Compass Points - Marines on Carriers
More Marines on more ships around the globe
Marine Corps Compass Points
Sep 19, 2025
In their recent article, "Gaps in Amphibious Forces Pose Unnecessary Risks to National Security" two former Marine Corps Commandants, General Charles Krulak and General James Conway, persuasively warn of global gaps in current US amphibious forces. The authors recommend the US should plug the current gaps in amphibious forces by putting Marine units on every deployed aircraft carrier strike group.
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This concept is different than simply putting Marines back aboard Navy ships as part of the crew, as was the case with the traditional Marine Detachments aboard carriers, cruisers, and some tenders. Those detachments were assigned shipboard duties such as protecting special weapons and running the ship’s brig. The concept we are proposing would instead task-organize Marines for a capability set, train them to a standard prior to deployment, and focus them on the mission throughout the deployment. While not nearly as large as a 2,000-man MEU, nor with all the capabilities of a MEU, our force would be a Special Purpose MAGTF (SPMAGTF) with capabilities tailored to the mission.
Real world examples of operational deficiencies created by gaps in forward deployed ARGs/MEUs are not hard to spot. One of the best and most recent examples was the hostilities in the Middle East. For most of the time, there was no ARG/MEU in the Eastern Mediterranean, North Arabian Sea, or the Persian Gulf. But there were carriers and other Navy ships in the area. Would it not have been prudent to have a Marine capability deployed on these ships to respond to contingencies such as a limited NEO, rapid reinforcement of an embassy or consulate, rescue of a downed pilot, limited raid against a high value target, or other mission?
-- Charles Krulak & James Conway, "Gaps in Amphibious Forces Pose Unnecessary Risks to National Security"
https://marinecorpscompasspoints.substack.com/p/compass-points-marines-on-carriers
