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DOD Maintains Watch Despite Pandemic

An F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 265 (Reinforced) prepares to launch from the flight deck of amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) while the ship sails alongside Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer JS Akebono (DD 108). America, flagship of the America Expeditionary Strike Group, 31st MEU team, is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

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31st MEU Hones Naval Integration Operations during Mission Rehearsals from Guam to Okinawa

Marines with Combat Logistics Battalion 31, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), attach fuel lines to assault amphibious vehicles during a forward arming and refueling point (FARP) exercise. The exercise served as a proof of concept for using AAVs to transport refueling equipment from San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Green Bay (LPD 20) in order to independently support a FARP when conducting split operations. The America Expeditionary Strike Group, 31st MEU team, is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

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Relief and Appointment: 31st MEU Welcomes New Sgt. Maj. In wake of Cobra Gold Success

Marines stand at parade rest during the relief and appointment ceremony of Sgt. Maj. Edwin Mota, offgoing 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) sergeant major, and Sgt. Maj. Douglas Gerhardt, oncoming 31st MEU sergeant major, aboard amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6). America, flagship of the America Expeditionary Strike Group, 31st MEU team, is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region

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31st MEU F-35 Flies Over Thailand for First Time Ever

F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 265 (Reinforced) land on the flight deck of amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) in support of Exercise Cobra Gold 2020, Feb. 29, 2020. America Expeditionary Strike Group-31st Marine Expeditionary Unit is participating in Cobra Gold 20, the largest theater security cooperation exercise in the Indo-Pacific Region and an integral part of the U.S. commitment to strengthen engagement in the region.

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Cobra Gold 20: Marine Air Support Squadron-2 Augments 31st MEU for First Time

U.S. Marine Sgt. Colby Berger briefs his Marines prior to setting up a direct air support center as part of Exercise Cobra Gold 2020 at Camp Phra Maha Jetsadaratchao, Chon Buri, Kingdom of Thailand, Feb. 26, 2020. Berger, a native of Victoria, Texas, is an engineering electric equipment systems technician with Marine Air Support Squadron 2, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. Exercise Cobra Gold 20 is the largest theater security cooperation exercise in the Indo-Pacific region and is an integral part of the U.S. commitment to strengthen engagement in the region.

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Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade Embarks for the First Time with America ESG, 31st MEU

Marines with Charlie Company, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion 5th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, and Japanese Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade service members hold security during a simulated bilateral small-boat raid on Kin Blue, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 9, 2020. Marines and the ARDB conducted a bilateral small-boat raid leading into a High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System insert and simulated shot. The America Expeditionary Strike Group, 31st MEU team, is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

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Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade Embarks for the First Time with America ESG, 31st MEU

Marines with Charlie Company, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion 5th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, and Japanese Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade service members maneuver toward the objective during a simulated bilateral small-boat raid on Kin Blue, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 9, 2020. Marines and the ARDB conducted a bilateral small-boat raid leading into a High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System insert and simulated shot. The America Expeditionary Strike Group, 31st MEU team, is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

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U.S. Marines, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force begin Exercise Forest Light Western Army

Col. Robert Brodie, left, commanding officer of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, stands with Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Col. Kouki Watanabe, commanding officer of the JGSDF 12th Infantry Regiment after the opening ceremony for Exercise Forest Light Western Army at Camp Oyanohara, Kyushu, Japan, Jan. 18, 2020. The exercise will consist of field training events including basic infantry skills, vertical assaults integrated with MV-22B Osprey flight operations, and combined–arms, and enhances the collective defense capabilities of the U.S.-Japanese alliance. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region.

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31st Marine Expeditionary Unit Maritime Raid Force begins Training Exercise in Hawaii

Marines and Sailors with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Maritime Raid Force secure a simulated casualty during Visit, Board, Search and Seizure training in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Jan. 10, 2020. During VBSS training, the Marines hone their ship boarding and seizure capabilities to better perform maritime interdiction operations. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region.

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MARFORPAC Initiates Simulated Crisis Action Drill: 31st MEU Rapidly Responds

Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear Marines with Marine Aircraft Group 36 conduct a decontamination during a “no-notice” embassy reinforcement and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear response drill on Camp Futenma, Okinawa, Japan, Oct. 31, 2019. The exercise demonstrated the MEU’s ability to conduct planning, insertion, execution, and retrograde at distances of up to 600 miles within 72 hours. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region.

