1st Battalion 10th Marines 1st Battalion 10th Marines ( 1 / 10 ) is an artillery battalion comprising three firing batteries and a headquarters battery . The battalion is stationed at Camp Lejune , North Carolina and falls under the command of the 10th Marine Regiment , part of the 2nd Marine Division . Its primary weapon system is the M777 lightweight howitzer . Mission . The units ' mission is to provide direct artillery support for the 2nd Marine Division in time of conflict . That support may come in traditional fashion , i . e . artillery support to maneuver forces , or by providing batteries to serve as temporary rifle companies . It also has the secondary mission of being the primary providers of civil - military operations ( CMO ) . CMO is defined as the activities of the commander that establish , maintain , influence , or exploit relations between military organizations , Government and civilian organizations and the civilian populace . History . World War II . The unit was activated on November 1 , 1940 at San Diego , California , as the 1st Battalion , 10th Marines ( 1 / 10 ) and were assigned to the 2nd Marine Brigade , Fleet Marine Force . The 2nd Marine Brigade was renamed the 2nd Marine Division on February 1 , 1941 . During January 1942 , 1 / 10 was deployed to American Samoa and detached from the 2nd Marine Division . In November 1942 , the unit was redeployed to Guadalcanal and attached to the 11th Marines , 1st Marine Division , Fleet Marine Force and in December 1942 , reassigned to the 9th Marines . The 1st Battalion 10th Marines participated in the following World War II campaigns : and subsequently in the occupation of Japan from September 1945 to June 1946 . During July 1946 , 1 / 10 was relocated to MCB Camp Lejeune ; then deactivated on November 18 , 1947 . The unit was then reactivated to Camp Lejeune as the 1st Battalion , 10th Marines on December 1 , 1948 . 1960s - 1980s . 1 / 10 deployed to Cuba in response to the missile crisis from October to December 1962 . In the late 1970s and early 1980s , the battalion was deployed to Europe for participation in North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) exercises . Charlie Battery was deployed to Beirut , Lebanon in 1983 . They lost a number of personnel in the bomb attack of that year . While deployed to Beirut , Charlie Battery was the first U . S artillery unit to fire the M - 198 in combat . During the 1980s , the battalion became a Cold Weather trained unit , conducting training at Fort Drum , New York and above the Arctic Circle . They also transitioned to the 155mm Howitzer during this period . They regularly supported training operations at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at 29 Palms , California . 1990s . The 1 / 10 participated in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in Southwest Asia from August 1990 to February 1991 . A Detachment from B Battery aboard the USS " Iwo Jima " ( LPH 2 ) during MARG 2 - 92 participated in Operation Provide Promise from July to November 1992 . From August to October 1994 , an element of 1 / 10 participated in Operations Support Democracy and Uphold Democracy in Haiti . Global War on Terror . In February 2003 , 1 / 10 deployed to Kuwait , it then participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom , in Iraq in March 2003 . During the invasion the unit took part in the Battle of Nasiriyah . Then again Battery B deployed to Iraq in June 2004 to Feb 2005 doing split battery operations from the cities Muhumadyia and Iskandariyah providing fire support for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit ( MEU ) . Between September 2007 and April 2008 , elements of 1 / 10 deployed to Iraq and were stationed throughout the Al Anbar province as part of TFMP ( Task Force Military Police ) . From November 2010 to May 2011 1 / 10 participated in Operation Enduring Freedom , in Helmand Province , Afghanistan .