Compass Points - Boxer ARG/MEU
Boxer and Portland in Middle East waters.
Compass Points - Boxer ARG/MEU
Boxer and Portland in Middle East waters.
July 6, 2026
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US Central Command announced that the USS Boxer and the USS Portland are now operating in Middle East waters.
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USS Boxer (LHD 4) and USS Portland (LPD 27) sail in formation while transiting the Indian Ocean, June 30, 2026. The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit are currently operating in the Middle East as part of a scheduled deployment. The Boxer ARG includes USS Comstock (LSD 45), which arrived in the region in early May.
@CENTCOM
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The USS Boxer was first put into service over 30 years ago. In recent years, the Boxer has had a troubled maintenance history. When it is able to operate at sea, however, the Boxer is a powerful part of a forward deployed Amphibious Ready Group.
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The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group consists of three warships designed to project Marine Corps combat power from the sea while providing commanders with a highly flexible expeditionary force. Together, the ships transport Marines, aircraft, armored vehicles, landing craft, and logistical support, allowing the force to conduct sustained operations independently or integrate with larger joint and coalition task forces.
At the center of the formation is USS Boxer (LHD 4), a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship that serves as the flagship and aviation hub of the ARG. Designed to support a broad range of expeditionary operations, Boxer features a full-length flight deck and extensive aviation facilities capable of operating Marine Corps aircraft, including the F-35B Lightning II short takeoff and vertical landing fighter, MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, CH-53E Super Stallion heavy-lift helicopters, AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters, and UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters, depending on mission requirements. This combination enables the force to conduct air assault, close air support, tactical transport, intelligence, surveillance, and casualty evacuation missions without relying on land-based airfields.
Supporting Boxer is USS Portland (LPD 27), a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock designed to transport Marines, armored vehicles, engineering equipment, and logistical supplies directly into operational areas. The ship’s advanced command-and-control facilities enable commanders to coordinate complex amphibious and joint operations, while its well deck accommodates Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) hovercraft and conventional landing craft that can rapidly deliver personnel and heavy equipment onto austere or contested coastlines.
The third component of the formation, USS Comstock (LSD 45), a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship, expands the group’s amphibious lift capacity by carrying additional landing craft, combat vehicles, and engineering assets. Equipped with a large well deck and extensive cargo spaces, Comstock enables the ARG to sustain expeditionary operations over extended periods while increasing the volume of combat power that can be projected ashore during amphibious missions.
Embarked aboard the ships, the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit transforms the naval formation into a fully integrated Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) capable of immediate deployment. A Marine Expeditionary Unit combines a reinforced infantry battalion, an aviation combat element, a logistics combat element, and a command element into a self-contained force capable of executing amphibious assaults, raids, embassy reinforcement, non-combatant evacuation operations, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and maritime interdiction missions with minimal external support.
Unlike an aircraft carrier strike group, which is primarily optimized for long-range air operations, an Amphibious Ready Group integrates aviation, ground combat, and logistics into a single expeditionary formation capable of deploying Marines ashore wherever operational conditions require. This capability gives U.S. military leaders a wider range of response options, from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to limited combat operations and the rapid seizure of key coastal objectives.
The deployment also reflects the increasing importance of expeditionary naval forces within U.S. military strategy. Amphibious Ready Groups provide a persistent forward presence while remaining highly mobile, allowing them to reposition rapidly across the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, and other strategic waterways. Their ability to operate independently or alongside aircraft carrier strike groups enhances operational flexibility while reducing dependence on permanent land bases in politically sensitive regions.
-- Army Recognition
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The CENTCOM Regional Combatant Commander Admiral Cooper needs Marines onboard amphibious ships to fulfill ongoing operational requirements in the Middle East. The SOUTHCOM Regional Combatant Commander General Donovan needs Marines onboard amphibious ships to fulfill ongoing operational requirements in the Caribbean. All the Regional Combatant Commanders need Marines around the world. If the Marine crisis response, air, ground, logistic, tasks forces are in such demand, why would the Marine Corps change the strategic focus of the Marine Corps away from global, multi-mission, crisis response?
For at least five decades Marine forward deployed combined arms forces have served the Nation well in a variety of global crises. Strangely, instead of building on the foundation of combined arms forces, seven years ago the senior leadership of the Marine Corps changed the focus of the Marine Corps to a plan to place sensor and missile units on islands off the coast of China.
Are sensor and missile units on islands off China’s coast supposed to be the focus of the Marine Corps? What does the US Code say?
US Code Title 10 requires the Marine Corps to maintain, “not less than three combat divisions and three air wings, and such other land combat, aviation, and other services as may be organic therein.” The Congress wanted to make sure the Marine Corps remained a middle weight, crisis response force, something stronger than merely light infantry.
The US has light infantry in many units. The 82nd Airborne is light infantry. Special Ops teams like Seal Team 6 are very light infantry. The Marine Corps’ sensor and missile units are very light infantry. The US has several light infantry units. The US also has heavy Army units. The US depends on the Marines to be a middle weight, crisis response force. This is why Congress established the requirement that the Marine Corps would always maintain three full, active duty, combat divisions.
The time is long past for the Marine Corps to enhance and upgrade the Marine Title 10 force. US Code Title 10 is the foundation of the Marine Corps. The US needs the Marine Corps to stop creating new missions and new units, and instead build the advanced Title 10 Marine Corps. The Marine Corps is not returning to some old Title 10 force. Instead, starting with Title 10 as the foundation, the Marine Corps should advance into the future. It time for the Marine Corps to build the 10 x Title 10 Marine Corps. Not a multiple of ten in numbers. The Ten Times Title 10 Marine Corps would have the most advanced technology, comms, weapons, and gear, — including, the newest drones and missiles, and the most powerful drone and missile defenses.
The upgraded and enhanced 10 x Title 10 Marine Corps goes beyond light infantry and provides the Nation with the force it needs, but does not have now, an ultra-modern middle weight, crisis response force that is light enough to get there and heavy enough to deter, assist, rescue, strike, and fight. Light infantry is neither trained nor equipped to stand and fight against combined arms forces, but the middle weight, 10 x Title 10 force should be organized trained and equipped to stand and fight against any force, any where.
The Marine Corps Combat Development Command will lead the build out of the new 10 x Title 10 Marine Corps. The Combat Development will search research labs around the globe for the latest in weapons and gear. But the Combat Development Command will not start the construction of the 10 x Title 10 Marine Corps with a clean sheet, instead they will start the 10 x Title 10 force with, “not less than three combat divisions and three air wings, and such other land combat, aviation, and other services as may be organic therein.” To serve the Nation as more than mere light infantry, the Marine Corps needs a 10 x Title 10 MAGTF focused force and they need to start upgrading and enhancing today.
Compass Points salutes the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and the embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and all the Marines deployed around the global ready to deter, assist, rescue, strike, and fight.
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US Central Command
CENTCOM Status
x.com/CENTCOM/status/2072022657374261514
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Army Recognition - 07/03/2026
U.S. Navy Sends USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group to Middle East as Regional Tensions Rise.
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As many alert readers noted, the SOUTHCOM Combatant Commander is General Francis L. Donovan, not "Admiral Donovan." General Donovan is a proud Marine. Compass Points regrets the error and salutes General Donovan.
I would have too see the T/O and T/E of this MEU. I am going to guess it has no more than 360 riflemen and no idea how much artillery. MEU’s have gone from 4 ships to 3 and eventually 2. We know they have no tanks. How many trucks? As they become more aviation centric I hope the fuel storage and LForm ammunition have adjusted. What anti air capability does this MEU have? There is no reinforcement to grow into a MEB within 6000 miles.