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U.S. Marines with 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion, 4th Marine Division, conducted the final operational employment of the assault amphibious vehicle in the U.S. Marine Corps during exercise Sea Breeze 26 at Babadag Training Area, Romania, June 14, 2026.
The AAV-P7/A1 vehicle, which entered U.S. Marine Corps service in 1972, has served as the backbone of amphibious assault doctrine for more than 50 years. Exercise Sea Breeze 26 marks the platform’s last operational employment before it is retired from the Marine Corps inventory and transferred to partner nations in the Black Sea region alongside U.S. Marine instructor cadres.
The exercise brought together seven nations under a combined battalion-level task force, integrating forces across multiple languages and military cultures to demonstrate rapid interoperability in a complex operational environment.
U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Nishan Campbell, the commanding officer of 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion, said there is no other place he would rather be for the platform’s final chapter.
“It’s a surreal experience,” said Campbell. “All of us are Amtrak till the day we die. There’s no changing that.”
Campbell also emphasized the strategic significance of the exercise itself, pointing to the speed at which seven nations came together and began operating as a cohesive force.
“We want our adversaries to see the very distinct fact that we can pull seven nations together overnight, create a battalion staff, integrate, and start executing missions within hours,” said Campbell. “There is no doubt that if we were here an additional week, we would be heads and shoulders more lethal than we are today.”
Master Sgt. Daniel Porter, the logistics chief for 4th AAB, has spent 22 years in the Amtrak community. For Porter, the exercise represents the culmination of both a career and an era.
“This has been my home since I started in the Marine Corps,” said Porter. “22 years I’ve lived on this vehicle — and to see this being its sundown, the last time the Marine Corps is going to be using it and then passing it off to our partner nations … it’s been the culminating event of my career, as well as the culminating event for the AAV platform in the Marine Corps.”
The AAV-P7/A1 is being replaced in the Marine Corps inventory by the amphibious combat vehicle, which is designed for the evolving demands of the modern littoral fight. The vehicles transferred to partner nations will be accompanied by U.S. Marine instructor cadres whose institutional knowledge transfers with them, ensuring the platform continues to serve the alliance well beyond its U.S. service life.
“Our partner nations are getting a very capable vehicle,” Campbell said. “She’s (the AAV) had service now for over 50 years — half a century. Passing it off, it’s definitely bittersweet. None of us are ready to see her go.”
Exercise Sea Breeze 26 is a multinational exercise designed to enhance the interoperability, readiness, and collective defense capabilities of participating nations in support of regional security and stability.
| Date Taken: | 06.21.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 06.29.2026 11:49 |
| Story ID: | 568888 |
| Location: | BABADAG TRAINING AREA, RO |
| Web Views: | 14 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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