Has the mentality and objective of MEU deployments changed?

Cpl Ray Fernandez — Tue, 20 May 2014 23:31:30 -0400

I had a friend mention that it seems now that getting deployed and going to sea seems more like a check in the box and an opportunity to add ribbons.

I started thinking about how for me going to sea for six months was different than it is now. Back then we trained and we prepared for a wide variety of missions during our work ups. It seems at least by looking at how MEUs were essentially a way to transport units across to the battlefields in South West Asia, that we've lost the capability and many career Marines have lost the skills to carry out most of those missions that we trained for years ago.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made May 20 at 2014 11:43 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 20 May 2014 23:43:32 -0400

Coming from an Army perspective I think deployments are really changing focus in mentality of a lot of servicemembers who want to have a career. You do not want to be the only one in your peer group without a deployment. So the focus is to find a deployment, any deployment. Training as a whole changed and now we going back to a garrison military. Will we focus again on the "basics" so many say we should do? Or will we continue to train for a specific theater and only train up for a new area when we start deploying there? Only time can tell and we can only control our little bubble of influence.

Response by Sgt Able Snider made Apr 5 at 2016 10:39 AM

Sgt Able Snider — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 10:39:21 -0400

The MEU's were always check in the box and an opportunity to add ribbons. They dont become any different until there's a war or emergency somewhere, we did two in four years when I was in 3/6.

Response by Sgt Paul McCarthy made Apr 5 at 2016 12:13 PM

Sgt Paul McCarthy — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 12:13:52 -0400

The MEU was always an opportunity to add ribbons. If you were unlucky (or lucky) enough, there would be an actual mission to perform while you were out there. I consider myself lucky in that 2 of my 3 cruises, we had actual missions-culminating in a pretty impressive rack after all was said and done. But we trained during work ups for any variety of potential missions. Lessons learned from the Mayaguez incident and the later invasion of Grenada. My son deployed last year with 24 MEU and it was pretty much transport to the middle east and 5 of 7 months rotating in and out of Iraq from Kuwait, with an embassy reinforcement in Yemen (a job I thought the SPMAGTAF in Spain was supposed to be performing) He spent very little time in the Med.

Response by LCpl Bradley Otto made Jul 12 at 2016 3:15 PM

LCpl Bradley Otto — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 15:15:58 -0400

I agree that it can be seen as a check box of sorts. It was an achievement and a sign of progress in your young career.

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 12 at 2016 8:35 PM

CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 20:35:35 -0400

You know Corporal Fernandez, we used to call it the MAU, before General Alfred M Gray, ie Papa Bear, that's when he was our Commandant. I can't comment on your views, but I can say this, The Marine Corps had definitely changed since I retired. All is Not Loss.

Semper Fidelis,
James K Kaupe, Jr. CWO3, USMC, (Ret) 1972-1994