Marines hosted integrated base defense planning Jan. 27–28 on Blount Island in Jacksonville, Florida, leveraging regional partnerships to improve the ability to respond to a crisis within the United States.
“We can’t treat resilience as an inside-the-fence problem,” said U.S. Marine Corps Col. David Merles, commanding officer of Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island. “Planning alongside our regional partners highlights the dependencies required to sustain power projection in Northeast Florida.”
Federal, state, local, military and private-sector organizations with roles in force protection, emergency management and critical infrastructure participated. Discussions focused on likely threat scenarios, staffing requirements and capability gaps affecting sustained operations in a contested environment.
“As one of the nation’s 17 strategic seaports that moves military cargo, JAXPORT values our close partnership with Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island,” said Eric Green, Jacksonville Port Authority CEO. “Joint exercises like these strengthen our maritime community, support the movement of military and commercial cargo, and help ensure the port continues to operate safely and reliably for all users.”
Participation expanded following a Dec. 16 kickoff, ultimately requiring the planning effort to move into a larger space within the facility’s emergency operations center. Preparation sessions throughout January aligned resources and capabilities and ensured a shared understanding of the joint planning process.
Col. Jeffrey Buffa, operations and plans special projects officer, Marine Corps Installations East–Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, joined Merles to help frame the two-day event. Buffa urged participants to plan for local response options under conditions of limited state and federal support, citing historical examples where improved information sharing could have prevented operational disruptions.
As discussions progressed, participants assessed resource availability across 30-, 60- and 90-day timelines and began developing courses of action for the commanding general of Marine Corps Installations East. Key takeaways included opportunities to strengthen coordination through updated agreements and improved information-sharing mechanisms.
The integrated base defense planning complements the Northeast Florida Military Installation Readiness Review, which identified vulnerabilities tied to community infrastructure. Together, the planning effort and the MIRR represent parallel, mutually reinforcing approaches to resilience—one focused on external shocks and stressors, and the other on physical security, force protection and coordinated response.
“Mission resiliency is built through sustained, integrated planning,” Merles said. “The MIRR focuses on infrastructure challenges outside the fence line, while our defense plan sharpens our response. Those efforts reinforce each other and ensure Blount Island continues operations in a contested environment.”
Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island is a military-led, civilian-operated power projection platform and home to Blount Island Command, which executes Marine Corps prepositioning programs worldwide in support of Marine expeditionary forces and the joint force.