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 In September 2001, the 32d Commandant of the Marine Corps General James L. Jones directed the reactivation of the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) as an anti-terrorism organization within the U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Atlantic.
The mission of the 4th MEB (AT) is to provide Unified Combatant Commanders with rapidly deployable and sustainable specialized anti-terrorism forces to deter, detect, defend, and conduct initial incident response to combat the threat of terrorism worldwide.
The 4th MEB (AT) is the focal point for Marine Corps anti-terrorism capability. 4th MEB's specially trained Marines can respond to missions by themselves, but also complement the considerable capability of other Marine units, such as the Marine Expeditionary Unit, in response to terrorist threats worldwide.
The 4th MEB (AT) is organized with Chemical, Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF) and an Anti-Terrorism Battalion (AT Bn). Additionally, the MEB includes the resources and unique capabilities of Marine Security Guard Battalion (MSG Bn) and Marine Corps Security Force Battalion (MCSF Bn).
Upon receipt of specific tasks to deploy, the unit can be further task organized with other ground, aviation and/or combat service support units. Depending on the mission, the scalable total strength will vary.
The CBIRF element of the MEB is capable of rapid response to chemical or biological threats. Should an incident occur, CBIRF would immediately deploy to the affected site and provide a number of significant capabilities to include coordinating initial relief efforts, security, detection, identification, expert medical advice, and limited decontamination of personnel and equipment Marine Corps Security Force Battalion headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia provides armed, anti-terrorism and physical security trained personnel to high value naval installations or units. The battalion maintains a worldwide presence at 14 different locations from Keflavik, Iceland to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Bahrain in the Arabian Gulf. The Marines protect key naval assets to include strategic weapons, command and control facilities and naval support activities. In addition to its fixed installations, Marine Corps Security Force Battalion maintains two Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team (FAST) companies for deployments as directed by the Chief of Naval Operations. The Marines of Marine Corps Security Force Battalion may also perform other functions as directed by the Commandant of the Marine Corps.
Marine Security Guards provide security services to selected Department of State Foreign Service posts to prevent the compromise of classified material and equipment and to provide protection for U.S citizens and government property.
The primary focus of Anti-Terrorism Battalion is on enhanced training. The battalion obtains specialized skills in courses such as Urban Assault Climber and Enhanced Marksmanship as well as advanced security techniques and weapon skills.
The MEB's ability to deploy rapidly with sustainable forces has been a hallmark of Marine expeditionary forces worldwide and will give America's civilian and military leadership capable and relevant forces for the war on terrorism.
4th
MEB(AT)'s website
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