31st MEU embarks, begins deployment with Wasp ARG

Photo By Cpl. Amy Phan | Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit salute the national ensign before boarding the USS Wasp (LHD-1) at White Beach Naval Facility in Okinawa, Japan, March 18, 2018, in preparation for the 31st MEU’s Spring Patrol 2018. The 31st MEU partners with the Navy’s Amphibious Squadron 11 to form the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, a cohesive blue-green team capable of accomplishing a variety of missions across the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Amy Phan/Released)  

WHITE BEACH NAVAL FACILITY, OKINAWA, JAPAN

03.18.2018

Story by Lance Cpl. Matthew Navarra 

31st Marine Expeditionary Unit       

WHITE BEACH NAVAL FACILITY, Okinawa, Japan (March 19, 2018) -- Marines and Sailors of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked aboard the ships of the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group for the regularly-scheduled Spring Patrol 2018, from White Beach, Okinawa, Japan, March 19, 2018.
“The members of the 31st MEU are excited for this historic deployment,” said, Col. Tye R. Wallace, Commanding Officer of the 31st MEU. “The new F-35B Lightning II is a great addition to the team. It’s a flexible aircraft, which will greatly enhance our capabilities as a MEU to execute missions across the spectrum.”
The 31st MEU is the first MEU to be operationally deployed with F-35B short take-off/vertical landing jets. The aircraft, with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, 31st MEU, will also be deployed with an amphibious ready group for the first time ever during the patrol. The USS Wasp (LHD-1), along with the USS Ashland (LSD-48) and the USS Green Bay (LPD-20), make up the Wasp ARG.
"The continuous integrated training between the Navy and Marine Corps is what makes our partnership so strong,” said Wallace. "Throughout this deployment we will continue to strengthen the partnership of the blue-green team, and maintain our ability to rapidly respond to any crisis or contingency.”
As the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed MEU, the 31st MEU is prepared to respond to a wide range of military operations, from limited combat operations to humanitarian assistance missions, at a moment’s notice.
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• Date Taken: 03.18.2018
• Date Posted: 03.19.2018 01:52
• Story ID: 269770
• Location: WHITE BEACH NAVAL FACILITY, OKINAWA, JP