According to Weapons Company Commanding Officer Capt. Paul M. Lowman, training with AAVs is key to enabling MEF success in the Asia-Pacific region.

“We move around the globe by ship. However, we move from ship to shore via AAV, utility landing craft, and air-cushioned landing craft,” he said. “While we have focused on ground combat, our fight on shore is solid, but the transition is where we need to strengthen our capabilities.

“These exercises are one of numerous steps in the track to [perfecting] our core competency, and are intended to develop proficiency in amphibious operations, but also to learn new concepts, procedures, and techniques.”

“These exercises are one of numerous steps in the track to [perfecting] our core competency, and are intended to develop proficiency in amphibious operations, but also to learn new concepts, procedures, and techniques.”

The Corps also has enhanced its participation in Exercise Cobra Gold, the largest multilateral training event for the United States in the Asia-Pacific. The annual multinational combined joint training exercise, held throughout the Kingdom of Thailand, involved more than 20 nations seeking to improve interoperability in response to a crisis. Exercise Cobra Gold 2013 in February demonstrated ship-to-shore capabilities other militaries – including the Marines’ sister services – do not have the resources to conduct.

Overall, 2013 marked a significant amphibious training effort by the Marine Corps. In addition to those above, Corps units participated in Ulchi Freedom Guardian 2013 with South Korea; Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2013 in May with Indonesia and in June with Malaysia; Cobra Gold, hosted by Thailand and the United States since 1980 and now involving five other Asian nations; Exercise Iron Fist 2013 with Japan; and the Maritime Prepositioning Force-centered Exercise Freedom Banner 2013 in the Philippines.

“Freedom Banner is a [U.S. Pacific Command-directed] exercise that supports multiple countries throughout the region,” said Col. Mark J. Menotti, assistant chief of staff for supply and logistics, 3rd MEB, III MEF. “This is the first time in more than 20 years that Freedom Banner is supporting the Philippines, which gives us an opportunity to build closer ties with the Philippine armed forces. Exercising this capability enables us as Marines to be a force in readiness for the Marine Corps and for America, with the power and the capability to execute any mission.”

One major and growing component of the 21st century Marine Corps is not looking to “return to the sea” – Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) was born into a land war in Southwest Asia in 2006. Despite original plans calling for MARSOC units to be attached to Corps amphibious units at sea, the demand for deployment to the Iraqi and Afghan theaters as a component of the joint Special Operations Command (SOCOM) kept them off ships and on the ground.

With the planned end of U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan in 2014 and DoD’s ongoing Pacific pivot, MARSOC Marines are getting their first training and deployments at sea.

“It is very important for 1st MSOB [Marine Special Operations Battalion] to get back to our maritime roots as we begin our regionalization in the Pacific,” said a 1st MSOB officer who did not wish to be identified. “We have lost a lot of experience in these skill sets over the past six years due to our large [footprint] in Afghanistan, but we are quickly re-establishing our foundational skill sets in maritime operations, which will enable our force to meet the needs of the combatant and special operations commanders.

“It is very important for 1st MSOB [Marine Special Operations Battalion] to get back to our maritime roots as we begin our regionalization in the Pacific.”

“Maritime interception operations [MIO] is going to be one of [our] core tasks, and conducting realistic and difficult training is the only way we will become proficient in the complex skill set. MARSOC teams are adaptable, scalable forces that thrive in harsh and confusing environments. We develop our personnel so they have the experience to meet future needs as we regionally align MARSOC. Our training allows us to provide SOF [special operations forces] support to maritime and amphibious operations.”

In his preface to the 2013 Marine Corps Posture Statement, Amos said the Corps is unique among the world’s militaries: “While other nations of the world seek to reinvent themselves for the new security environment, the American people have already invested in a Navy-Marine Corps team suited and aligned to meet the ever-increasing demands for amphibious forces.”

The Posture Statement, reflecting America’s status as a maritime nation, said U.S. economic and security interests are especially tightly linked to the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions.

“Our return to prosperity as a nation (and thus achieve our lasting security) depends on the restoration of global growth. No engine of growth is more powerful than the Asia-Pacific. Rebalancing to the Pacific theater is a central element of strategy. Geographically, culturally, economically, even by name, the ‘Pacific’ is a maritime theater,” the statement noted.

“The tyranny of distance underscores the value of forward-deployed maritime forces in the Pacific region. The Navy-Marine Corps team is uniquely suited to operate in this vast blue water and littoral environment … where the Marine Corps ‘came of age.’ … Strategic imperatives demand that our nation continues to build on the presence of sailors and Marines who operate daily throughout this region.”

This article first appeared in the Marine Corps Outlook 2013-2014 Edition.