Post Vietnam Era Keeping the Peace 1976-1986 Marine Corps History Post Vietnam Era Keeping the Peace 1976-1986

Post Vietnam Statistics: Total Strength: 192,000 Enlisted 174,000 Officers 18,000 High School Grads: below 50% Drug Use: Not Tested Criminal Records: Not Checked Morale: Low Desertions: High Violent Crime: High

1976 Jul: Marines Evacuate American citizens from Beirut, Lebanon Sep: Marines begin wearing the camouflage utility uniform Nov: First annual Marine Corps Marathon held in Washington, DC

1977 May: TBS graduates first male/female class Jun: the billett “Director of Women Marines” is eliminated from the Corps (males and females are no longer considered separate parts of the Marine Corps) Nov: Unit Deployment Program (UDP) replaces unaccompanied tours of duty to the Far East (maintain unit cohesion, enhance combat readiness)

1978 May: Margaret A. Brewer becomes the first female Brigadier General in the corps Aug: CAX (combined arms exercise) becomes a part of Marine’s training for decades to come (Air/Ground Live Fire Training) Oct: Commandant becomes a full member of the JCS (Joint Chiefs of Staff)

1979 Feb: US Embassy (Iran) attacked and Marines abducted (held captive for one week) Jun: US Embassy (Nicaragua) Marines help evacuate 1400 as Sandinista forces overthrow Somoza dictatorship Oct: US Embassy (El Salvador) attacked Nov: US Embassy (Iran) overrun and 65 Americans taken hostage Nov: US Embassy (Pakistan) attacked and burned Dec: Marine Corps establishes the Maritime Pre-positioning Force (MPF)

1980 Mar: Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF) established Apr: Operation “Desert One” fails to rescue hostages (Iran) Total Strength: 188,000 Enlisted 170,000 Officers 18,000 High School Grads: 80% Drug Use: Not Tested Criminal Records: Checked before allowed into Corps

1981 Jan: 52 American hostages freed after 444 days in captivity (Iran) Advances: CH53E Super Stallion (double the lift and in-flight refueling) AV8 Harriers (aboard ship with helicopters) M198 155mm Howitzer Urinalysis testing, The War On Drugs Begins

1982 Jun: Marines evacuate 580 U.S. citizens (Lebanon) Sep: Marines take up positions at Beirut International Airport (responding to a massacre of innocent Palestinian refugees) Oct: High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) replaced the Jeep & Meal Ready to Eat (MRE) replaced C rations Dec: RDJTF replaced with Central Command (CENTCOM) (Middle East, South West Asia, & Indian Ocean)

1983 Jan: F/A-18 Hornet replaces F-4 & A-4 Feb: Kevlar replaces steel helmet Apr: U.S. Embassy bombed killing 61 (Lebanon) Aug: Beirut Airport Marines under attack Sep: Cease Fire in effect but sniper fire continues Oct: Grenada 22MAU invades to stop a Communist coup Oct: Beirut Truck bomb destroys BLT 1/8 building (241 dead) Dec: U.S. Embassy bombed (Kuwait)

1984 Feb: Beirut U.S. civilians evacuated & May: LCAC Marines withdraw May: LCAC Landing Craft Air Cushion in service Sep: U.S. Embassy Annex Building bombed killing 23 (Beirut, Lebanon)

1985 Jan: 9mm Beretta replaces the .45 caliber pistol Jun: Special Operations Capable (SOC) mandatory for deploying units Jun: Communist Guerrillas kill four off-duty Marine Embassy Guards (El Salvador)

1986 Mar: Libyan missile boats sunk during training exercise (Gulf of Sidra) Mar: Libyan Terrorist bomb night club frequented by US Citizens (Germany) Apr: U.S. bombs Libyan targets Sep: Officers removed from SNCO Academies

Acronyms: MAGTF CE SE GCE ACE MEU MEB MEF MAU MAB MAF TBS UDP CAX MPF RDJTF MRE HMMWV CENTCOM SOC SNCO JCS NEO TRAP SAR

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