13 April 2002 – About 100 members of the 4th MEB (Anti-Terrorism) returned to Camp Lejeune after helping re-open the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. The four-month deployment combined guard duty with construction work. The embassy had not been occupied since 1989 and the building had fallen into a state of disrepair.
15 April 2002 – Six FA-18D Hornets of Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA (AW)-121), “Green Hornets,” were the first U.S. aircraft to arrive at the coalition air base in Kyrgyzstan, a region that was once part of the Soviet Union. VMFA (AW)-121 participated in missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom
1 April 2003 – Marines launched a diversionary attack near An Nasiriyah to assist in the rescue of an Army prisoner of war by U.S. special forces from the hospital she had been held at since her capture ten days earlier. The bodies of several soldiers killed in the same firefight were also recovered from the grounds of the hospital.
2 April 2003 – Elements of the 1st Marine Division crossed the Tigris River 80 miles southeast of Baghdad and destroyed the Baghdad Division of the Iraqi Republican Guard around Kut.
3 April 2003 – Marine Harriers participated in a major attack on a Taliban camp north of Spin Boldak, Afghanistan.
4 April 2003 – The 1st Marine Division battled its way into the southeastern outskirts of the Iraqi capital, encountering the Al Nida Division of the Republican Guard.
5 April 2003 – U.S. forces entered Baghdad. Marines expanded northward on the eastern edge of the city to secure major roads leading out of the capital.
7 April 2003 – British forces attached to I MEF secured the city of Basra while Marines, linked up with Army 5th Corps troops, attacked along the Diyala River, isolating the Iraqi capital.
8 April 2003 – Elements of the 1st Marine Division expanded a bridgehead over the Diyala River and captured the Rashid military airport on the eastern rim of Baghdad.
9 April 2003 – Iraqi resistance in Baghdad collapsed and U.S forces occupied the remainder of the capital. Marines assisted Iraqi civilians in toppling a large statue of Saddam Hussein in downtown Firdaus Square.
13 April 2003 – Marines of Task Force Tripoli took control of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown and the last significant city held by the regime.
13 April 2003 – A group of Marines sent to Samarra, 75 miles north of Baghdad, to keep traffic from interfering with tanks headed to battle in Tikrit were led to the remaining seven American POWs held by Iraqi forces. An Iraqi policeman led the Marines to a building where they found the U.S. soldiers under guard.
14 April 2003 – A Pentagon spokesman announced that, although some fighting continued in Iraq, major military operations in the country had ended.
15 April 2003 – Elements of 26th MEU(SOC) began to flow into northern Iraq to take control of Mosul, a large city liberated days earlier by Kurdish forces.
20 April 2003 – I MEF began redeploying its forces in central and northern Iraq into its zone of responsibility. The new mission was one of security, humanitarian assistance, and reconstruction.
22 April 2003 – The 24th MEU(SOC) began deploying back toward its ships. It was the first Marine unit to depart Iraq after a more than eight-month deployment
27 April 2003 – Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced that major combat activity had come to an end in Afghanistan. He stated that the focus would move into stabilization and reconstruction activities and that the military would stay involved in the efforts.
29 April 2003 – The Marines of 15th MEU(SOC) returned to the Tarawa Amphibious Ready Group and prepared for follow-on operations in the Central Command Area of Operations.
5 April 2004 – Marines from 2d Battalion, 1st Marines, and 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, shut down access to the volatile Iraqi city of Fallujah in the opening days of Operation Vigilant Resolve. The purpose was to isolate and seek out insurgents holing up in the city following the murder and mutilation of four American contractors. The bitter fighting throughout the month left numerous Marines dead or wounded and with no real peace after the Marines were ordered to scale down attacks and eventually withdraw from the city before an all-out offensive could be launched. Although a tenuous cease-fire was in effect for Fallujah, a cleric-backed militia began spreading violence to several other cities, including parts of Baghdad, Kut, Karbala, and Najaf, in an area known as the “Sunni Triangle.”
8 April 2004 – The Commandant of the Marine Corps General Michael Hagee and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps SgtMaj John Estrada paid a visit to the Marines serving in Iraq two days after visiting those serving in Afghanistan. Both trips were well received by the troops as the Commandant promised the entire weight of the Corps remained behind the deployed Marines and both offered thanks for a continuing job well done.
14 April 2004 – The 22d MEU (SOC) completed its move into Afghanistan. The Marines came under operational control of Combined Joint Task Force 180 and were to assist in operations to help stabilize the country. Sadly, only ten days later, three Marines were injured when a roadside bomb exploded alongside their convoy near the village of Daylanor in the Kandahar province.
24 April 2004 – The Marines presented diplomas to the last class to graduate as part of the Georgia Train and Equip program (GTEP). Special Forces soldiers started the program in 2002 and turned it over to the Marines later the same year. GTEP was established to help the former Soviet republic fend for itself and was used as a model for future military-building programs.
26 – 28 April 2004 – Firefights erupted once again in Fallujah and in Najah after insurgents fired upon Marines ringing the cities and a Marine patrol was ambushed. Most of the insurgents were members of the rebellious cleric Moqtada Sadr’s Mahdi Army and were using mosques to hide in. Warplanes and attack helicopters were called in to help destroy suspected strongholds that were not considered sacred sites.
2 April 2005 – More than three-dozen insurgents attacked Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. U.S. soldiers and Marines, who were also using the prison as a military base, repelled the attack. No one was killed but 44 U.S. troops were wounded as well as 13 Iraqi detainees as 40-60 heavily armed men swarmed the prison, detonated two car bombs and peppered the facility with rocket-propelled grenades, small-arms, and mortar fire.
