Marines’ top goal: 3 amphibious ready groups at sea
Ship maintenance backlogs have kept the amphib fleet limping for years.
Meghann Myers | May 1, 2025
The Marine Corps’ “north star” is getting three amphibious ready groups continuously deployed around the globe, the service’s top officer said Thursday, a standard they haven’t been able to meet due to the rough state of Navy ship maintenance in recent years.
The Navy has pledged to have 80 percent of its ships and submarines ready to deploy at any given time by 2027, including the 10 amphibious assault ships and 21 landing support ships the service is required to have in the water by law.
“But I need you to understand, this is about more than ships,” Commandant Gen. Eric Smith told an audience at the Modern Day Marine conference in Washington, D.C. “It’s about deterrence and denial. It’s about making sure Marines are in position when the next fight comes.”
The goal is one ARG, with an embarked Marine Expeditionary Unit, patrolling from the Mediterranean Sea down to the west coast of Africa; one in the western Pacific; and one in the Indo-Pacific, each spending roughly six months at sea, with another ARG-MEU ready to replace each group of ships when they head home.
https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2025/05/marines-top-goal-3-amphibious-ready-groups-sea/404984/?oref=d1-featured-river-secondary
