The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) completed its Realistic Urban Training (RUT) exercise across Arizona and Southern California, marking its first major full-scale deployment as a composited Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF).
According to the U.S. Marine Corps, the exercise involved approximately 1,200 Marines from the MEU’s ground, aviation, and logistics combat elements. The training aimed to assess the unit’s ability to respond rapidly to various contingency scenarios, including expeditionary strikes, tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel, limited-scale raids, and the establishment of forward operating bases.
The 11th MEU includes Battalion Landing Team 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines (BLT 3/5) as its Ground Combat Element, Combat Logistics Battalion 11 as its Logistics Combat Element, and Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 163 (Reinforced) as its Aviation Combat Element. The exercise also featured support from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 122.
“This is the first time that the elements of our MAGTF came together and synergized through planning, execution, briefing and debriefing,” said Maj. Jordan Vargas, assistant operations officer of the 11th MEU. “The MEU’s objective for this training is to deploy as a Marine Air Ground Task Force and then work together in pursuit of a common goal.”
RUT was conducted under the supervision of the Expeditionary Operations Training Group from I Marine Expeditionary Force and was designed to replicate the complexity and pace of real-world operations in a controlled environment.
“RUT makes us a more lethal force because it brings together all of the assets that the Marine Corps has,” said Sgt. Jackson Intlekofer, a squad leader with India Company, BLT 3/5. “For us at the squad level, we get to integrate with the supporting elements of the MAGTF who enable us to go into an objective, kick the door in, and do our thing.”
The exercise tested not only combat proficiency but also inter-unit coordination, logistical planning, and decision-making under pressure. Scenarios were scripted to build cohesion across the MEU while preparing the force for future real-world deployments.
The Marines noted that training outcomes from RUT would shape future mission performance and enhance the MEU’s ability to operate as a cohesive and flexible expeditionary unit.
The 11th MEU is a forward-deployable, sea-based rapid response force that provides geographic combatant commanders with scalable options for amphibious operations, crisis response, and humanitarian assistance missions. The unit’s versatility is anchored in its ability to launch operations from the sea, by air, or across complex terrains.
-
-
-
-
-
