D , 3d LAR , conducted a RIP with 4 - 14 CAV and subsequently began COIN operations in and around Rawah and Anah , Iraq . In September 2006 , Task Force Rutbah and Task Force Rawah conducted a RIP with 2d LAR in both areas of operation . By early October 2006 , the battalion had redeployed to Twentynine Palms , CA .