4th Civil Affairs Group

Organization

4th CAG is commanded by a Colonel and the unit has 38 Marine officers, 85 Marine enlisted, 4 Navy officers and 1 Navy enlisted.{{cite report |access-date=2007-11-01

History

On November 1, 1955, 4th CAG was activated originally as 5th Staff Group at Henderson Hall, Arlington, Virginia. The first commanding officer was Colonel Winslow H. Randolph Jr. In 1973, the unit had a table of organization of 30 officers and 50 enlisted and was commanded by Colonel J. Z. Taylor. In the late 1970s, 4th CAG supported several iterations of Operation Solid Shield with NATO. In 1979, 4th CAG was relocated to Naval Support Facility Anacostia. The entire unit was activated for the first time in December 1990 and deployed for Operation Desert Storm in 1991. During Operation Desert Storm, 4th CAG was assigned to 2nd Marine Division and helped process over 10,000 Iraqi POWs. Immediately upon return from the Middle East, a detachment from 4th CAG deployed to Northern Iraq in support of Operation Provide Comfort to provide humanitarian aid to Kurdish refugees. 4th CAG sent numerous detachments to the Balkans in mid-1990s until 2003. 4th CAG participated in numerous New Horizons missions in Central/South America and the Caribbean Islands. 4th CAG deployed to Iraq three times for the Iraq War: (1) February to September 2003, (2) August 2004 to March 2005 and (3) September 2006 to April 2007. 4th CAG sent a detachment to support Joint Task Force Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana, from September to October 2005. 4th Civil Affairs Group also sent detachments to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom in May 2009, November 2009, and August 2011 and participated in Operation Strike of the Sword.

On December 15, 2013, 4th CAG was reactivated and relocated to Hialeah, Florida, as part of the Force Structure Review. Colonel Augustin Bolanio was assigned as the Group Commander and Sergeant Major Mark T. Davis was posted as the Group Sergeant Major. 4th CAG's primary mission is to provide civil affairs support to the U.S. Southern Command.

Unit awards

• [[File:Ribbon, U.S. Navy Presidential Unit Citation.svg|60px]] Presidential Unit Citation
  • March 21, 2003, to April 24, 2003 (with I MEF)
  • May 29, 2009, to April 12, 2010 (with 2d MEB)
• [[File:Navy Unit Commendation ribbon.svg|60px]] Navy Unit Commendation
  • January 1997 to November 2001
  • August 2, 2004, to February 1, 2005 (with I MEF)
  • September 2006 to March 2007 (with I & II MEF)
• [[File:Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation ribbon.svg|60px]] Meritorious Unit Commendation
  • August 1, 1990, to June 30, 1991 (with 4th MarDiv)
• [[File:Commandant of the Marine Corps Certificate of Commendation 001.jpg|60px]] Commandant of the Marine Corps Certificate of Commendation
  • December 1978 to December 1980

Notable members

• Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Senator from Connecticut
• Paul W. Brier, retired Major General; C.O., 6th Civil Affairs Group; C.G., 4th Marine Division
• Rich Brenner, sportscaster
• Bill Cahir, ran for United States Congress; journalist; subsequently killed in action while serving with the CAG in Afghanistan
• Micah Caskey, South Carolina State Representative for the 89th District; former prosecutor
• C. Boyden Gray, diplomat; former White House Counsel; former U.S. Ambassador to the European Union
• Paul Hackett, ran for United States Congress
• Charles Lollar, ran for Governor of Maryland
• Raj Mukherji, New Jersey Senator for the 32nd District; former Majority Whip of the NJ State Assembly; former prosecutor
• Mackubin Thomas Owens, writer; senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute
• Helen Pratt, retired Major General
• Arnold L. Punaro, retired Major General
• Van Taylor, former U.S. Congressman from Texas
• Frank Ryan, former Pennsylvania State Representative for the 101st District
• Robert J. Zangas, first Coalition Provisional Authority civilian killed in action

Notes

References

• 4th CAG briefed this slideshow presentation at the Civil Affairs Association Winter Board Meeting on February 4, 2006, and it contained a good summary of the organization and its missions. It also contained a synopsis of 4th CAG support to OIF and the future direction of the unit.

References

1. "Unit Profile- 4th Civil Affairs Group: Anacostia Naval Station, Washington, D.C.", ''Continental Marines'' (Fall 2011), page 28.
2. "'Brainy' Marine reservists man one of a kind Civil Affairs unit", ''[[Star-News. Wilmington Morning Star]]'', Marine Edition, volume 106, number 158 (Wilmington, North Carolina, 21 April 1973).
3. Bartlett, Tom. "Strength In Reserve", ''[[Leatherneck Magazine]]'', volume 62, number 5 ([[Marine Corps Association]], May 1979), pages 47-48.
4. 4th CAG activated several Marines for the first time in the unit's history to support [[United States invasion of Panama
5. Colonel Charles J. Quilter II. ''U.S. Marines in the Persian Gulf, 1990–1991: With the I Marine Expeditionary Force in Desert Shield and Desert Storm'' (Washington, DC: Marine Corps History and Museums Division, 1993), p. 65.
6. Kaheny, John M. "After the Storm" - "Marine Corps Civil Affairs During Desert Shield/Desert Storm", ''The Officer'', volume 77, number 4 ([[Reserve Officers Association]], May 2001), pages 19-20.
7. Brown, Ronald J. ''Humanitarian Operations in Northern Iraq, 1991: With Marines in Operation Provide Comfort'' (Washington, DC: Marine Corps History and Museums Division, 1995), page 3.
8. Wilkerson, Thomas L. "One Corps-Standard A Proven Total Force Concept", ''The Officer'', volume 74, number 1 (Reserve Officers Association, January/February 1998), page 63.
9. Lowrey, Nathan. "[[Peacekeeping]] Operations in [[Kosovo]]: The [[26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. 26th MEU]] During [[Kosovo Force. Operation Joint Guardian]]", ''[[Marine Corps Gazette]]'', volume 83, number 12 (Marine Corps Association, December 1999), page 59.
10. "4th Civil Affairs Group, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Presented ''Presidential Unit Citation''" (September 2012). ''Scroll & Sword'' (The Journal and Newsletter of the Civil Affairs Association), Columbia, Maryland, volume 62, issue 1, page 11.
11. Wood, David. [http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/05/18/vietnam-vet-richard-blumenthal-many-apologies-are-in-order/ "'Vietnam Vet' Richard Blumenthal: Many Apologies Are in Order"] {{Webarchive. link. (2015-09-13 , ''[[Politics Daily]]'', 18 May 2010. Retrieved on 02 January 2013.)
12. O'Leary, Jeremiah. "High Desert", ''Leatherneck Magazine'', volume 54, number 26 (Marine Corps Association, January 1971), pages 27-28. Article says Clayland Boyden Gray served in 4th CAG as a Sergeant.