1/3 was on the Unit Deployment Program (UDP) to Okinawa, Japan during the Al Qaeda terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Due to their proximity to Afghanistan, the battalion's Company A was one of the first infantry units to deploy to U.S. Central Command, of which Afghanistan is a part, after the September 11 attacks. The company was attached to the Fifth Fleet, based out of NSA Bahrain and subsequently deployed in direct support of Combined Task Force 53 (CTF 53) for the initial phase of Operation Enduring Freedom.