Maj. Josh Benson, a spokesman for the U.S. Marine Corps, said the service plans to establish the first Marine Littoral Regiment in fiscal year 2022, as part of its strategy to counter peer competitors in the Indo-Pacific with small maneuvering units, USNI News reported Wednesday.
“Experiments, wargames, modeling and simulation will play a key role in the phased approach to the MLR development. First, the formation will be built, mainly from units that already exist in Hawaii, then the capabilities flowed in,” Benson told the publication.
“The largest muscle movements between now and the standup of the MLR will be structure and manpower adjustments. While this is taking place, further refinement of associated capabilities and concept development will occur in order to ensure the first MLR is capable of contributing to the continued Force Design Phase III efforts,” he added.
In 2020, the Marine Corps started testing the MLR concept with the 3rd Marine Regiment in Hawaii. According to the service’s early plans, the MLR will have 1,800 to 2,000 Marines and sailors and feature a littoral anti-air battalion, littoral logistics battalion and a littoral combat team.
“The MLR will be uniquely designed to maneuver and persist inside a contested maritime environment where its primary mission will be to conduct sea denial operations as part of a larger Naval Expeditionary Force,” Benson said. “The MLR being built in Hawaii over the next three years will be the first of its kind in the Marine Corps."
