{"id":32898,"date":"2023-10-18T05:15:30","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T05:15:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/10\/18\/marine-unit-in-japan-soon-adopting-littoral-name-amid-force-changes\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:51:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:51:42","slug":"marine-unit-in-japan-soon-adopting-littoral-name-amid-force-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/10\/18\/marine-unit-in-japan-soon-adopting-littoral-name-amid-force-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"Marine unit in Japan soon adopting \u2018littoral\u2019 name amid force changes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Marine regiment in Japan is getting renamed in November as it prepares to reorganize into a unit focused on sensing and disrupting in China\u2019s backyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The United States and Japan revealed in January that the Okinawa, Japan-based 12th Marine Regiment would become the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment by fiscal year 2025. The name change \u2014 slated for Nov. 15, the Corps said Tuesday \u2014 is a major first step in that transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 12th Marine Littoral Regiment will be the second unit whose mission is to put into practice the Corps\u2019 new spread-out style of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/USMC\/status\/1714265123026530758\" target=\"_blank\">amphibious operations in the Indo-Pacific.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRedesignating 12th Marines on 15 November is the first step in the process of transitioning the unit into an MLR,\u201d 3rd Marine Division, of which the regiment is a part, said in an emailed statement to Marine Corps Times on Wednesday. \u201cPersonnel and equipment arrivals, much like 3d MLR, will take place over the coming years. Now, and throughout the transition, 12th Marines remains capable of distributing and integrating into the joint force with allies and partners\u2019 capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2023\/01\/11\/japan-to-ok-new-us-marine-littoral-regiment-on-okinawa\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22074208479015.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Japan to OK new US Marine littoral regiment on Okinawa<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Japan on Wednesday will formally approve U.S. plans for a new Marine quick-reaction force on Okinawa.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The shift from the 12th Marine Regiment, with an artillery focus, to the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, with a broader mission, was announced in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2023\/01\/11\/japan-to-ok-new-us-marine-littoral-regiment-on-okinawa\/\" target=\"_blank\">U.S.-Japan agreement<\/a> that heightened the military alliance between the two countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">American and Japanese diplomats decided in January that the U.S. military needed to <a href=\"https:\/\/jp.usembassy.gov\/joint-statement-security-consultative-committee-2plus2\/\" target=\"_blank\">boost its presence in Japan<\/a>, including by placing more forces there with the ability to conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marine littoral regiments are meant to serve as \u201cstand-in forces,\u201d groups of troops positioned near an adversary, watching out for aggressive behavior, and working to deter and disrupt it. Stand-in forces are geared particularly toward<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hqmc.marines.mil\/Portals\/142\/Users\/183\/35\/4535\/211201_A%20Concept%20for%20Stand-In%20Forces.pdf?ver=MFOzu2hs_IWHZlsOAkfZsQ%3D%3D#:~:text=Stand%2Din%20forces'%20enduring%20function,point%20on%20the%20competition%20continuum.\" target=\"_blank\"> competing with the Chinese military<\/a>, as the Corps makes plain in its planning document for the concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For instance, a Marine littoral regiment could protect a Navy carrier strike group trying to navigate through a strait, by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/naval\/2022\/08\/10\/new-us-marine-regiment-shows-off-capabilities-at-rimpac-ahead-of-fall-experimentation-blitz\/\" target=\"_blank\">firing an anti-ship missile<\/a> at an enemy ship blocking the waterway \u2014 a scenario the Marine Corps tested during an August 2022 exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Marine littoral regiment is made up of three smaller elements: a littoral combat team, a littoral anti-air battalion and a combat logistics battalion. The Marine Corps expects it to have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iiimef.marines.mil\/Content\/Feature-Stories\/Article\/3265621\/marine-littoral-regiment-mlr\/\" target=\"_blank\">between 1,800\u20132,000 Marines and sailors<\/a>, according to the Marine Corps\u2019 explanation of the littoral regiment concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The littoral combat team will contain an infantry battalion and an anti-ship missile battery, according to that explanation. It will be able to set up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marines.mil\/Portals\/1\/Docs\/230509-Tentative-Manual-For-Expeditionary-Advanced-Base-Operations-2nd-Edition.pdf?ver=05KvG8wWlhI7uE0amD5uYg%3D%3D\">expeditionary advanced bases<\/a> \u2014 small, temporary outposts in contested areas that the Corps hopes will be easy to maintain and hard for adversaries to track down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The littoral anti-air battalion is supposed to monitor and defend the air in support of the regiment, according to the Marine Corps, while the combat logistics battalion will be tasked with keeping the regiment\u2019s forces fed and fueled even in hard-to-reach or dangerous locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/MarineCorps?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#MarineCorps<\/a> will redesignate the 12th Marine Regiment as the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR) on Nov. 15, 2023. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/A3VqszbqKG\">pic.twitter.com\/A3VqszbqKG<\/a><\/p>&mdash; U.S. Marines (@USMC) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/USMC\/status\/1714265123026530758?