Compass Points – Frag Order Spotlight
The Crown Jewel MEUs
Compass Points – Frag Order Spotlight
The Crown Jewel MEUs
April 8, 2024
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The Commandant has issued FRAGO 01-2024. It is brief, well written, and worth reviewing by all those interested in where the Marine Corps is now and where it is going.
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The frag order raises several important topics. To discuss just one, the frag order emphasizes that the Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) embarked on amphibious ships and on patrol around the globe “remains our crown jewel.” This is an important statement by the Commandant and is reassuring to legions of Marines both on active duty now and those formerly on active duty.
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If the MEU “remains our crown jewel” it must mean Marines on defense, on islands in the Pacific are not the crown jewel. No small point. The assurance that the MEU “remains our crown jewel” may be an indication that the Corps is beginning to rebalance its attention and resources away from regional defensive operations and back to global crisis response.
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The frag order, of course, is not designed to answer every question. In some ways, the frag order helps to stimulate and sharpen further discussion. For example, if the MEU “remains our crown jewel” then the Marine Corps must focus on how MEUs are organized, equipped, and trained. MEUs do not create themselves. MEUs are created from the resources and capabilities of the much larger Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF). Without strong, healthy robust MEFs there can be no MEUs.
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That is why many Commandants have spoken eloquently of the “primacy of the MEF” and the importance of recognizing that the MEF is a “reservoir of combat power” from which Marine operational forces flow.
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The “primacy of the MEF” is an established concept. From the MEF, flowed amphibious brigades, MPF brigades, MEUs, SPMAGTFs, JTFs, and any other task-organized forces designed to meet mission needs. Each of these were extensions of the larger force and were viewed as “forward elements” of the MEF. This concept was built on several pillars:
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1. Maximizing deployability assets.
Amphibious ships, Maritime Prepositioning ships, and air transport were not just regarded as transportation. Brigades with fly-in echelons joined these assets to quickly become operational units.
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2. Creating and maintaining forces in readiness.
Air Alert forces, Air Contingency Forces, and fly-in Echelons were part of each MEF, ready and organized for rapid deployment.
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3. Developing compositing capability.
Forces were balanced and similar in each MEF. Forces from each MEF and the Reserves could join and composite to rapidly build combat power. Units were interchangeable.
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4. Emphasizing expeditionary organization and training.
The ability to operate in austere environments was part of the training, organization, and equipment of each unit. Expeditionary airfields, VSTOL aircraft, and minimal logistic tails were developed and employed.
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5. Preparing for full spectrum operations.
From multi-division/wing MEFs to small SPMAGTFs, Marine units were trained and prepared to operate as corps-level MEF forces in major combat roles down to small independent forces conducting humanitarian or disaster relief operations.
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6. Building integrated combined arms organizations.
Balanced combined arms formations and training were emphasized. Modernization and introduction of new technology were thoroughly tested and validated through the Concepts Based Requirement Process at MCCDC and introduced to compliment and expand the combined arms forces.
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7. Task organizing for missions.
The flexibility and efficiency of task organizing for missions, vice purpose designing units, provided for more utility for COCOM commanders and more streamlined organizations for JTF operations.
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8. Developing the capability for rapid convergence.
The commonality of MEF organizations and compositing of forces allowed for the convergence of the readiest, globally located Marine forces to rapidly close the scene of the crime.
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9. Maintaining a global orientation.
The concept of every “clime and place” had meaning. The Corps did not chase pacing threats or particular regional missions. From jungles to arctic, to deserts, it prepared for all contingencies.
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Compass Points looks forward to the upcoming Commandant’s Planning Guidance which will provide a more expansive opportunity to discuss the primacy of the MEF concept.
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Compass Points salutes the Commandant and his staff for the frag order and will continue to review the frag order in greater detail. As always, readers are invited to join in with their own questions and comments. If the MEU is a jewel in the crown, then the MEF is the crown. Three robust MEFs ensure the Marine Corps can sustain more global MEUs. Refocusing on the power of the MEFs to generate more “crown jewel” MEUs around the globe is a powerful step forward in re-balancing the MAGTF and re-balancing the Marine Corps.
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US Marine Corps
FRAGO 01-2024
I am sure MCCP will use OSINT, and networking to see if these are just words or reality.
We know we are short of amphibious shipping. Now that Marine Ospreys are operational what type of Airborne MEU sized MAGTF can be generated and deployed from Organic Marine Aircraft and augmented by USAF? III MEF advertises ACMAGTF. ALERT CONTINGENCY MAGTF: ‘OUR MOST READY FORCE’
22 MAY 2023 | 1st Lt. Oscar Castro
The Official United States Marine Corps Public Website
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CAMP COURTNEY, Okinawa, Japan --
It is 3:00am on a Sunday morning. III Marine Expeditionary Force receives indications and warnings that a crisis is brewing. The order is given without hesitation, and the Marines and Sailors of the Alert Contingency Marine Air-Ground Task Force are geared up and ready to deploy with a full combat load within just a couple hours.
As a scalable unit, the ACM is always on standby to respond to a variety of mission sets – from humanitarian and disaster relief operations to full-scale combat operations. It is not a conceptual idea or something people just talk about, the ACM is employed routinely through a rigorous training schedule involving no-notice drills and even operational deployments within the region.
“Our ACM force is our most ready force,” said Col. Eric Clark, 4th Marine Regiment Commanding Officer, “and as you talk about the Marine Corps being a force in readiness, those Marines that are rehearsed, that are sourced, and that have mobility on standby to get them out quickly on that key maritime terrain; that's our bid for success within the region, whether you're talking about a humanitarian crisis or you are talking about actions by an adversary.”