When the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions were created in 1941, each had a Scout Company consisting of seven officers and 132 NCOs and enlisted men divided into a headquarters unit and three platoons. The unit was equipped with
M3 Scout Cars and a motorcycle platoon. In 1949, the formation of an Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion on the East Coast was approved and the battalion was officially activated on 1 December 1950 at a tent camp area at Lejeune. It was later moved to Stone Bay Camp. The battalion's first commanding officer was Major Regan Fuller. Upon formation, the new battalion perpetuated the history of the marine scout companies that had served in the Pacific during World War II.
World War II Tarawa, November 1943 In November 1943, the Marine recon units of
2nd Marine Division participated in the seizure and occupation of
Tarawa Atoll, the site of a strategically important airfield. Prior to
D-Day on November 10, no preliminary reconnaissance was performed except the submarine periscope photography taken by Capt. James Jones, of
VAC Amphib Recon Company aboard the . The first ashore at
Betio was a
Scout-Sniper Platoon of
2nd Marine Regiment led by 1st Lieutenant
William D. Hawkins. Hawkins was later killed during this action and was posthumously awarded the
Medal of Honor. Both Admiral
Richmond K. Turner and General
Holland M. Smith declared Saipan secured on July 9, 1944.
Cold War and Sergeant Paul Moose, a team leader in Bravo Company of the 2nd Recon at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, in 1989. • Elements participated in the
intervention in the Dominican Republic, April–June 1965. • Elements participated as part of the
multinational peacekeeping force in Lebanon, August 1982 – February 1984. • Elements participated in the
landing on Grenada-Carriacou, October–November 1983.
1990s • Elements participated in
Operation Desert Shield and
Desert Storm, Southwest Asia, December 1990 – April 1991. • Redesignated April 18, 1994, as Reconnaissance Company, Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Marine Division. • Reconnaissance Company and Force Reconnaissance Company, 2nd Marine Division, combined October 1, 1996, to form Reconnaissance Battalion (Provisional), 2nd Marine Division • Redesignated January 1, 1998, as 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion
Global war on terror • Participated in
Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq, March–May 2003. • Elements participated in
Operation Secure Tomorrow, Haiti, March–July 2004 • Participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq, October 2004 – April 2005 • Participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq, March–October 2006 • Participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq, October 2007 – May 2008 • Elements participated in Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan, February 2008 – October 2008 • Elements participated in Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan, May 2009 – December 2009 • Participated in Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan, November 2010 – June 2011 • Elements participated in Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan, May 2012 – December 2012 ==Unit awards==