The Marine Corps stood up a unit last week meant to sow "chaos and uncertainty" for its adversaries in the Pacific, according to a news release, adding the service's first U.S. anti-ship missile battery in Okinawa, Japan, under its newest littoral concept.
The 12th Littoral Combat Team was established in a ceremony at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, on March 3 and is the third and final element of the Marine Corps' latest answer to Chinese influence in the Pacific: the Marine littoral regiment, or MLR.
The 12th LCT is made up of a reinforced infantry battalion and anti-ship missile battery; it will be specifically equipped with 18 Navy/Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction Systems, also known as NMESIS units, a spokesperson told Military.com on Monday. The systems are colloquially described as "ship killers" for their mobile ability to destroy enemy vessels from land.
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The littoral combat team joins the 12th's Littoral Anti-Air Battalion and Littoral Logistics Battalion; together, the three units make up the 12th MLR, which is based in Okinawa and is a cornerstone to the Marine Corps' effort to redesign itself as a more agile and technologically advanced force in the Pacific.
"We bring this combat power to Okinawa to be able to deliver it in the eyes of our adversaries and ensure we can bring it to the decisive point on the battlefield," Col. Peter Eltringham, the commanding officer of 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, said in the news release.
Like other units under the new littoral strategy, the 12th LCT was remade from the 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, which was activated more than 100 years ago. The 12th MLR, its parent element, was redesignated in 2023 from the 12th Marine Regiment, an artillery unit.
The purpose of the MLR is to provide the Marine Corps a mobile, low-signature unit permanently maintained in the Pacific in what the service refers to as a "stand-in force," meaning that -- unlike most Marine expeditionary units -- the MLR is already in place and can quickly react to and disrupt military threats in the region.
"The MLR is uniquely designed to maneuver and persist inside a contested maritime environment, where its primary mission will be to serve as the eyes and ears of the joint force and conduct sea denial operations within an adversary's weapons engagement zone as part of a stand-in force in support of a naval campaign," Lt. Col. Eric Flanagan, a spokesperson for Marine Corps Combat Development and Integration, told Military.com in an emailed statement Monday.
The LCT is meant to deploy multiple platoon-sized elements for intelligence, surveillance and early warning, and -- with the addition of the anti-ship battery -- help blast vessels out of the sea, among other operations. Flanagan also confirmed that the establishment of the 12th LCT last week marks the first time an anti-ship battery will be on Okinawa under this program, which was first reported by Naval News.
The 12th LCT has not received the NMESIS units, Flanagan said, but they will arrive eventually, as well as the Marine Air Defense Integrated System, or MADIS, which is billed as a surface-to-air, "shoot-on-the-move" air defense weapon.
"A cornerstone in the Marine Corps' Force Design initiative, the NMESIS increases the Marine Corps' defensive capabilities and responsiveness against potential adversaries in amphibious operations," Flanagan said. "The Naval Strike Missile can target surface ships and fixed ground targets, making it a critical tool for denying adversaries access to key areas in contested waters."
Military.com previously reported that the MLR will consist of about 2,000 Marines and sailors, slightly smaller than a Marine Expeditionary Unit, of which the service has seven located around the world.
The 3rd MLR was the first of its kind to be stood up and was activated in March 2022. USNI reported last year that the Marine Corps hoped to convert a third unit, the 4th Marine Regiment -- also in Okinawa, into another MLR.
"We've talked about doing up to three, but the focus right now for us is on 3rd and 12th," Flanagan said in a phone call. "Forming them, getting them up to full operational capability, and then getting them all the technologies that they need."
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