ISHIGAKI, Japan — For the first time, U.S. forces conducted a Landing Craft Utility loading operation at Ishigaki during Resolute Dragon 26, expanding the logistics options available to move personnel and equipment throughout Japan’s southwestern islands at Ishigaki, Japan, June 29, 2026.
Throughout the day, U.S. Marines and Soldiers worked alongside Japan Ground-Self Defense Force personnel to stage, inspect and load cargo, including water purification equipment, containers and sustainment supplies. Forklifts moved palletized cargo onto waiting flatbed trucks before it was transported to the pier, where it was transferred aboard an LCU for movement to its next destination.
While the process appeared methodical from the pier, each movement required coordination between multiple units to safely position, secure and account for every piece of equipment before the vessel departed.
“The LCU is the Army’s Landing Craft Utility,” said Warrant Officer 1 Jonathan Quigley. “It’s the LCU 2000 series, so it’s a beaching-capable vessel. We can load directly from a pier, conduct roll-on, roll-off operations, or lower the ramp onto a beach so vehicles can drive directly ashore.” Unlike airlift, LCUs allow heavy equipment and sustainment supplies to move directly between ports or unimproved shorelines without relying on established airfields.
“It makes it easier because we can go exactly to another port,” Quigley said. “Instead of moving through airports and all the logistics that come with that, we can pull into either a military or commercial pier, load our cargo and depart.”
That flexibility gives commanders additional options for distributing combat power and sustainment across dispersed islands, an increasingly important capability during operations throughout the Indo-Pacific.
According to Quigley, routing is determined by operational requirements rather than fixed schedules.
“We always work backward from the customer’s requirements,” he said. “We’ve been out on this sail since the middle of May, supporting the Marine Corps, the Army and however we can throughout the Pacific.”
The vessel’s capacity also allows it to transport significantly more cargo than many realize. “We can hold a lot,” Quigley said. “We’ve carried four Strykers, a JLTV and a 20-foot CONEX and still had room. You’ll run out of space before you overload us.”
For Marines participating in Resolute Dragon 26, the operation demonstrated more than simply loading equipment onto a ship. It validated another method of moving combat power throughout the region while exercising the coordination required between joint forces to rapidly reposition personnel and equipment.
The successful loading operation at Ishigaki provided another opportunity to strengthen interoperability between the Marine Corps, Army and Japanese partners while expanding the locations from which future logistics operations can be conducted. (U.S. Marine Corps Story by Cpl. Hylton)