Combat Logistics Battalion 8
Combat Logistics Battalion 8 is an active United States Marine Corps logistics battalion specializing in medium- and heavy-lift motor transport and expeditionary logistics support.
Last updated August 26, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
Combat Logistics Battalion 8, commonly abbreviated CLB-8, is a logistics battalion of the United States Marine Corps. It is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and operates within Combat Logistics Regiment 2, which is part of the 2nd Marine Logistics Group and II Marine Expeditionary Force. Although its name can resemble that of a commercial logistics organization, CLB-8 is a military formation rather than a consumer-facing brand or business. The battalion's primary mission is to provide medium- and heavy-lift motor transport support. Its activities can include convoy operations, supply distribution, material handling, vehicle recovery, route security, road sweeping, road repair, explosive-ordnance-related support, engineering assistance, and maintenance support. Its subordinate structure includes Combat Logistics Company Alpha, Combat Logistics Company Bravo, General Support Company, and Headquarters and Service Company. The organization allows the battalion to form task-organized detachments for deployments and specialized missions. CLB-8 traces its institutional origin to Combat Service Support Detachment 28, which was commissioned on September 20, 2004, and assigned to the 2d Force Service Support Group. The detachment was redesignated Combat Logistics Battalion 8 on March 13, 2005. Soon afterward, the unit deployed to Camp Fallujah, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Its Iraq deployments, from February 2005 to February 2006 and from September 2007 to March 2008, involved combat logistics patrols and a broad range of supporting tasks. Marines and sailors supplied combat units, escorted personnel and matériel, supported entry-control-point screening, assisted military police, conducted engineering work, and helped maintain mobility and infrastructure in the area of operations. The battalion subsequently deployed to Afghanistan in 2009, 2011, and 2013. These missions included convoy operations, route security, road sweeps, vehicle and maintenance support, and explosive-ordnance-removal assistance. One notable 2011 operation involved a six-day convoy for the Logistics Kandak of the 215th Corps of the Afghan National Army. The convoy comprised more than 100 vehicles and approximately 600 Afghan and U.S. personnel and moved to the Afghan headquarters in Helmand Province. CLB-8 also supported Operation Unified Response after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, providing humanitarian relief. Following its third Afghanistan deployment, the battalion was deactivated at Camp Lejeune, with its colors furled on November 7, 2013. It was reactivated on October 1, 2015, and assigned to Combat Logistics Regiment 2. After reactivation, the battalion supported the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Africa and Marine Rotational Force-Europe, in addition to providing logistics support to II Marine Expeditionary Force. From October 2022, CLB-8 served as the Marine Corps experimental logistics battalion for initiatives associated with Force Design 2030. Through 2023 and 2024, it tested new equipment, concepts, and personnel structures involving bridging, watercraft, piloted and autonomous ground vehicles, and unmanned aerial vehicles. It also deployed or operated in Colombia, Honduras, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and aboard USS New York during the UNITAS exercise. In 2024, the unit was recognized as the Marine Corps Large Logistics Unit of the Year. In 2025, it completed service-level training during an Integrated Training Exercise at Twentynine Palms, California. Its current identity is therefore defined by expeditionary logistics, operational mobility, multinational exercises, and experimentation with emerging Marine Corps sustainment capabilities.
