The 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade is a

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. It is part of

II Marine Expeditionary Force The II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) is a Marine Air-Ground Task Force consisting of ground, air and logistics forces capable of projecting offensive combat power ashore while sustaining itself in combat without external assistance for a ...

(II MEF). It advertises itself as a "middleweight" crises response force of choice in the

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

and Southern Command Areas of Operation. It is able to "operate independently, as a service component, or to lead a Joint Task Force". Self-sufficient and

interoperable Interoperability is a characteristic of a product or system to work with other products or systems. While the term was initially defined for information technology or systems engineering services to allow for information exchange, a broader def ...

, the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade possesses a mix of

command and control Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...

, combat power and specialized

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

. Operating as part of the greater Marine Corps team and with support from the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and other services, it can provide operational reach.

Current subordinate units

* Headquarters element: 5th Battalion 10th Marines * Ground combat element: Regimental Combat Team 8 * Aviation combat element:

Marine Aircraft Group 40 Marine Aircraft Group 40 is a composite United States Marine Corps aviation unit that is based in Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009. They served as the aviation combat element for 2nd Marine Expedition ...

* Logistics combat element:

Combat Logistics Regiment 2 Combat Logistics Regiment 2 (CLR 2) is a logistics regiment of the United States Marine Corps. The unit is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and falls under the command of the 2nd Marine Logistics Group (2nd MLG) and the ...

* 2nd Civil Affairs Group

History

In 1991 the 2nd MEB made the first test of the Norway Air-Landed Marine Expeditionary Brigade (NALMEB), comprised completely of

Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned p ...

units as

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

was getting under way. The exercise was designated Battle Griffin and took place in February–March 1991. The force comprised HQ Company 25th Marines, 3/25 Marines, Co E, 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, and 1/14 Marine Artillery (Batteries HQ, Alpha, and Bravo).

Iraq war

The 2nd MEB became

Task Force Tarawa Task Force Tarawa (TFT) was the name given to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It was a Marine Air-Ground Task Force commanded by Brigadier General Richard F. NatonskiNatonski message. that was attached to ...

, commanded by Brigadier General Richard F. Natonski, for

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

, and, as TF Tarawa, was thus part of the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

under

I Marine Expeditionary Force The I Marine Expeditionary Force ("I" pronounced "One") is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) of the United States Marine Corps primarily composed of the 1st Marine Division, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and 1st Marine Logistics Group. It is ...

. During the invasion 2nd MEB fought the Battle of Nasiriyah.

War in Afghanistan

It became

Task Force Leatherneck Task Force Leatherneck or MEB-Afghanistan is a Marine Air-Ground Task Force that operated in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The name was originally given to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade during its 2009-10 operations for Operation Endur ...

, commanded by BGen Lawrence Nicholson during the 2009–10 deployment to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

for

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

International Security Assistance Force ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , comman ...

(ISAF). In 2010, Task Force Leatherneck spearheaded both the

Operation Strike of the Sword Operation Strike of the Sword or Operation Khanjar was a US-led offensive in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a la ...

and the

Battle of Marjah Operation Moshtarak (Dari for ''Together'' or ''Joint''), also known as the Battle of Marjah, was an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Peace, pacification offensive in the town of Marjah, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It involved ...

, the largest battles since the start of the Afghanistan Campaign. The 2nd MEB Command Element was reactivated on 20 Nov 2012 at Camp Lejune,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. The reactivated unit is designed to be a "scalable, standing, joint-capable, and a deployment-ready headquarters element that can also enable the introduction of follow-on forces if required." Tf leatherneck logo

Current subordinate units

History

Iraq war

War in Afghanistan

See also