Military

14th Marine Regiment

The 14th Marines is the artillery regiment in the Fourth Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, United States Marine Corps.

It is the Marine Corps' only Reserve artillery regiment. It's the largest artillery regiment in the Corps with five artillery battalions geographically dispersed at 19 sites across the country. Structured to mirror the active counterparts, the Regiment stands At the Ready to augment and reinforce the active forces and assume the role of Force Artillery during any contingency.

The mission of the 14th Marine Regiment is to, upon activation, augment or reinforce active forces. The unit is tasked with providing the regimental commander the means to command and control Marine, Army and allied tube and rocket artillery in order to serve as the MEF's force artillery.

At Quantico Virginia, the 14th Marine Regiment was formed to fill the void when the 10th Marine Regiment departed for final training and reassignment overseas. The Regiment received its colors on 26 November 1918. The officers and men of the regiment were seasoned veterans from the war in Cuba in 1898. The regiment mustered 28 officers and 1027 men at that time. The regiment formed a regimental HQ and three Battalions. The regiment was initially fielded with the 3-inch field gun. The regiment trained for the war in Europe but never left the States. Although never called on for actual combat, the 14th Marines, stood as a force in readiness, prepared to fight wherever and whenever needed. The Regiment was disbanded due to the draw down on 19 June 1919.

After a quarter-century lapse, the 14th Marines joined the ranks of the Marine artillery and began preparing for the war with Japan. The regiment was activated 1 June 1943 at Camp Lejeune, NC. The regiment was sent to Camp Pendelton for training.

The 10th Marines and the 14th Marines supported the 2d and 4th Marine Divisions respectively in the Second World War. They had each had a significant reorganization before Saipan. In early spring 1944, the 5th Battalion in each changed its designation. They were redesignated the 2d and 4th 155mm Artillery Battalions, Corps Artillery, but administratively attached to the 10th and 14th Marines. Thus the 10th and 14th Marines each contained two 75mm pack howitzer battalions (1st and 2d), two 105mm howitzer battalions (3d and 4th), and a 155mm artillery battalion, armed with the new M1 155mm howitzers, the first to be received by the Marine Corps in the Pacific. Friendly artillery fire was a major asset for the American troops, both in supporting their attacks and smothering Japanese sorties.

The unit served numerous campaigns during World War II, they were: Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima. The Regiment was redeployed during October-November 1945 to Camp Pendleton. The Regiment was deactivated on 20 November 1945.

During the time between the Korean War, small units served in combat. The regimental HQ was not reactivated. Although the activation for Korea went smoothly and the reserves proved themselves in combat, some weaknesses in the reserve structure were found. The lack of higher HQ at the Division and Regimental levels in the reserves was one of the shorfalls. In 1954, the Marine Corps Reserves went through a structure review.

In the early 1960's the possibility of a major war loomed and President Kennedy ordered the reserves to be prepared for a "Flexible Response." In April 1962, the Commandant, General Stroup, authorized a major reorganization of the reserves. With the formation of the 4th Marine Division, 14th Marines was reactivated on 1 Jul 1962 at Marine Corps Reserve Training Center, Treasure Island, San Francisco, CA. In 1967, The 14th Marines Hq was relocated to Marine Corps Reserve Training Center, Fort Worth, TX. This lasted until 1976, when the Regiment was related to Naval Air Station, Dallas, TX.

During Desert Storm the 11th Marines was a reinforced artillery regiment, tailored for the ground campaign ("task organized") by adding elements of other artillery units. the 11th Marines, like many other units, were joined by elements from the 10th Marines, 12th Marines and the 14th Marines to augment them so that would have sufficient artillery to perform the mission. The 11th Marines had only three subordinate battalions for most of Operation Desert Shield. Shortly before the beginning of the ground campaign, the 3/12 from Okinawa arrived and was integrated. A Battery, 1/11, and two reserve batteries (the H and I Batteries, 14th Marines) also joined the regiment.

During the late 90's, the Base Realignment Commission (BRAC) decided the NAS, Dallas was going to be closed and NAS Ft Worth was to become the Joint Reserve Base. The 14th Marine Regiment was to be relocated to the base. During April 1998, the 14th Marine Regiment began its relocation to their new facility.

The Marines have been developing structure and procedures (though doctrine and common understanding is still largely lacking) to coordinate artillery at the MEF level, primarily through the creation of "Force Fires" and the designation of 14th Marines as the Force Artillery Headquarters (FAHQ). In doing so, the fires community has worked myriad difficult issues related to fighting the future artillery fight at the MEF level. At the same time, the 14th Marines have continued to train (to shoot, move and communicate) at the artillery regimental level and below.