History
Combat Logistics Battalion 8 originated as Combat Service Support Detachment 28, commissioned on September 20, 2004, and assigned to the 2d Force Service Support Group. On March 13, 2005, the detachment was redesignated Combat Logistics Battalion 8. The new battalion soon entered sustained operational service in Iraq, deploying to Camp Fallujah from February 2005 to February 2006 and again from September 2007 to March 2008 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. During its Iraq deployments, CLB-8 performed the practical and often hazardous work required to keep combat formations supplied and mobile. Its Marines and sailors conducted roughly 100 combat logistics patrols, delivered supplies, carried out material-handling missions, augmented military-police activities, and performed escort, road-sweep, road-repair, vehicle-recovery, and explosive-disposal-related tasks. The battalion also supplied contact teams, provided female Marines for screening Iraqi women at checkpoints and entry-control points, and used its engineers to construct control points and provide services to II Marine Expeditionary Force headquarters and Iraqi security forces. The battalion deployed to Afghanistan from May through December 2009 as part of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade. This deployment was associated with the additional forces announced by the Obama administration in February 2009. Two months after returning from Afghanistan, CLB-8 supported Operation Unified Response, the U.S. military humanitarian response to Haiti's devastating 2010 earthquake. The battalion returned to Afghanistan from January to August 2011 and again from January to July 2013. Its Afghan missions included convoy operations, route security, route clearance and road-sweep activities, maintenance support, and assistance connected with explosive-ordnance removal. A particularly large 2011 movement involved escorting the Logistics Kandak of the Afghan National Army's 215th Corps to its headquarters in Helmand Province. The six-day convoy included over 100 vehicles and approximately 600 Afghan and U.S. personnel, illustrating the battalion's role in combining transport, protection, coordination, and sustainment for partner forces. Four months after returning from its third Afghanistan mission, CLB-8 was deactivated at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. Its colors were furled on November 7, 2013. The deactivation was not permanent: on October 1, 2015, the colors were again flown when the battalion was reactivated and assigned to Combat Logistics Regiment 2. In the period following reactivation, CLB-8 supported the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Africa and Marine Rotational Force-Europe, while continuing to provide logistics support to II Marine Expeditionary Force. The battalion entered a new phase in October 2022 when it was designated an experimental battalion for Force Design 2030. Rather than limiting its work to conventional transport and sustainment, CLB-8 began testing new equipment, concepts, and personnel arrangements. Initiatives during 2023 and 2024 included bridging systems, watercraft, piloted and autonomous ground vehicles, and unmanned aerial vehicles. In summer 2023, the battalion deployed or operated in Colombia and Honduras and aboard USS New York during UNITAS activities, using the exercise environment to evaluate experimental equipment and task-organized detachments. During 2024, CLB-8 conducted two overseas deployments supporting Marine Rotational Force-Europe operations in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. That year it was also announced as the Marine Corps Large Logistics Unit of the Year. In 2025, the unit completed an Integrated Training Exercise, a service-level training event, at Twentynine Palms, California. Its documented development reflects a transition from a conventional combat-service-support battalion into a more experimental expeditionary logistics organization, while retaining its core responsibility for transport, sustainment, recovery, engineering, and operational mobility.
- 2025
Completed Integrated Training Exercise
[1]CLB-8 completed service-level Integrated Training Exercise training at Twentynine Palms, California.
- 2024
Named Marine Corps Large Logistics Unit of the Year
[1]The battalion received recognition as the Marine Corps Large Logistics Unit of the Year.
- 2022
Assigned an experimental Force Design 2030 role
[1]CLB-8 became an experimental logistics battalion for testing new equipment and personnel structures under Force Design 2030.
- 2015
Reactivated under Combat Logistics Regiment 2
[1]The battalion was reactivated on October 1, 2015, and assigned to Combat Logistics Regiment 2.
- 2013
Deactivated
[1]CLB-8 was deactivated after its third Afghanistan mission, with its colors furled on November 7, 2013.
- 2011
Afghan National Army logistics convoy
[1]The battalion conducted a six-day convoy involving more than 100 vehicles and approximately 600 personnel for the Afghan National Army's 215th Corps.
- 2009
Afghanistan deployment and Haiti humanitarian response
[1]CLB-8 deployed to Afghanistan from May to December 2009 and subsequently supported Operation Unified Response after the Haiti earthquake.
- 2007
Second Iraq deployment
[1]The battalion returned to Iraq from September 2007 to March 2008 for another deployment supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
- 2005
Redesignated Combat Logistics Battalion 8
[1]The detachment was redesignated Combat Logistics Battalion 8 on March 13, 2005.
- 2005
First Iraq deployment
[1]CLB-8 deployed to Camp Fallujah in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from February 2005 to February 2006.
Products and positioning
A Marine Corps expeditionary logistics formation positioned to provide mobile sustainment, transport, engineering, recovery, and related combat-service-support capabilities while testing new equipment and organizational concepts.
