Battalion was in the national news for leading Operation Green Trident, which discovered over ten metric tons of insurgent munitions, hidden in caches throughout a large area south of Fallujah in the Euphrates River Valley. Marines of 1st Recon told military reporters that about 90 percent of their time in Operation Iraqi Freedom was spent in mounted patrols, using their Humvees. Afghanistan The 1st Recon were also deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2010 where they produced 300+ enemy KIA, did not lose a single man in their seven-month deployment and was regarded as "The deadliest battalion in Afghanistan right now" by Lt. Gen James Mattis. The unit conducted a battalion-sized helicopter insert into the area of Trek Nawa, operating for 32 days straight, away from friendly lines, during that period there was contact with Taliban forces for 28 of those days using tactics and offensive action that stunned the local enemy forces. Following the missions in Trek Nawa and surrounding areas, the battalion deployed two companies to the Upper Sangin River Valley. In February 2012, there was controversy when a September 2010 photograph was published showing members of Charlie Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, posing in front of a flag with a logo resembling that of the German Schutzstaffel while serving in Afghanistan. The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force inspector general found that there was no anti semitic intent on the part of the Marines to identify themselves with the organization as the symbol was in fact representative of the U.S. Marine Corps' scout sniper military occupational specialty. Notable Marines Medal of Honor recipients SSgt Jimmie E. Howard, Vietnam War, 16 June 1966. PFC Ralph H. Johnson, Vietnam War, 5 March 1968 (posthumously) Navy Cross recipients Cpl Ricardo C. Binns, Vietnam War, 16 June 1966 Capt Brent L. Morel, Global War on Terror, Operation Iraqi Freedom, 7 April 2004 (posthumously) GySgt Brian M. Blonder, Global War on Terror, Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan, 8 August 2008 Other Notable Marines Col Wheeler L. Baker, commander from 1983 to 1985 MSgt Brad Colbert, served during the Iraq War. Capt Nathaniel Fick, served during the Iraq War. See also Generation Kill (TV series) List of United States Marine Corps battalions Organization of the United States Marine Corps References Further reading Redding, Daniel J. [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2005/05/mil-050512-usmc04.htm 1st Recon Battalion retraces techniques before returning to Iraq"],Marine Corps News, April 22, 2005. Redding, Daniel J. "All about amphib", Marine