Establishing the Advanced Base Force

 

Title: Establishing the Advanced Base Force

Category: Marine Corps Order No. 7 (Series 1921)

Author/Presenter: Major General John A. Lejeune, USMC Commandant of the Marine Corps

Date: 3 March 1921


706. (1) Marine Corps organizations available for overseas service with the fleet shall be known as “The Advanced Base Force, U.S. Marine Corps.”

(2) Permanently organized units of The Advanced Base Force will normally be known by their numerical designation. Any part of The Advanced Base Force assigned to a special duty (force of occupation, landing forces, raiding forces, etc.) will be named in accordance with its mission.

(3) The training centers of The Advanced Base Force will be at Marine Barracks, Quantico, Va., and Marine Barracks, San Diego, California.

(4) The terms “First Advanced Base Force” and “Second Advanced Base Force” are hereby abolished.

(5) Under “Tables of Organization, Technical Regiment, Advanced Base Force (Provisional),” dated May 3, 1920, in the letter promulgating these tables, strike out the words:

“An advanced base force will normally consist of

“1 technical regiment
“1 brigade of infantry
“1 artillery regiment.”

(6) The Advanced Base Force, or any part thereof, shall comprise such infantry, artillery, and specialist troops as may be assigned to it by Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, and shall receive instruction in the following branches and such other kindred subjects as may be designated by Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, to enable it to operate efficiently on any duty which may be assigned:

Artillery: Field guns, naval guns, howitzers, mortars, antiaircraft armament.
Fire control.
Machine guns, ground and antiaircraft.
Submarine mines.
Searchlights: Harbor defense, antiaircraft, and field.
Signals: Radio, telephone and telegraph, visual, radio director, microphone sound detector.
Engineering.
Infantry and attached weapons, grenades, 37 mm., Stokes mortar, etc.
Air forces: Land and water planes, observation balloons.

JOHN A. LEJEUNE,
Major General Commandant

Approved:
JOSEPHUS DANIELS,
Secretary of the Navy.