12th Littoral Anti-Air Battalion
military unit
12th Marine Littoral Anti-Air Battalion (12th LAAB) is a United States Marine Corps aviation command and control and air defense unit that is optimized for operations in the first island chain. The battalion is based at Camp Hansen in Okinawa, Japan and falls under the command of the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment and the 3rd Marine Division.
The battalion is the lineal descendant of the 1st Defense Battalion which gained fame during World War II for its defense of Wake Island early in the war. The battalion was later commissioned as the 1st Light Antiaircraft Missile Battalion (1st LAAM) equipped with the medium range surface-to-air MIM-23 HAWK Missile System. 1st LAAM deployed to Vietnam in 1965 providing air defense for the Marine Corps in the I Corps sector. 1st LAAM was last based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona and fell under the command of Marine Air Control Group 38 (MACG-38) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rd MAW) before being decommissioned in 1997.
The Commandant of the Marine Corps's Force Design 2030 initiative set out a vision for the Corps, which included making it capable of operating inside of the range of China's weapon systems. One of the requirements borne out of this realignment was the need for mobile, air defense and air control units that utilize their sensors and antiaircraft weapons to increase survivability of Marine Corps forces in the first island chain and South China Sea. The 12th Littoral Anti-Air Battalion was reactivated on October 1, 2024 with a ceremony on December 5, 2024 on Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan.
History
Early years
The 2d Antiaircraft Battalion was activated at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia on 20 July 1937.
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