laststandonzombieisland

Official caption: “Marines of the 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division operate an M777 howitzer during Service Level Training Exercise 4-25 at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., July 28, 2025. The exercise provides a challenging, realistic training environment that produces integrated, capable, and combat-ready forces.”

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Judith Ann Lazaro. 250728-M-FC877-1526

Nice to see the “Triple Seven” 155mm howitzer still getting some love in the Corps.

The plan outlined in Force Design 2030 (now simply referred to as Force Design) calls for reducing the number of active-duty M777 batteries from 21 to just five, although this may be adjusted upward to a whopping seven. The latter optimistic figure allows for one six-gun battery for each battalion-strength Marine Expeditionary Unit or one-third of a battery (a two-gun section) for each of the Corps’ 21 infantry battalions.

The CONUS-based MEUs are 11th, 13th, and 15th from the West Coast and the 22d, 24th, and 26th MEUs from the East Coast. The 31st MEU is forward deployed in Okinawa, at least for now. The official line is a 3.0 MEU deployable commitment, provided the amphibious ships are afloat for it.

Without its howitzers, a MEU used to be able to opt for six 120mm M327 rifled mortars (towed, if the ITV worked), which could fit in an MV-22, but those were retired in 2018. Now, if the big tubes aren’t available to ride with the MEU, it has to fall back on its eight smaller M252 81mm and nine M224 60mm company and platoon-level mortars.

Ghosts indeed.