Marines Provide Details On Short-Notice Deployment To Middle East

According to the Marine Corps, Marines from an air-support detachment who were deployed to the Middle East in May while still in training were assisting Army operations in Kuwait.

Few details were provided by the service when it announced on April 29 that Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit would be deployed on short notice.

At the time, a Marine spokesman said that about 20 Marines would temporarily provide routine air defense support to a larger, layered air-defense effort within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. He refused to go into more detail at the time due to operational security.

The Marine Corps has now confirmed that 17 Marines from the low-altitude air defense detachment of the expeditionary unit were sent to Kuwait in support of U.S. Army Central, the Army formation that is centered on the Middle East and neighboring nations.

Capt. Angelica White said in a statement to Marine Corps Times on Monday that the 26th MEU LAAD was a link in a chain of layered air defense programs, systems, and capabilities designed to defeat enemy unmanned aerial systems within the U.S. CENTCOM Area of Responsibility.

Gilbert said in a statement that Marines showed off the USMC’s capacity to swiftly deploy and redeploy episodic air-defense support capabilities.

More information about the reasons behind the deployment’s impetus was not provided in the spokespersons’ statements.

Gilbert opted not to reveal the brand of air defense the detachment employed. He declared that the information was private.

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“What I can say is that ‘Low-Altitude Air Defence’ captures both the proper title of the unit and the characterization of their mission,” he said in a subsequent statement on Monday. As we have stated before, it is also accurate to state that they contributed to a more extensive, multi-layered air-defense effort within the (area of responsibility).

Task & Purpose previously mentioned that the light Marine air defense integrated system is one of the capabilities of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

According to a photo caption on the Defence Visual Information Distribution Site, the L-MADIS is the only counter-unmanned aerial system platform based on the East Coast that is permanently a part of the Marine Corps capabilities.

According to a Marine Corps planning document published earlier in June, twelve of those systems have already been put into service. The MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft or Marine cargo helicopters can both carry the L-MADIS because of its lightweight.

Before returning to North Carolina, where they are stationed, all 17 Marines who deployed to Kuwait were awarded the Army Achievement Medal, according to White.

According to the Army awards manual, the Army Achievement Medal is given to soldiers who stand out “by meritorious service or achievement” that doesn’t merit an Army Commendation Medal.

White, the Marines’ medals lacked a “C” device, which honors contributions made during combat, or an “R” device, which honors contributions made outside of an operational zone but directly in support of combat.

The Marines’ exact whereabouts in Kuwait are unknown.

There are numerous bases for the American military there. According to a 2021 fact sheet by the State Department, Kuwait is the only foreign country with more American service members than Germany, Japan, and South Korea.

According to White, the most recent deployment marks the first time a Marine detachment of low-altitude air defense has been sent on short notice to support operations in Central Command.

According to the Marine Corps , the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit was about to complete its final phase of pre-deployment training.

According to White, the 26th MEU, which is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, will deploy in July to regions under European Command, Africa Command, and Central Command.