Two recent Marine Expeditionary Unit deployments were both marked by amphibious warship readiness problems that, according to the units' commanders, challenged and complicated their missions in the increasingly tense Indo-Pacific and Eastern Mediterranean operating areas. Starting in January 2024, the 15th MEU spent 11 months patrolling and training in the Pacific. But instead of deploying with the standard three-ship amphibious ready group (ARG), the MEU was forced to use a “staggered” deployment model largely due to vessel maintenance issues, according...
