1st CAG was activated 6 June 1985, originally as 3d CAG, at
Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center, Los Angeles. Between 1987 and 1988, the group recruited and trained Marines to fulfill its mission of providing civil affairs support to active forces in training exercises in the United States and overseas.
As the 3rd CAG During mid-August 1990, a provisional CA detachment deployed to
Saudi Arabia to support I MEF in
Southwest Asia for
Operation Desert Shield. CA teams worked with I MEF personnel to reduce the chemical threat posed by the extensive chemical storage facilities at the commercial port of
Al Jubail. CA Marines assisted in formalizing relations with Saudi civil defense and police forces to coordinate civil and military traffic patterns. In late December the majority of 3rd CAG Marines returned to the United States. The entire 3rd CAG was activated and deployed to Saudi Arabia in January 1991 for
Operation Desert Storm. In April 1991, 3rd CAG returned home from deployment and was released from active duty. In addition to conducting civil affairs activities, 3rd CAG provided limited tactical
psychological operations support for mission accomplishment. 3rd CAG also relocated from
Los Angeles to
Camp Pendleton,
California. The unit began providing
liaison officers to I MEF,
1st Marine Division,
1st Marine Logistics Group,
Marine Expeditionary Units, and the I MEF MAGTF Pacific, increasing 3rd CAG's accessibility and support to fleet units. In the summer of 1994, 3rd CAG proposed a revised table of organization to
Headquarters Marine Corps that added a psychological operations planning detachment. 3rd CAG responded to potential hostilities in Iraq in October 1994 by deploying two Marines to Saudi Arabia.. As a reserve unit, 3rd CAG developed programs to better support active duty units to include training and deployments with the
11th MEU,
13th MEU,
15th MEU, and
31st MEU. 3rd CAG assumed the mission of military support to civilian authorities, as a liaison for I MEF. From November 1995 through February 1996, 3rd CAG operated a displaced civilian refugee camp in
Guam for Kurdish refugees during
Operation Pacific Haven. The unit supported
Operation Joint Guard in
Bosnia from June 1997 to January 1999. In the late 1990s, 3rd CAG Marines and
Sailors supported the active components of all branches of the U.S. military during exercises and operations in
Thailand,
Korea,
Kenya,
Central America,
South America,
the Caribbean,
Japan, and the
United States. In 2001, 3rd CAG supported
civic action programs for
United States Southern Command in Central and South America, relying heavily upon the bilingual capabilities of its many Spanish-speaking Marines. 3rd CAG also provided staff planning support to I MEF and its forward operating units engaged in
Operation Enduring Freedom, as well as to III MEF in support of exercises in Thailand and Korea. In November 2001, 3rd CAG activated and deployed a detachment of ten Marines to Kosovo to support
United Nations peacekeeping operations. In May 2002, a second detachment of ten Marines was deployed to Kosovo. From 2001 to 2003, 3rd CAG also deployed Marines to Kuwait as part of Combined Joint Task Force – Consequence Management (C/JTF-CM), to serve as the primary liaisons between the Task Force and the Kuwaiti national government during Operations Enduring Freedom and then Iraqi Freedom.
Iraq War In January 2003, 3rd CAG mobilized for Operation Enduring Freedom and deployed to
Kuwait in anticipation of combat operations in
Iraq. With the commencement of the ground war in March 2003, 3rd CAG helped restore Iraq's infrastructure and government, concluding its first tour of
Operation Iraqi Freedom in September 2003. In January 2004, 3rd CAG mobilized and deployed for a second tour in Iraq to support I MEF in
al-Anbar province and returned to Camp Pendleton in August. A detachment from 3rd CAG mobilized and deployed to Iraq from January to October 2005 as part of provisional 5th CAG in support of II MEF in al-Anbar. Major Ricardo A. Crocker died on 26 May 2005, from a rocket propelled grenade explosion while conducting combat operations in Hadithah, Iraq. In December 2005, 3rd CAG mobilized and deployed in March 2006 for a third tour in Iraq to support I MEF in al-Anbar and returned to Camp Pendleton in October 2006.
Afghanistan War In 2008, a detachment from 3rd CAG deployed to Afghanistan in support of the Marines in
Farah Province and
Helmand Province. In 2010, another detachment deployed to
Helmand Province in support of II MEF Forward.
1st CAG In 2012, 3d CAG was designated as 1st CAG, to recognize its geographical location complemented by its historical association and relationship with I MEF. ==Unit awards==