Military logistics capability
Medium- and heavy-lift motor transport
CLB-8's core capability is the movement of personnel, supplies, equipment, and other matériel using medium- and heavy-lift motor transport. This capability supports Marine expeditionary forces during deployments, exercises, and sustained operations.
Expeditionary transport support
Combat logistics patrols and convoy operations
The battalion organizes and supports logistics patrols and convoys in contested or austere environments. Activities may combine transportation, route security, escort, maintenance, recovery, and coordination with allied or partner forces.
Military experimentation · 2022
Force Design 2030 experimental logistics
Beginning in 2022, CLB-8 tested emerging logistics concepts and equipment, including bridging, watercraft, piloted and autonomous ground vehicles, and unmanned aerial vehicles. These activities support Marine Corps efforts to adapt logistics for distributed and expeditionary operations.
Combat service support
Engineering, recovery, and infrastructure support
The battalion provides supporting functions such as vehicle recovery, road repair, construction of control points, engineering services, maintenance assistance, and material handling. These functions help preserve mobility and sustain forces in operational areas.
Marketing campaigns
- 2024Marine Rotational Force-Europe support
Norway · Sweden · Finland
The battalion conducted two overseas deployments supporting Marine Rotational Force-Europe operations in Northern Europe.
Outcome. CLB-8 delivered expeditionary logistics support in a multinational European operating environment.
- 2023UNITAS and SOUTHCOM experimentation
Colombia · Honduras · United States Navy shipboard operations
During summer 2023, CLB-8 operated in Colombia, Honduras, and aboard USS New York in connection with UNITAS activities while employing experimental equipment and task-organized detachments.
Outcome. The activities provided multinational and shipboard settings for evaluating emerging logistics concepts.
- 2010Operation Unified Response
Haiti
CLB-8 participated in the humanitarian military response following the devastating earthquake in Haiti.
Outcome. The unit contributed logistics support to relief operations for the Haitian population.
- 2009Afghanistan operations
Afghanistan
The battalion deployed to Afghanistan in 2009, 2011, and 2013 for convoy operations, route security, road sweeps, maintenance support, and explosive-ordnance-related assistance.
Outcome. CLB-8 supported Marine expeditionary operations and Afghan partner-force mobility and sustainment.
- 2005Operation Iraqi Freedom
Iraq
CLB-8 supported operations in Iraq through combat logistics patrols, supply distribution, convoy escort, route and road work, recovery, engineering, and related security tasks during deployments from 2005 to 2006 and from 2007 to 2008.
Outcome. The battalion provided sustained logistics and infrastructure support to Marine and partner-force operations in its area of responsibility.
Brand decisions
2022
Designation as Force Design 2030 experimental battalionStrategyBackground
The Marine Corps was testing new force structures and equipment for future expeditionary operations.
Action taken
CLB-8 was assigned to experiment with logistics equipment and personnel concepts, including bridging, watercraft, autonomous ground vehicles, and unmanned aircraft.
Aftermath
The battalion expanded its role from conventional sustainment to structured experimentation in expeditionary logistics.
2015
Reactivation and reassignmentStrategyBackground
The battalion's colors were restored after its 2013 deactivation.
Action taken
CLB-8 was reactivated on October 1, 2015, and assigned to Combat Logistics Regiment 2.
Aftermath
The battalion resumed expeditionary logistics activity, including support to Africa- and Europe-focused Marine formations.
2013
Deactivation of the battalionStrategyBackground
The deactivation followed CLB-8's third Afghanistan deployment.
Action taken
The Marine Corps deactivated the battalion and furled its colors on November 7, 2013.
Aftermath
The unit was later reactivated rather than permanently dissolved.
2005
Redesignation as Combat Logistics Battalion 8StrategyBackground
Combat Service Support Detachment 28 had been commissioned the previous year within the Marine Corps support structure.
Action taken
The detachment was redesignated Combat Logistics Battalion 8 on March 13, 2005.
Aftermath
The newly designated battalion entered an extended operational period that included deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/combat-logistics-battalion-8 · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled