being extended for the Troop Surge in early 2007. After returning home to Twentynine Palms in late May, 2007, the battalion again deployed in early 2008 to Al Anbar with dual missions of carrying out combat operations, training Iraqi security forces, and supervising the Iraqi peacekeeping effort. Their area of operations reached from Haditha to Hit, becoming the largest area any military unit had controlled in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The battalion also became the first U.S. military unit to reach 5 straight Iraq deployments and returned from their deployment in early September 2008. They are also one of only two Marine battalions with eight straight combat deployments, the other being 3/7. Global War on Terrorism - Afghanistan The battalion deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan from October 2009 to May 2010, April to October 2011 and from March to September 2013. In April of 2011, Lima and Kilo companies, along with supporting units, deployed to the dangerous Upper Gereshk Valley in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The Marines were ordered to keep Taliban forces pinned down in the 'green zone' around the Helmand River so that work on nearby Route 611 could continue uninterrupted. Over the next six months, five Marines were killed in action (Staff Sergeant Leon H. Lucas, Corporal Paul W. Zanowick, and Lance Corporals Mark R. Goyet, Jason D. Hill, and Christopher L. Camero) and many more wounded in the face of repeated enemy attacks on patrols. In October, with work completed on Route 611 and their mission accomplished, the battalion withdrew from the valley and returned to the United States. The battalion deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve from September 2018 to April 2019. Marine Unit Deployment Program The battalion deployed in 2017 from April to October to Darwin Australia under the Marine Corp's Unit Deployment Program as Marine Rotational Force - Darwin (MRF-D). Multinational training programs were executed with participants from Australia, Japan, France and elements from the United States Army and the United States Special Operations Command. During the deployment 3rd Battalion 4th Marines established itself as a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF). Supporting elements came from tilt wing and rotary wing helicopter squadrons, logistics units, and engineering elements. The mission of the MAGTF was to build cohesion with the Australian Defence Force and the United States Marine Corps. The most notable exercise was Talisman Sabre. 3/4 Medal of