Combat Logistics Battalion 7

Combat Logistics Battalion 7, commonly abbreviated CLB-7, is a logistics battalion of the United States Marine Corps. It is based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms in California and operates within the command structure of the 1st Marine Logistics Group and I Marine Expeditionary Force. Unlike a commercial brand, CLB-7 is a military organization whose identity is associated with expeditionary logistics, sustainment, transportation, engineering-related support, supply, maintenance, and other combat service-support functions. The unit was activated on 30 August 1976 at Twentynine Palms as Detachment A, 1st Force Service Support Group, Fleet Marine Force. Its early role centered on supporting Marine forces operating from or training at the desert installation. The organization subsequently underwent several structural and naming changes as the Marine Corps adapted its logistics formations. It became Combat Service Support Detachment 12 in 1989, was redesignated 1st Force Service Support Group, Forward in 1991, and became Combat Service Support Group 1 in 1992. CLB-7's operational history includes support to United States and coalition activities in Southwest Asia during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm from August 1990 through April 1991. In the 1990s, the unit also supported the Hunter Warrior Advanced Warfighting Experiment, an exercise and experimentation effort conducted from January through March 1997. These activities reflected the battalion's role in enabling larger Marine formations rather than acting as an independent combat maneuver unit. The battalion supported Operation Iraqi Freedom during the 2003 campaign, providing logistics for the 1st Marine Division's advance toward Baghdad. It returned to Iraq from August 2004 through February 2005 and was formally redesignated Combat Logistics Battalion 7 on 1 April 2005, when it was assigned to Combat Logistics Regiment 1 within the 1st Marine Logistics Group. Further deployments followed in 2006 and from February through September 2008. During the 2008 deployment, Marines operated from locations including Camp Fallujah, Camp Ramadi, and Al Asad Airbase in Al Anbar province. Their duties included logistics convoys, support to infantry units, security for selected explosive-ordnance-disposal missions, Arrival/Departure Air Control Group operations, and security for recovery missions. In 2011, CLB-7 deployed to Camp Dwyer in Helmand province, Afghanistan, from March through October in support of Regimental Combat Teams 1 and 5. Its wartime mission has been described as providing tactical logistics support to a regional command, sustaining ongoing operations, and facilitating the retrograde of personnel and equipment. In its garrison role at Twentynine Palms, the battalion supports I Marine Expeditionary Force units, the installation's Exercise Support Division, Marine exercise forces, the 23rd Dental Company, and other commands when directed by the commanding general of 1st Marine Logistics Group. The battalion's principal value is operational rather than commercial: it helps Marine units remain supplied, mobile, repaired, and supported across training environments and deployed theaters. Its history illustrates the Marine Corps practice of repeatedly reorganizing logistics formations to match expeditionary requirements while retaining continuity of mission and institutional identity.

Combat Logistics Battalion 7 traces its organizational history to 30 August 1976, when it was activated at Twentynine Palms, California, as Detachment A, 1st Force Service Support Group, Fleet Marine Force. The organization was established to provide logistics and combat service support in connection with Marine Corps activities at the desert training center and with expeditionary operations. On 27 December 1989, it was redesignated Combat Service Support Detachment 12, Fleet Marine Force. The unit participated in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in Southwest Asia from August 1990 through April 1991. Following that period, it was redesignated 1st Force Service Support Group, Forward, on 2 August 1991. A further reorganization on 1 August 1992 made it Combat Service Support Group 1, Fleet Marine Force. During the 1990s, the organization continued to contribute to Marine Corps experimentation and operational development. It supported the Hunter Warrior Advanced Warfighting Experiment between January and March 1997, an activity that examined future approaches to Marine operations and support. The unit took part in Operation Iraqi Freedom from March through June 2003, providing logistics support to the 1st Marine Division during its movement toward Baghdad. It deployed to Iraq again from August 2004 through February 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II. A major institutional change occurred on 1 April 2005, when the organization was redesignated Combat Logistics Battalion 7 and assigned to Combat Logistics Regiment 1, 1st Marine Logistics Group. The battalion deployed to Iraq again in early 2006, supporting Marine units in Al Anbar province. Its next Iraq deployment ran from February through September 2008. During that deployment, CLB-7 personnel operated at Camp Fallujah, Camp Ramadi, and Al Asad Airbase. Their responsibilities extended beyond ordinary supply distribution and included logistics convoys, support to infantry battalions, security for some explosive-ordnance-disposal missions, Arrival/Departure Air Control Group functions, and security for recovery operations. From March through October 2011, the battalion deployed to Camp Dwyer in Helmand province, Afghanistan, supporting Regimental Combat Teams 1 and 5. These deployments reflected the unit's central role in sustaining Marine formations in environments where transportation, resupply, maintenance, movement control, and security were essential to continued operations. At home station, CLB-7 provides combat service support to I Marine Expeditionary Force units based at or operating from the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, to the installation's Exercise Support Division, to Marine Corps exercise forces, and to the 23rd Dental Company when requirements exceed organic capabilities. It may also support the base and other units when directed by the commanding general of 1st Marine Logistics Group. The battalion's wartime mission is to serve as the logistics combat element of a Marine Air-Ground Task Force, providing tactical logistics support to a regional command, enabling and sustaining operations, and assisting with retrograde. Its organizational changes—from a force-service-support detachment to a combat logistics battalion—mirror broader Marine Corps efforts to align logistics structures with expeditionary warfare and MAGTF operations.