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31st MEU Completes MAGTF-level Sequential Islands-seizure Rehearsal from Amphibious Shipping

Marines with Echo Company, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, prepare to set perimeter security during a simulated airfield seizure after a long-range raid from the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) at Ie Shima Training Facility, Okinawa, Japan, Aug. 12, 2019. The 31st MEU and Amphibious Squadron 11, aboard Wasp Amphibious Ready Group ships, conducted a series of sequential operations which simulated naval expeditionary combined-arms maneuver from amphibious assets to shore, utilizing Marine Air-Ground Task Force capabilities integrated across all warfighting domains. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Kenny Nunez Bigay)

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U.S. Marines Complete Simulated Sequential Expeditionary Operations at Ie Shima Training Facility

Marines with Echo Company, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, post security as an MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft lands during a simulated airfield seizure after a long-range raid from the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) at Ie Shima Training Facility, Okinawa, Japan, Aug. 12, 2019. The 31st MEU and Amphibious Squadron 11, aboard Wasp Amphibious Ready Group ships, conducted a series of sequential operations which simulated naval expeditionary combined-arms maneuver from amphibious assets to shore, utilizing Marine Air-Ground Task Force capabilities integrated across all warfighting domains.

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Marine F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft complete GAU-22 cannon, ordnance hot reload exercise in Indo-Pacific Region

An F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265 (Reinforced), 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, lands after dropping a Joint Direct Attack Munition and a laser guided bomb during an aerial gunnery and ordnance hot-reloading exercise aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1), Solomon Sea, August 4, 2019. Wasp, flagship of the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, with embarked 31st MEU, is operating in the Indo-Pacific region to enhance interoperability with partners and serve as ready-response force for any type of contingency, while simultaneously providing a flexible and lethal crisis response force ready to perform a wide range of military operations.

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Wasp Amphibious Ready Group ends Talisman Sabre with Australia Port Visits

The amphibious transport dock ship USS Green Bay (LPD 20) arrives in Cairns, Australia for a scheduled port visit. Green Bay, part of the Wasp Expeditionary Strike Group, with embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, participated in Talisman Sabre 2019 off the coast of Northern Australia. A bilateral, biennial event, Talisman Sabre is designed to improve U.S. and Australian combat training, readiness and interoperability through realistic, relevant training necessary to maintain regional security, peace and stability.

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Get to the Chopper: Air Assault Company

Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, is comprised of various units, task organized to accomplish the different missions the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit is expected to be prepared for. One of the most versatile and dynamic capabilities that 2/1 offers would be the ability to vertically envelop the enemy and conduct offensive operations to seize, occupy and defend an objective. This is the job of Echo Company, tasked as BLT 2/1, 31st MEU’s Air Assault Company, currently deployed aboard the USS Wasp (LHD 1), as they take part in Talisman Sabre 2019, a biennial exercise between the U.S. and Australia.

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U.S. Marines Complete Simulated Combined Amphibious Assault, Reconnaissance Raid in Bowen, Australia

U.S. Marines conduct a simulated amphibious assault of exercise Talisman Sabre 19 in Bowen, Australia, July 22, 2019. Talisman Sabre provides an opportunity to conduct operations in a combined, joint and interagency environment that will increase participating countries' abilities to plan and execute contingency responses, from combat missions to humanitarian assistance efforts.

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Law Enforcement Detachment Provides Versatility, Realistic Training to 31st MEU

Sgt. Arielle Lahtinen, noncommissioned officer in charge with the 31st MEU's Law Enforcement detachment, tases a Marine with a Conducted Energy Weapon, or TASER, during a non-lethal weapons course aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1), underway in the Coral Sea, June 30, 2019.

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Exercise Talisman Sabre 2019: Demonstrates High Mobility Artillery Rocket System in Australia

A live-fire demonstration was performed during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2019 (TS19), July 8, 2019. TS19 is a bilateral combined Australian and United States training. The exercise is designed to practice respective military services with associated agencies, through planning and conducting combined and joint task force operations.

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Can You Hear Me Now? 31st MEU Comm. Marines Connect Marines, Enable Crisis-response Force

1st Lt. Dakota Deter, a communications officer with S-6, Command Element, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, smiles in front of a satellite terminal on Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, April 18, 2019. Deter, a native of Vandalia, Michigan, graduated from Indiana University in December 2014 with a degree in finance, international business, and supply chain management before commissioning in August 2015. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region.

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Rounds, Rations, and Wrenches; Behind the Scenes with S-4 Logistics

Sgt. Brandon A. Doelle, an embark non-commissioned officer with the Command Element of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, establishes a load plan at the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s command post, Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, April 17, 2019. Doelle is responsible for creating the load plans for each naval vessel the 31st MEU embarks on. A native of Orlando, Fla., Doelle graduated Seminole High School in May 2012 before enlisting in March 2015. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region

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