December21, 2006: The U.S. Marine Corps is disbanding some unneeded units (headquarters, anti-aircraft, artillery, and an anti-terrorism battalion) and activating the rest of the 9th Marine Regiment. The 9th Marines were deactivated in the early 1990s, but the 1st Battalion of the 9th was activated last year, and over the next two years, the other two battalions of the 9th will be activated. The marines are also reactivating a combat engineer battalion and some armored reconnaissance companies. The marines need the infantry and engineers in Iraq and Afghanistan, while the deactivated units have not been needed as much.