on 17 January and integrated into A and B Companies, C Co was attached to the MEF Headquarters. On 17 March 2003 at 2345Z the order to move to the dispersal area was received. At 0600Z the battalion began the road march in its standard order; Alpha, Tactical COC, Bravo, Main COC, Combat Train, and the Field Train. On 19 March 2003 at 0300Z the battalion was ordered to assume MOPP Level 1 due to heightening tensions in the area. 20 March 2003 Saddam Hussein launched his own assault, with a truck bomb exploding at Camp Commando, and missiles fired at Camps Commando, Virginia, New York, and in the vicinity of Highway 80. At 0300Z on the 21st, Alpha Company led the Battalion through the breach; the Battalion conducted a "Zone Reconnaissance" along Route Tampa and conducted link ups with the Army's TF 3-69 and TF Tarawa and the assault on An Nasiriyah. After traveling north all day, and battling numerous small enemy detachments the Battalion established a defensive position straddling Highway 7 well north of An Nasiriyah. Almost immediately the Battalion was attacked with both direct and indirect fire weapons systems in a battle that would later be called "The Battle of the Coil". This battle and the subsequent "Running Gun-fights" through numerous towns would result in the Battalion's renaming as "Destroyers". On 1 April, reports surfaced that a large number of enemy vehicles, including armor moved into Al Hayy airfield; B Co led the RCT's assault on the airfield. Supported with Cobra's the Regiment attached through Al Hayy which resulted in the destruction of large numbers of enemy vehicles, bunkers, and weapons caches. After the Battalion fixed the enemy in the vicinity of Al Kut, the Battalion conducted a 250 kilometer road march, bypassing Al Kut. The battalion repositioned itself in the vicinity of An Nu’meniyah. Following the road march, the Battalion re-designated under TF Tripoli; which consisted of 3 LAR Bns, 5th Bn 11th MarReg, Company G/2/23, and an Engineer Company. The Destroyer's conducted operations IVO Tikrit until 20 April, following Easter TF Tripoli conducted relief in place with 4th Infantry Div. and the Battalion was ordered to displace back to Tactical Assembly Area (TAA) Paige. 9 through 13 May the battalion moved back to Camp Matilda, Kuwait and began preparing to return home, with the last Marines arriving on 28 June. D Company Deployed in support