15th MEU Marine Air-Ground Task Force forms at Camp Pendleton

Photo By Sgt. Sydney Smith | U.S. Marines assigned to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit stand in formation during the 15th MEU composite ceremony at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, June 14, 2023. The ceremony served the official start of the MEU’s training cycle, during which the 15th MEU command element gained the subordinate elements of Battalion Landing Team 1/5, Combat Logistics Battalion 15, and Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 165, forming a Marine Air-Ground Task Force. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Sydney Smith)  

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, CA, UNITED STATES

06.14.2023

Story by Gunnery Sgt. Donald Holbert 

15th Marine Expeditionary Unit

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit formed as Marine Air-Ground Task Force during a formal ceremony June 14 at Camp Pendleton.

The 15th MEU Command Element gained subordinate elements of: Battalion Landing Team 1/5, serving at the Ground Combat Element; Combat Logistics Battalion 15, serving as the Logistics Combat Element; and Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 165 (Reinforced), serving as the Aviation Combat Element.

The ACE, VMM-165, is reinforced with Marines, Sailors, and aircraft including MV-22B Ospreys, CH-53E Super Stallions, UH-1Y Venoms, and AH-1Z Vipers, as well as various logistics, maintenance, and support detachments.

Later, the 15th MEU will also receive a detachment from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 225, which will provide the MEU F-35B Lightning II aircraft.

Known as America’s Vanguard Force, the 15th MEU is one of seven standing Marine expeditionary units, which serve as America’s only consistently deployed forcible entry capability.

“This MAGTF is the most flexible, versatile, and lethal tool of United States military power,” said Col. Sean Dynan, the 15th MEU commanding officer. “Our mission is to operate forward as a MAGTF afloat to enhance cooperation with allies and partners and, when necessary, respond in crisis as the forward edge of the joint force.”

Formations of Marines and Sailors representing each of the MEU major subordinate elements stood before static displays of Marine Corps vehicles and equipment.

The composite ceremony is the official mark of the MEU’s training cycle. The training cycle will progress from Marine Corps mission-specific training, and progress to full Navy/Marine Corps joint training evolutions alongside Amphibious Squadron 5. For its sea-based training, the 15th MEU will be embarked aboard the ships of the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group.

As a sea-based MAGTF, the 15th MEU’s missions and unique capabilities put it at the forefront of advancing future concepts in-line with Force Design 2030. The MEU will test, develop, and validate future employment options to find new ways of operating in actively contested maritime spaces – such as projecting small, mobile teams to operate from expeditionary advance bases using multi-domain solutions to sense for active threats and close kill chains.

The 15th MEU was originally activated in 1987 as the 15th Marine Amphibious Unit, before it’s redesignation as the 15th MEU in 1988. The 15th MEU has participated in humanitarian operations and conflicts including Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Unified Response. The 15th MEU most recently deployed in 2020 to the 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th Fleet areas of operation, and participated in Operations Inherent Resolve and Octave Quartz.

“This agile MAGTF has a rich history of being able to adapt, overcome, and thrive as the advancing element of America’s crisis response and humanitarian assistance force,” said Sgt. Maj. John Schlaud, the sergeant major of the 15th MEU. “It is a special kind of person that volunteers to serve on the forward edge to deter conflict in such a dynamic time in our nation’s history, and it is this kind of focus that will ensure our nation’s prosperity.”

The 15th MEU provides a forward deployed, flexible force capable of conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations to support the requirements of geographic combatant commanders.

Personnel interested in media content from the 15th MEU should refer to the 15th MEU DVIDS page at https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/15meupa. Please refer all other media queries to the 15th MEU Communication Strategy and Operations office: 1st Lt. Robert Nanna at [e-mail] or [phone].

• Date Taken: 06.14.2023
• Date Posted: 06.14.2023 19:21
• Story ID: 447202
• Location: MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, CA, US