OKINAWA, Japan –
Amphibious Combat Vehicles with 4th Marine Regiment, 3d Marine Division, completed the first open-water amphibious movement in the Kushi Crossing, Dec. 10, 2024.
ACVs are the Marine Corps’ newest amphibious vehicle platform and were first fielded in Fleet Marine Force units on Camp Pendleton, California, November 2022. The ACV was developed for the Marine Corps to replace the Assault Amphibious Vehicle, having began its long period of service in 1972. The ACV underwent close to nearly two years of trials and tests before the platform would make its debut overseas in Okinawa with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit June 24 of this year.
Less than a week later on June 29 III Marine Expeditionary Force units received ACVs of their own when the first vehicles participating in the Unit Deployment Program arrived in Okinawa as part of 4th Marine Regiment, 3d Marine Division. UDP units stationed in the continental United States rotate to Okinawa for six-month deployments to maintain experience operating in the Indo-Pacific region while providing assurance to allies and partners as well as deterring potential adversaries from conflict. Now as the second ACV platoon is participating in the UDP to 4th Marines, they are breaking new ground for amphibious operations on the island.
“Since the ACV has been fielded here in July, these training areas have not yet been transited by ACVs or validated,” said 1st. Lt. Jacob Yehl, the 4th Marines ACV platoon commander. “Our mission here today, and on this rotation, is to make sure all of those training areas and BLS’s (Beach Landing Sites) are trafficable and supportable for ACV operations in the future.”
Marines and their ACVs spent three days at the beach to validate amphibious operations with the new platform during low tide, high tide, and low-light conditions.
“Kushi Crossing is the only landing site in Okinawa that allows entry into the Central Training Area of Okinawa,” said Yehl. Validation that ACVs can operate in the Kushi Crossing ensures they can integrate seamlessly with other training units in Okinawa. The ACV platoon’s central mission, stated by Yehl, is “to provide ship-to-shore lift for the infantry and reinforcement of their assault to inland objectives.”
After a long period of operating the outdated AAV, experienced Marines are able to bring their tactical knowledge to bear in mastering the new vehicle. Staff Sergeant Juwan White, one of the unit’s section leaders, said “I remember eight years ago I was driving an AAV from Recon Beach, Camp Schwab here to Kushi, regularly. Now here I am today doing the same thing with an ACV for the very first time for the next generations of Marines to do.”
ACVs with 4th Marines will also be attached to the 31st MEU based on Camp Hansen, Okinawa to provide another capable ship-to-shore connector for the Marine Corps’ most rapid response force in the region.
In the Indo-Pacific, ACVs deliver commanders the ability to deploy a landing force to respond to crisis or conflict. When asked about the significance of the training’s completion, White said “The primary message of the training we conducted is that we’ve proven and shown that ACVs belong here in Okinawa for III MEF to have at their disposal.”