The Post-Standard April 13, 2005
Local Marines Lighten Up
Reserve unit shifts from tanks to more agile vehicles
By Pedro Ramirez III
After more than 55 years of operating tanks, a local Marine Corps Reserve unit is being converted to a light armored infantry group.
Bravo Company, 8th Tank Battalion, which trains at the reserve center in Mattydale, is making the change as the military adjusts to fighting the war on terrorism.
About two dozen members of Bravo Company 8th Tank Battalion are in California, training for the new mission, said Capt. Dennis Kuhl, a unit spokesman.
Bravo Company's eight M1A1 Abrams battle tanks have already been shipped out, Kuhl said. He is unsure when the unit will receive its new equipment, light armored vehicles known as LAVs.
The company has about 156 Marines. It would be reduced to about 139, Kuhl said.
The unit's transformation is part of a larger Marine Corps restructuring that will affect about 5,700 Marines. The changes call for reducing the number of artillery and tank units while increasing the number of infantry units.
Bravo Company is part of the 4th Marine Division. Other units deactivated along with Bravo Company include 8th Tank Battalion headquarters in Rochester and Delta Company in Columbia, S.C., according to the Marine Corps.
Marine Corps leaders say the restructuring will make for a more agile and flexible force, according to information from the Marine Corps Web site.
Kuhl is unsure how long the restructuring will take for Bravo Company. The Marine Corps expects all changes to be complete by 2011.
Basic LAVs are eight-wheel armored vehicles that can be armed with machine guns, grenade and missile launchers and other weapons. In general, it has a crew of three: a commander, driver and gunner, according to GlobalSecurity.org
"Tanks and artillery are not needed as much," said Col. Markus Pfahler, director of Marine Forces Reserve requirements, in a Marine Forces article.
Pfahler said the LAVs would provide greater maneuverability to Marines in an urban environment such as the one now facing U.S. troops in Iraq.
The Marine Corps expects adding more light infantry units will enable it to rotate troops out of war zones more regularly.
Mattydale's Marines probably won't be deployed any time soon after receiving their new equipment, Kuhl said. It will take them a while to learn about the new equipment.
About 65 Bravo Company members are now serving as security guards on the Horn of Africa, an area that includes Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti.
The Marines are planning a ceremony in May to mark the unit's mission change.
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