U.S. Marine Capt. Samantha Donatelli, the logistics officer-in-charge with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, which deployed as the Battalion Landing Team with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) in 2024, poses for a portrait on Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, March 11, 2025. Donatelli won the First Lieutenant Travis Manion Marine Corps Logistician of the Year award for her actions with the 24th MEU in 2024. This award is one of the highest honors a Marine Corps logistics officer can receive. Named after 1st Lt. Travis Manion, who was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his heroism in Iraq, the award recognizes logisticians who demonstrate exceptional leadership, innovation, and impact in supporting combat operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Victoria Hutt)
U.S. Marines and Sailors with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Special Operations Capable (SOC) wish their families and friends happy Thanksgiving while at sea in the Atlantic Ocean, Nov. 23, 2024. The 24th MEU (SOC) and Wasp Amphibious Ready Group are on a scheduled deployment to U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa area of operations to support U.S., Allied and partner interest in the region. (U.S. Marine Corps Video by Cpl. Elton Taylor)
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Long hours, high expectations, and the constant pressure to perform become routine while deployed with a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). It may sound daunting to most, but this was an environment that Captain Samantha Donatelli thrived in.
“We went six, seven, eight months prior to getting on ship, going one hundred miles an hour,” says Donatelli, the logistics officer-in-charge with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, which deployed as the Battalion Landing Team with the 24th MEU in 2024.
From planning transportation to and from training sites, to ensuring Marines have ammunition to conduct live-fire ranges, to providing hot meals for Marines in the field - each day provided a new problem set...
NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY SOUDA BAY, Greece β U.S. Marines and Sailors with the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group (WSP ARG)-24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Special Operations Capable (SOC) conducted a readiness and sustainment training exercise focused on core mission essential tasks at Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, Greece, July 13-17, 2024.
