Videos

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 premier crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Pfc. Joseph E. DeMarcus)

Marines with Echo Company, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, conduct a beach landing as part of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s MEU Exercise, near Ginoza Village, Okinawa, Japan, June 28, 2018. BLT 2/5 is the Ground Combat Element for the 31st MEU. Marines with Echo Company, the mechanized assault element with BLT 2/5, partner with AAV crews to perform raids and assaults launched from the sea. MEUEX is the first in a series of three pre-deployment training events that prepare the 31st MEU to deploy at a moment’s notice. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible force ready to perform a wide-range of military operations. (Official Marine Corps Photo by Gunnery Sgt. T. T. Parish/Released)

Marine Corps Cpl. Derek Saunders talks about his job of being a flag mess cook aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) on July 26, 2017. The 31st MEU partners with the Navy’s Amphibious Squadron 11 to form the amphibious component of the Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group. The 31st MEU and PHIBRON 11 combine to provide a cohesive blue-green team capable of accomplishing a variety of missions across the Indo-Asia-Pacific.(U.S. Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Garett Burns/Released)

The Marines and Sailors of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, Amphibious Squadron 11 and USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) held a moment of silence ceremony to honor the victims of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that ravaged the Honshu region of Japan in March of 2011. Three years ago, the PHIBRON/MEU team was one of the first units to respond to the disaster during Operation Tomodachi. After the disaster on March 11, the USS Essex Amphibious Ready Group was recalled to onload Marines and helicopters to support relief efforts, marking the start of a United States Forces Japan mobilization to aid in the Kesennuma and Oshima Island areas. Additionally, the current ground combat element of the 31st MEU, Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, was attached to the MEU three years ago during Operation Tomodachi. Also available in high definition.

The Marines and Sailors of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, Amphibious Squadron-11 and USS Bonhomme Richard held a moment of silence ceremony to honor the victims of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that ravaged the Honshu region of Japan in March of 2011. Three years ago, the MEU/PHIBRON team was one of the first units to respond to the disaster during Operation Tomodachi. On March 11, the USS Essex Amphibious Ready Group was recalled to onload Marines and helicopters to support relief efforts, marking the start of a United States Forces Japan mobilization to aid in the Kesennuma and Oshima Island areas. Additionally, the current ground combat element of the 31st MEU, Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, was attached to the MEU three years ago during Operation Tomodachi. Also available in high definition.

The "blue/green" team of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and Amphibious Squadron 11 embarks more than 2,200 Marines and Sailors and all of their gear as it prepares to depart for the regularly scheduled Spring Patrol of the Asia-Pacific region. Over the period of four days, the 31st MEU will join their Navy counterparts on the three ships of the USS Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group. More than 500 tons of supplies and vehicles are spread across the three ships, with 250 tons loaded onto the USS BHR alone. In a crisis, the Marines and Sailors are able to load the same personnel and equipment in 24-48 hours. Includes sound bites from Gunnery Sgt. Christopher Pearo, Combat Cargo Assistant, USS Bonhomme Richard. Hometown: Enosburg Falls, Vermont. Also available in high definition.

Using dozens of aircraft and a convoy of more than 50 vehicles, the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit moved a battalion-size force from the ships of Amphibious Squadron 11 more than 300 miles inland to take part in Exercise Koolendong 13. Marines and Sailors from the ground combat element, combat logistics element and command element of the 31st MEU arrived in waves of Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacements (known as 7-tons); High Mobility, Multi-Wheeled Vehicles; and Light Armored Vehicles. During the two-day period it took the convoy to reach the training area, MV-22 Osprey and CH-53 Super Stallion aircraft unloaded waves of additional forces. The combined offload efforts of the ground and air combat elements brought a total of approximately 700 troops ashore for the exercise. Koolendong will feature several day and night live-fire exercises alongside the Marine Rotational Force - Darwin and the 5th Royal Australian Regiment. The 31st MEU brings what it needs to sustain itself to accomplish the mission or to pave the way for follow-on forces. The size and composition of the 31st MEU makes it well suited for amphibious operations, which includes raids, assaults, evacuations and humanitarian assistance operations. Soundbites from Cpl. Adam G. Burns, Platte City, Mo. Produced by Sgt. Jonathan Wright.

Package about how Marines and Sailors with 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, load equipment and themselves aboard ships from Amphibious Squadron 11 to begin their deployment to Kingdom of Thailand. The unit will execute Cobra Gold 2012, a multilateral training exercise including Thai and South Korean forces. Soundbites include Lt. Col. Kevin A. Norton - Commanding Officer, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (from Wilkes-Barre, Penn.) Produced by Sergeant Paul Robbins Jr. Also available in High Definition.

The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, embarked aboard three ships with Amphibious Squadron 11, continues to head toward the coast of mainland Japan to take part in Operation Tomodachi and respond to any requests for help from the Government of Japan. Produced by Gunnery Sgt. James Stare, jpearthquake11