2nd Marine Expeditionary Force
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| II Marine Expeditionary Force | |
|---|---|
 II MEF Insignia |
|
| Active | |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | USMC |
| Type | Marine Air-Ground Task Force |
| Role | Expeditionary combat forces |
| Part of | Marine Forces Atlantic |
| Garrison/HQ | Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune |
| Battles/wars | Operation Desert Storm Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Iraqi Freedom |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
LtGen Keith J. Stalder |
The II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) is a Marine Air-Ground Task Force consisting of ground, air and logistics forces capable of projecting offensive combat power ashore while sustaining itself in combat without external assistance for a period of 60 days. The II Marine Expeditionary Force is commanded by a Lieutenant General, who serves as Commander, US Marine Corps Forces, Atlantic, providing Marine fighting formations and units to European Command, Central Command and Southern Command.
Contents |
[edit] Subordinate units
There are more than 47,000 Marines and sailors in II MEF. It consists of four basic components:
- II MEF Headquartes Group - Command element (CE)
- 2nd Marine Division - Ground combat element (GCE)
- 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing - Aviation combat element (ACE)
- 2nd Marine Logistics Group - Combat service support element (CSSE)
Other units that are a part of the II Marine Expeditionary Force include:
- Marine Corps Security Force Battalion (MCSFBn)
- Chemical Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF)
- Anti-Terrorism Battalion {ATBn)
- II MEF Augmentation Command Element (II MACE)
- 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade
- 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit
- 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit
- 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit
[edit] Higher Headquarters
United States Marine Corps Forces, South (MARFORSOUTH), headquartered in Miami, Florida, is the U.S. Marine Corps component of the U.S. Southern Command. Forces are provided by II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. In addition, the Marine provides an immediate reaction riverine capable forces ready to conduct training for allied forces; and support to other Marine forces in USSOUTHCOM’s area of operational responsibility.
While II MEF is included within the operational force structure of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command (MARFORCOM) and engages in operations and exercises throughout the U.S. European and U.S. Southern Command areas, it routinely commits operating forces in support of other U.S. unified and NATO commands. II MEF is, in fact, available for and prepared to respond to contingency requirements worldwide.
[edit] Employment
In addition to the option of being employed in its entirety as a MEF-sized unit, II MEF has the capability of forming task-organized Marine Air-Ground Task Forces (MAGTF) of lesser size such as a MEF (Forward), a brigade-sized MAGTF (Marine Expeditionary Brigade or "MEB") about one-third the size of a MEF or a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), about one-third the size of a MEF (Forward). The size and composition of any MAGTF will be dependent upon the mission assigned. One mission that could be assigned to the MEF (Forward) would be assignment for planning, deployment and utilization of equipment stored aboard Maritime Prepositioning Ships (MPS). The MPS program involves the forward deployment of the MPS Squadron of four or five ships loaded with a brigade's worth of combat equipment and supplies and the airlifting of the MEF (Forward) to the designated objective area to link up with the MPS Squadron. At the same time, tactical aircraft of the MEF (Forward) are flight ferried to an airfield in or near the area of operation. The MEF (Forward) can be sustained for 30 days by the supplies aboard the ships.
The only routinely deployed MAGTFs, the 22d, 24th and 26th MEUs deploy on a rotating basis to the Mediterranean Sea area to serve as the landing force for the Commander, 6th Fleet. The MEU consists of approximately 2,200 Marines and Sailors, is capable of rapid response in a variety of possible contingencies, and if the situation requires, can serve as the forward element of a larger MAGTF.
