[1] When the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions were created in 1941, each had a Scout Company of seven officers and 132 NCOs and enlisted men divided into a headquarters unit and three platoons.

[1] In 1941, Lieutenant Colonel William "Wild Bill" Whaling (not to be confused with OSS Director William J. Donovan), the executive officer of 5th Marine Regiment visualized and perceived the use for specialized missions encompassing reconnaissance at the division-level, which would be conducted above the normal infantry battalion-level in scouting and patrolling.

He recommended to General Alexander Vandegrift the need of a special "Scout and Sniper unit" for the 1st Marine Division's operations on Guadalcanal.

Cape Gloucester was tasked for seizure by Major General William H. Rupertus, the landing force commander of the northern elements.

Forty-five days later of November 1943, Bradbeer accompanied Lieutenants Firm and Smith, and Ensign Gipe (a Navy hydrographer) and their small team and again landed from three PT boats on other proposed beaches.

US Navy Lieutenant Paul T. Rennell, the PT boat's captain, was able to break contact and evade the Japanese safely.

The III Amphibious Corps, led by Major General Geiger tasked MGen Rupertus's 1st Marine Division for the main assault landing on Peleliu.

Originally, the 1st Tank Battalion's scout company were part of the "floating reserve", but was ordered ashore on D-Day, September 15, 1944.

The recon company, commanded by 1st Lieutenant Robert J. Powell, Jr., traversed by motorized patrols to the eastern shore of Okinawa, reaching the base of Katchin Peninsula by 1300.

[10] Using these vehicles the Company dispatched motorized patrols on a deep reconnaissance to scout from Wonsan and Hungnam to Huksori, an enemy supply depot some forty miles distant.

[9] An element of the Company acted as a point for Tobin's B/1/5 push on August 13, 1950, travelling by jeep about a mile forward of the infantry force.

[9] Marines from the 1st Recon Company made seven raids into North Korea from the USS Horace A. Bass (APD-124),[7] one of which was conducted 12—16 August 1950, in which a combined force of sixteen Marines and twenty-five Navy Underwater Demolition Teams raided the Posung-Myon area destroying three tunnels and two railway bridges without losing one man.

By June 1966, the 1st Marine Division had plans to expand its assigned Tactical Area of Responsibility (TAOR) southward from Da Nang to Tam Kỳ, the capital of the Quảng Tín Province.

A helicopter was inbound within minutes and the team hastily scrambled aboard and were safely flown back to Chu Lai Base Area.

Staff Sergeant Jimmie E. Howard (a decorated Korean War veteran), called in numerous fire coordination support, from an ARVN artillery battery located at an Army Special Forces camp 7 km to the south.

The PAVN quickly adapted when they realized the barrage of artillery fire was more than mere coincidence; a battalion-size force was heading toward Nui Vu.

While the next few hours were quiet, by midnight, several of Howard's men spotted silhouettes as dozens of PAVN soldiers furtively climbed up the hill in the darkness.

While they were suffering from ammunition shortages, some recon Marines resorted to throwing rocks at the enemy, others managed to pick up captured AK-47 rifles.

By dawn, Company C of 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment (1/5) landed at the base of Nui Vu and reinforced recon Team 2.

Howard and the surviving Marines were immediately evacuated; however, Charlie Company of 1/5 continued to battle for control of Nui Vu.

On June 17, the day before the first assault was scheduled, General Walt advised Gen. Stiles that the ARVN units would be unavailable due to the Buddhist Uprising in Huế.

For eight days his recon teams covered four-hundred square kilometers of his area of operation (AO); sighting forty-six PAVN that were scattered throughout the dense, rugged double- and triple- canopy jungle terrain, roughly ranging of 200 soldiers at most.

The plan was to reopen FSB Dagger in the Quế Sơn mountains by emplacing a provisional composite battery of 105-mm and 155-mm howitzers from the 1st Battalion, 11th Marines (1/11).

Charlie company was moved to the Marine Corps 8 wheeled amphibious assault vehicle (AAV) unit, forming LAR (Light Armored Reconnaissance).

[16] In January 2006, the 1st Reconnaissance 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.

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.