7 April 2005 – Two new campaign medals were announced in recognition of servicemembers’ contributions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Inclusive dates for the Afghanistan Campaign Medal were 24 October 2001 to an undetermined future date, while the Iraqi Campaign Medal dates were 19 March 2003 to an undetermined future date. Troops were eligible for both awards if they meet all required criteria for each.
8-9 April 2005 – Marines of the reserve unit 2d Battalion, 24th Marines, began returning home from Iraq. The unit lost 12 Marines during its seven-month deployment to the region known as the Sunni Triangle.
11 April 2005 – Insurgents claiming to be linked to al-Qaida tried to overrun a Marine base on the Syrian border using gunmen, suicide car bombs, and a firetruck loaded with explosives. The raid on Camp Gannon at Husaybah resulted in three wounded Marines but no American deaths.
26 April 2005 – Marines with 1st Battalion, 3d Marines, returned home to Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, from Iraq, officially ending their 10-month deployment. The unit lost 46 Marines, including 26 killed in the tragic helicopter crash on 26 January 2005.
__April 2006 – Marines from 1st Battalion, 25th Marines, arrived in Iraq and took control of a large portion of Fallujah. The unit focused on training Iraqi Security Forces and conducting counter-insurgency operations for Regimental Combat Team 5.
3 April 2006 – Marine Reservists of Headquarters Battery, 5th Battalion, 14th Marines, returned home to Seal Beach, California, following a six-month tour in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. All 125 members returned safely.
7 April 2006 – The battalion commander of 3d Battalion, 1st Marines, and two company commanders were relieved of command amid the investigation into whether Marines from the battalion killed numerous Iraqi citizens in Haditha on 19 November 2005. The incident was still under investigation.
12 April 2006 – The Marine Corps banned the use of synthetic athletic clothing containing polyester and nylon by Marines conducting operations outside of forward operating bases and camps in Iraq due to the increased burn risk associated with those materials. When exposed to extreme heat and flames, clothing containing some synthetic materials like polyester melt and can fuse to the skin, causing horrific, disfiguring burns.
12 April 2006 – Approximately 900 Marines and sailors from 2d Battalion, 6th Marines, returned to Camp Lejeune following a seven-month deployment to Iraq.
17 April 2006 – Marines repelled an attack by Sunni Arab insurgents in Ramadi, Iraq, when the insurgents launched a coordinated assault against the city’s main government building and two U.S. observation posts. There were no U.S. casualties resulting from the 90-minute attack.
1 April 2007 – The Marine Corps officially stood up the Wounded Warriors Regiment whose mission was to help injured Marines through their recovery and an often difficult bureaucracy. The regiment is headquartered at Marine Corps Base (MCB) Quantico, Virginia, but has two established battalions, one on the west coast and another on the east coast.
2 April 2007 – All charges were dropped against a sergeant accused of killing five civilians in Haditha, Iraq, on 19 November 2005 during raids on several houses that left 24 Iraqis dead. He was granted testimonial immunity. Over the next several days, at least three officers and several other enlisted men were offered immunity for their testimony in the cases pending against three enlisted men and four officers.
__April 2007 – Marines serving with numerous Marine Corps units returned to the U.S. throughout the month of April from Iraq, including the 4th Civil Affairs Group and 2d Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion on 2 April; 2d Battalion, 3d Marines, on 8-10 April; Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 263 on 19 April; 2d Tank Battalion and 3d Reconnaissance Battalion on 24 April; and 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Tank Battalion, and 3d Assault Amphibian Battalion on 28-29 April. Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461 also returned to the U.S. from a deployment to the Horn of Africa on 26 April.
4 April 2008 – More than 200 Marines from 3d Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion (3d LAAD) returned to Camp Pendleton from a seven-month deployment to Djibouti, Horn of Africa. The Marines spent the deployment manning checkpoints, conducting joint patrols with the Djibouti army, and completing small civic projects.
11 April 2008 – The keel was laid for the USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) at the Bath Iron Works, in Bath, Maine. Named in honor of Medal of Honor recipient Cpl Jason Dunham, the ship will be an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer 511 feet long, with berths for 380 service members when completed.
14 April 2008 – Marine reservists with 3d Battalion, 23d Marines, began arriving home at Camp Lejeune following a seven-month deployment to Haditha, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
16 April 2008 – The Department of Defense (DOD) approved the wearing of campaign stars on the Afghanistan and Iraq Campaign Medals for service members who have been on multiple deployments to those areas. One campaign star may be worn for participation in each of the campaign phases designated by DOD. Marine Administrative Message 299/08 (MARADMIN 299/08) was released on 20 May 2008 with the inclusive dates.
19 April 2008 – The historic deployment of the Marine Corps’ first operational MV-22 Osprey squadron came to an end as the main body of Marine Tiltrotor Squadron 263 (VMM-263) returned home to MCAS New River, North Carolina. The squadron spent seven months operating out of the Al Asad Air Base and was replaced by VMM-162.
21 April 2008 – Marines from 2d Battalion, 2d Marines, began deploying from Camp Lejeune to Iraq’s Al Anbar Province in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
29 April 2008 – More than 1,000 Marines with the 24th MEU stormed into the Taliban-held town of Garmser in southern Afghanistan in the first major American operation in the region in years. Although the Marines met little resistance, bomb-making material and rockets were found and weapons fire was exchanged in two sections of the town.