U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Maura Hennigan, commanding general of 2nd Marine Logistics Group, led dozens of senior logistics leaders in touring the hub of service-managed, forward-positioned equipment April 15 at Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island, Florida.
The Florida visit was nested within a logistics enterprise conference hosted by Marine Corps Logistics Command in Albany, Georgia, focused on strengthening a shared understanding of mission, structure, capabilities and innovation efforts, while building relationships to enhance warfighter support.
Commanders, senior enlisted leaders and staff gathered to examine how logistics capabilities integrate across the enterprise in support of the Fleet Marine Force. At Blount Island, they saw how the Marine Corps maintains, distributes and prepositions equipment for operating forces worldwide.
The visit included a walkthrough of the USNS Sgt. William R. Button, a cargo ship operated by the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command, berthed along the facility’s 1,000-foot slipway, followed by an overview of the Improved Navy Lighterage System supporting ship-to-shore movement and littoral distribution.
“This is an incredible capability that the Marine Corps possesses,” Hennigan said. “Being able to walk the ground, see the equipment, see the ships and see how they do things here, it absolutely puts this all in perspective.”
The leaders observed a demonstration of the Marine Corps Platform Integration Center, a system developed by Blount Island Command that provides real-time visibility of equipment from ship to shore. Using digital tagging, sensors and integrated technologies, MCPIC tracks asset location, movement and arrival across each stage of distribution, improving the speed and precision of deployment.
Hennigan highlighted the role of the workforce supporting the mission, noting the continuity provided by service members, civilians and contractors working alongside one another.
“The continuity that the force is actually able to bring from a civilian perspective, from a contracting perspective,” she said, “all of that comes together, and you really get to realize that here in this facility.”
Spanning more than 1,200 acres along the St. Johns River with access to the Atlantic Ocean, Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island includes port operations and maintenance facilities.
Blount Island Command delivers resilient logistics across multimodal distribution networks, linking ships, ports, infrastructure and data. It enables the arrival, assembly and distribution of ready-to-issue equipment from sea-based platforms to forces ashore in contested and degraded environments.
“This is a lethal force that can really bring combat power to the Marines and to the sailors when they need it, where they need it, in an expeditionary manner,” said Hennigan, who has supported maritime prepositioning operations since the mid-1990s.
“We’ve only gotten better over the years,” she said before departing the facility. “This was a great opportunity—it’s a great capability, and we’ve really been able to continue to bring it into the future.”
| Date Taken: |
04.16.2026 |
| Date Posted: |
04.16.2026 15:09 |
| Story ID: |
562894 |
| Location: |
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, US |
| Hometown: |
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, US |
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50 |
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