News

U.S. Marines with Charlie Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, exit from a U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle assigned to Charlie Company, BLT 1/7, 31st MEU, during a simulated force-on-force mechanized raid at Combat Town, Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, April 24, 2025. The purpose of the exercise was to create a challenging, realistic training environment with the integration of the newly fielded ACV that produces combat-ready forces in urban terrain. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force, ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premiere crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Angel Diaz Montes De Oca) - U.S. Marines with Charlie Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, exit from a U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle assigned to Charlie Company, BLT 1/7, 31st MEU, during a simulated force-on-force mechanized raid at Combat Town, Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, April 24, 2025. The purpose of the exercise was to create a challenging, realistic training environment with the integration of the newly fielded ACV that produces combat-ready forces in urban terrain. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force, ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premiere crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Angel Diaz Montes De Oca)

Ready, Partnered, Lethal: 31st MEU completes MEUEX

CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa – The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) conducted training to prepare the unit for future warfighting capabilities. Immersive, scenario-based evolutions focused on lethality, readiness, and interoperability for an upcoming deployment in the Indo-Pacific Region during a MEU Exercise (MEUEX) in Okinawa, from Apr. 28 to May 9, 2025. Over two weeks of training, MEUEX prepared approximately 2,400 Marines and sailors in strategies and procedures, as well as lethal and nonlethal operations by simulating a wide range of contingencies.

Read More

U.S. Marine Corps Col. Chris Niedziocha, the commanding officer of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, and 31st MEU staff embark the light amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan, Oct. 26, 2025. The embarkation was an opportunity for the 31st MEU to integrate with their U.S. Navy counterparts aboard the USS Tripoli. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force, ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premiere crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Trevor BishopWilliams) - U.S. Marine Corps Col. Chris Niedziocha, the commanding officer of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, and 31st MEU staff embark the light amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan, Oct. 26, 2025. The embarkation was an opportunity for the 31st MEU to integrate with their U.S. Navy counterparts aboard the USS Tripoli. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force, ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premiere crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Trevor BishopWilliams)

31st MEU | Integration with USS Tripoli for the First Time

Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan – In October 2025, for the first time since the USS Tripoli (LHA 7) sailed to the Indo-Pacific, the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Command Element embarked the USS Tripoli, marking a pivotal shift in the unit’s operational posture and amphibious capabilities. This integration signals the beginning of a new chapter for the 31st MEU as it begins long-term operations with the Tripoli, marking the transition from USS America (LHA 6), which served as the MEU’s primary aviation platform in the Indo-Pacific for the past six years. The staff's arrival aboard Tripoli establishes the relationships needed to execute a forward, sea-based command and control node capable of directing complex expeditionary military operations across the Indo-Pacific. This integration allows the 31st MEU to have long-distance force projection from a mobile, self-sustained platform and rapidly respond to contingencies throughout the region.

Read More

U.S. Marines with Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, load onto a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 265 (Rein.), 31st MEU, during flight operations at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, Japan, Sept. 26, 2025. The Marines conducted flight operations demonstrating multi-domain transport capabilities to support combined-joint all domain operations. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force, ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premiere crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Angel Diaz Montes De Oca) - U.S. Marines with Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, load onto a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 265 (Rein.), 31st MEU, during flight operations at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, Japan, Sept. 26, 2025. The Marines conducted flight operations demonstrating multi-domain transport capabilities to support combined-joint all domain operations. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force, ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premiere crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Angel Diaz Montes De Oca)

31st MEU | Demonstrating Force Projection and Combat Readiness

OKINAWA, Japan - U.S. Marines with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 265 (Rein.) and Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, executed a long-range helicopter insert exercise to Combined Arms Training Center Camp Fuji, Japan, Sep. 23, 2025, where they conducted combined arms live-fire training to maintain operational readiness, tactical proficiency, and enhance lethality while operating within the Indo-Pacific. In less than 36-hours, two waves encompassing nearly 400 Marines assigned to BLT 1/7, were transported non-stop over 1,000 miles with eight MV-22Bs and four CH-53Es to CATC Camp Fuji, Japan from Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, Japan. The movement demonstrated the MEU’s ability to rapidly deploy a BLT from Okinawa to a forward deployed location utilizing only military aircraft, according to Maj. James Hurton, the operations officer for BLT 1/7. “This movement allowed the BLT to mass credible combat power at a location of our choosing along a very short timeline,” said Hurton. “This capability can be used to preposition forces within the Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility should the need arise.” Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 265 (Rein.), the Marine Air Element attached to the 31st MEU, supported the movement by providing long-range logistical capabilities via MV-22B Ospreys and CH-53E Super Stallions.

Read More

251211-N-MQ780-1389An F-35B Lighting II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 242 takes off from the flight deck of America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) during flight operations in the South China Sea, Dec. 11, 2025. Marine Fighter Squadron 242, part of the Tripoli Expeditionary Strike Group, is conducting routine operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. U.S. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Angel Conde) - 251211-N-MQ780-1389 An F-35B Lighting II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 242 takes off from the flight deck of America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) during flight operations in the South China Sea, Dec. 11, 2025. Marine Fighter Squadron 242, part of the Tripoli Expeditionary Strike Group, is conducting routine operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. U.S. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Angel Conde)

Tripoli Expeditionary Strike Group operates in 7th Fleet

U.S. 7th FLEET AREA OF OPERATIONS – The Tripoli Expeditionary Strike Group, composed of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7), Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG 62) and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), is conducting routine operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations, Dec. 11.

Read More