Information about the U.S. Marine Corps' Special Operations
Capable Expeditionary Units
MEUSOC - Marine Expeditionary Unit Special Operations
Capable
The Tip of the Spear
The Marine Expeditionary Unit is a Marine Air Ground Task
Force. With a strength of about 2,200 personnel, the MEU
consists of a command element, a reinforced infantry
battalion, a composite helicopter squadron and a MEU
service support group.
The mission of the MEU is to provide geographic combatant
commanders with a forward-deployed, rapid-response force
capable of conducting conventional amphibious and selected
maritime special operations at night or under adverse
weather conditions from the sea, by surface and/or by air
while under communications and electronics restrictions.
Commanded by a colonel, the MEU is employed to fulfill
routine forward deployments with U.S. Naval Fleets in the
Mediterranean, the Western Pacific and periodically, the
Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The MEU is deployed on three
or four Naval amphibious ships and can operate in
virtually any environment. Deployments typically last six
months, though some are extended due to operational needs.
The MEU is unique in that its aviation and ground combat
elements are combined with combat service support under
one commander. The air ground task force concept is
designed to thoroughly exploit the combat power inherent
in air and ground assets by closely integrating them into
a single force. The MEU brings all supplies it needs to
sustain itself for quick mission accomplishment or to pave
way for follow-on forces.
Some,
but not all, of the missions the MEU can undertake while
deployed are:
Peacekeeping/Enforcement
Humanitarian/Disaster Relief
Security Operations
Noncombatant Evacuation Operations (NEO)
Reinforcement Operations
Amphibious Raids/Assaults/Demonstrations
Tactical Deception Operations
Tactical Recovery of Airplane/Air Personnel (TRAP)
Airfield/Port Seizures
Show-of-Force Operations
Reconnaissance and Surveillance
Seizure/Recovery of Offshore Energy Facilities
Visit, Board, Search and Seizure of Vessels
Inside a MEUSOC
The
owner of MilitarySpot.com served two tours in MEUSOCs on WestPac cruises in the late 1980s. During these
tours he spent a year and two months on several ships,
including the LHA Tarawa and LHA Peleliu, while traveling
to foreign lands such as the Philippines, Thailand, Japan,
Hong Kong, and South Korea. The next few pages contain
images from these tours with the purpose of giving readers
an inside look at a MEUSOC deployed to the Western Pacific
in the late 1980s. If you have a unique military
experience that you would like to share with readers of
MilitarySpot.com
please contact us.
MEUSOC