• 2011

  Afghanistan deployment

  [1]Combat Logistics Battalion 7en.wikipedia.org

  Deployed to Camp Dwyer, Helmand province, from March through October in support of Regimental Combat Teams 1 and 5.

• 2008

  Third Iraq deployment

  [1]Combat Logistics Battalion 7en.wikipedia.org

  Deployed to Iraq from February through September, operating from several bases in Al Anbar province and conducting convoy, air-control, recovery, and security missions.

• 2005

  Established as Combat Logistics Battalion 7

  [1]Combat Logistics Battalion 7en.wikipedia.org

  Redesignated Combat Logistics Battalion 7 on 1 April and assigned to Combat Logistics Regiment 1, 1st Marine Logistics Group.

• 2003

  Operation Iraqi Freedom support

  [1]Combat Logistics Battalion 7en.wikipedia.org

  Provided logistics support to the 1st Marine Division during its advance toward Baghdad from March through June.

• 1997

  Hunter Warrior experiment support

  [1]Combat Logistics Battalion 7en.wikipedia.org

  Supported the Hunter Warrior Advanced Warfighting Experiment from January through March.

• 1992

  Redesignated Combat Service Support Group 1

  [1]Combat Logistics Battalion 7en.wikipedia.org

  Redesignated Combat Service Support Group 1, Fleet Marine Force, on 1 August.

• 1991

  Forward force-service-support designation

  [1]Combat Logistics Battalion 7en.wikipedia.org

  Redesignated 1st Force Service Support Group, Forward, on 2 August.

• 1990

  Support for Desert Shield and Desert Storm

  [1]Combat Logistics Battalion 7en.wikipedia.org

  Participated in support activities in Southwest Asia from August 1990 through April 1991.

• 1989

  Redesignated Combat Service Support Detachment 12

  [1]Combat Logistics Battalion 7en.wikipedia.org

  The organization was redesignated Combat Service Support Detachment 12, Fleet Marine Force, on 27 December.

• 1976

  Activation at Twentynine Palms

  [1]Combat Logistics Battalion 7en.wikipedia.org

  Activated on 30 August at Twentynine Palms, California, as Detachment A, 1st Force Service Support Group, Fleet Marine Force.

An expeditionary Marine Corps logistics organization positioned as an enabling force for deployed operations, major exercises, installations, and supported combat formations.

Product categories. Tactical logistics support · Combat service support · Expeditionary supply and sustainment · Logistics convoy operations · Transportation and movement coordination · Arrival and Departure Air Control Group operations · Recovery-mission support and security · Installation and exercise support

• 2011Operation Enduring Freedom

  Camp Dwyer · Helmand province, Afghanistan

  Deployed to Camp Dwyer from March through October in support of Regimental Combat Teams 1 and 5.

  Outcome. Provided logistics and combat service support to Marine forces during operations in Afghanistan.

  Source
• 2008Third Iraq deployment

  Camp Fallujah · Camp Ramadi · Al Asad Airbase · Al Anbar province, Iraq

  From February through September, the battalion conducted logistics convoys, supported infantry units, assisted selected explosive-ordnance-disposal missions, performed Arrival/Departure Air Control Group operations, and provided security for recovery missions.

  Outcome. The deployment broadened the unit's documented support role beyond supply movement to include airfield, recovery, and mission-security functions.

  Source
• 2006Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment

  Al Anbar province, Iraq

  Deployed to Iraq in early 2006 and supplied and supported Marine units operating in Al Anbar province.

  Outcome. The battalion continued its expeditionary sustainment role in a demanding operational theater.

  Source
• 2004Operation Iraqi Freedom II

  Iraq

  Deployed to Iraq from August 2004 through February 2005 to provide logistics support during Operation Iraqi Freedom II.

  Outcome. The deployment preceded the battalion's formal 2005 redesignation as Combat Logistics Battalion 7.

  Source
• 2003Operation Iraqi Freedom

  Iraq

  Supported the 1st Marine Division's advance toward Baghdad by providing logistics and sustainment services from March through June 2003.

  Outcome. The unit contributed to maintaining the division's operational movement and sustainment during the campaign.

  Source
• 1990Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm

  Southwest Asia

  The organization supported United States Marine Corps activities in Southwest Asia during the buildup and combat phases of the Gulf War, from August 1990 through April 1991.

  Outcome. The deployment formed part of the unit's early large-scale expeditionary logistics record.

  Source

• 2005

  Creation of the Combat Logistics Battalion 7 designationStrategy

  Background

  Following repeated expeditionary deployments and changes to Marine Corps logistics formations, the organization was realigned within the 1st Marine Logistics Group.

  Action taken

  Redesignated Combat Logistics Battalion 7 on 1 April and reassigned to Combat Logistics Regiment 1.

  Aftermath

  The battalion operated under its current CLB-7 identity while continuing to provide expeditionary and installation logistics support.

  Source

• 1989

  Redesignation as Combat Service Support Detachment 12Strategy

  Background

  The Marine Corps altered the unit's formal designation as part of its force-support organizational structure.

  Action taken

  Redesignated the organization Combat Service Support Detachment 12, Fleet Marine Force, on 27 December.

  Aftermath

  The unit continued providing logistics support under a revised organizational identity.

  Source

1. 1Combat Logistics Battalion 7en.wikipedia.org