U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Shawn Connor, a Pennsylvania native, and the commanding officer of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, speaks during a 9/11 memorial ceremony on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Sept. 11, 2025. The ceremony, organized by Marines with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, honored victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and Marines of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines who died in the Global War on Terrorism. (U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Hunter J. Kuester)
U.S. Marines with 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division conduct helocast training on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Aug. 27, 2025. The helocast training exercise demonstrates the Marine Corps’ ability to transition between air, land and sea in combat operations and increases combat readiness in amphibious operations. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Brian Michalski)
TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. – In today's evolving and increasingly lethal battlefield landscape, Marine Corps Force Design initiatives are emphasizing maneuverable and dispersed units that can operate inside environments heavily contested by the weapons engagement zone of enemy forces and fires. This demands seamless integration between all elements of the Marine Corps Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF), command, combat, logistics, and aviation.
Advanced Motorized Operations Course (AMOC) at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MAGTF-TC) Twentynine Palms, Calif., showcased how a distributed, platoon-sized Logistics Combat Element (LCE) force can leverage air support functions from three Aviation Combat Element (ACE) squadrons...