Marine Corps·Doctrinal shift·In Memoriam
Marine HAWK / LAAM Battalions
Triple-A Marines
Served: 1960s–1997
Operated the MIM-23 HAWK medium-range surface-to-air missile, the Marines' only medium-range air defense — protecting MAGTFs from enemy fighters and helicopters out to 25+ miles.
The Story
The 2022 reactivation of 3d LAAD as 3d Littoral Anti-Air Battalion was a quiet admission that the 1990s divestment was wrong — but the new battalion got Stingers and MADIS, not the medium-range HAWK coverage that had been thrown away.
Epitaph
“Threw away the medium-range coverage in 1997. Quietly trying to build it back since 2022.”
Sources
- Wikipedia — USMC Ground Air Defense Historyen.wikipedia.org
- USNI Proceedings — Revitalize Marine Air Defensewww.usni.org