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 17, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The \u201clittoral\u201d name signifies that the regiment will focus on areas close to shore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/naval\/2022\/02\/28\/standup-of-marine-littoral-regiment-will-usher-new-gear-into-pacific-theater\/\" target=\"_blank\">Marine littoral regiments will come equipped<\/a> with the new Navy Marine expeditionary ship interdiction system, or NMESIS, for long-range strikes on enemy vessels; the long-endurance MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle, for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.peols.marines.mil\/Programs\/Ground-Air-Task-Oriented-Radar\/\" target=\"_blank\">the Ground\/Air Task Oriented Radar<\/a>, or G\/ATOR, a radar system for air defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/06\/05\/historic-marine-artillery-battalion-deactivates-on-hawaii\/\" target=\"_blank\">now-deactivated 12th Marine Regiment battalion<\/a> in 2021 tested out the NMESIS during an exercise, firing a missile that flew more than 100 nautical miles before hitting its target, a decommissioned frigate. The deactivation of that unit, 1st Battalion, 12th Marines, took place because the Marine Corps is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2021\/04\/09\/how-a-marine-corps-shift-to-long-ranges-may-change-its-strong-cannoneer-tradition\/\" target=\"_blank\">cutting some traditional cannon artillery<\/a> in favor of rockets and missiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the name, the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment will be only the second regiment of its kind. The first, the Hawaii-based <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/modern-day-marine\/2022\/05\/12\/first-of-kind-marine-littoral-regiment-plays-with-new-concepts-weapons\/\">3rd Marine Littoral Regiment<\/a>, was activated in March 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2022\/12\/28\/new-in-2023-pacific-marine-unit-to-hit-initial-operational-capability\/\">reached initial operational capability<\/a> at the end of September, Marine spokeswoman 1st. Lt. Erin Scudder told Marine Corps Times via email on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/03\/16\/marine-littoral-regiment-fends-off-traditional-regiment-in-exercise\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/mlr-te-1.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Marine littoral regiment fends off traditional regiment in exercise<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">\u201cIt\u2019s not capable of everything we set out and designed, but it is a capable operational unit,&quot; Maj. Gen. Jay Bargeron said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the unit \u201cis a credible force that has been exercising in the theater for the past 1.5 years,\u201d Scudder said via email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment \u201cmaintains the ability to deploy to key terrain on short notice, sense the battlespace, and integrate joint force firepower with allies and partners\u2019 capabilities now,\u201d Scudder said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Corps plans to place one more littoral regiment somewhere in the Indo-Pacific, for a total of three, according to the service\u2019s planning documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marine Corps created the concept for Marine littoral regiments as part of the branch\u2019s Force Design 2030 initiative, a set of sweeping changes to the Corps\u2019 approach and capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A driver of the changes is the worry that potential adversaries, especially China, could use precision strikes to destroy large, slow-moving U.S. forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cForces that can continue to operate inside an adversary\u2019s long-range precision fire weapons engagement zone (WEZ) are more operationally relevant than forces which must rapidly maneuver to positions outside the WEZ in order to remain survivable,\u201d Gen. David Berger, then the Marine commandant, wrote in the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hqmc.marines.mil\/Portals\/142\/Docs\/CMC38%20Force%20Design%202030%20Report%20Phase%20I%20and%20II.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"> 2020 document unveiling Force Design 2030.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The soon-to-be 12th Marine Littoral Regiment will remain stationed in the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa. But the reorganization won\u2019t bring additional U.S. service members to Okinawa, the Corps emphasized in a news release Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Okinawa makes up less than 1% of the total land area of Japan but is <a href=\"https:\/\/dc-office.org\/basedata\" target=\"_blank\">home to more than 70% of the Japanese land<\/a> used for U.S. military bases, according to the prefecture. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2018\/10\/31\/why-okinawas-governor-wants-americans-to-stop-a-new-us-marine-corps-air-base\/\">Locals have protested<\/a> against the large U.S. presence on the island, complaining especially of noise, crime and environmental impacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The regiment\u2019s redesignation ceremony will take place on Marine Corps Base Camp Butler, Okinawa, according to the news release Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 12th Marine Regiment is participating in the training exercise Resolute Dragon, in which the Marines will spread out across Japan\u2019s islands &#8221; in a similar manner to what is designed for the MLR,\u201d the news release said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Editor\u2019s note: This story was updated Wednesday with comment from 3rd Marine Division.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite the name, the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment will be only the second regiment of its kind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":64882,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":69,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","home","newsletters"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[101,23,25,69],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3360],"class_list":["post-32898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-newsletters","category-your-marine-corps"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"JCV5DHJCAVDFLGQQR5JTT2R4WE","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/10\/18\/marine-unit-in-japan-soon-adopting-littoral-name-amid-force-changes\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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