Category Archives: USMC

Can we just acknowledge the tonnage deployed on Epic Fury?

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The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) sails in the Atlantic Ocean, April 12, 2026. The George H. W. Bush Carrier Strike Group, comprised of nearly 5,000 Sailors, provides combatant commanders and America’s civilian leaders with increased capacity to underpin American security and economic prosperity, deter adversaries, and project power on a global scale through sustained operations at sea. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class John R. Farren)

Right now, as noted by open sources (Centcom releases, USNI’s Marine Tracker, etc), we have three carrier strike groups– built around USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), and George H.W. Bush (CVN 77)— as well as two ARGs (USS Boxer and Tripoli), either in the region or steaming there. Tripoli is also deployed with USS New Orleans (LPD-18) and Rushmore (LSD-47) with the 31st MEU embarked, while Boxer is sailing with USS Comstock (LSD-45) and Portland (LPD-27) as well as the 11th MEU.

Centcom confirms this is the first time they have had three CVNs in their area of operation since 2003, and greater than 20,000 assorted Bluejackets and Marines are afloat.

They have no less than 18 Burkes supporting:

  • USS Mitscher (DDG-57)
  • USS Gonzalez (DDG-66)
  • USS Milius (DDG-69)
  • USS Ross (DDG-71) (Bush CSG)
  • USS Mahan (DDG-72) (Ford CSG)
  • USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) (Bush CSG)
  • USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) (Ford CSG, Air Defense Commander)
  • USS Bulkeley (DDG-84)
  • USS Mason (DDG-87) (Bush CSG, Air Defense Commander)
  • USS Pickney (DDG-91)
  • USS Bainbridge (DDG-96) (Ford CSG)
  • USS Spruance (DDG-111) (Lincoln CSG)
  • USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112)
  • USS John Finn (DDG-113)
  • USS Rafael Peralta (DDG-115)
  • USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) (Ford CSG)
  • USS Delbert D. Black (DDG-119)
  • USS Frank E. Petersen (DDG-121) (Lincoln CSG, Air Defense Commander)

For those keeping count, that is roughly 300K tons of carriers, 250K tons of ‘Phibs, and 165k tons of destroyers, with the Silent Service’s SSNs and SSGNs not publicized and keeping very silent indeed, and the logistics tail, which never gets any love except from Sal. 

So, pushing just shy of a million tons, with three carriers, 18 tin cans, six Gators, and AO/AOE/SS undetailed. Truth be told, that is one serious naval force.

Sadly, there are no Ticos forward deployed to Centcom. Looks like the old girls are sitting this one out, and all the CSGs are using upgraded SM-3 carrying DDGs for the group’s Air Defense Commander roles.

Combat air squadrons embarked include a homogenous 11 F/A-18E/F units (VFA-14, VFA-31, VFA-37, VFA-41, VFA-83, VFA-87, VFA-103, VFA-105, VFA-131, VFA-151, and VFA-213), three of EA-18Gs (VAQ-130, VAQ-133, and VAQ-142) and a single F-35C squadron– the Black Knights of VMFA-314.

Ironically, this puts the Marines, which by trope are given the obsolete stuff the Navy doesn’t want any longer, with the most advanced fighter in squadron service during Epic Fury– leaving the Navy to push 14 assorted squadrons of Rhino! Of further note, there are no F-18C/D models deployed, with the 5-6 legacy squadrons that use these are all stateside Marine dirt-dets, as the last carrier deployment for those little birds was with VMFA-323 in 2021 on Nimitz.

Still, somewhere around 400 embarked aircraft when all the MH-60s aboard the DDGs and the MEU’s air units are counted.

In other sad news, the Navy’s minesweeping solution, the mine module equipped LCSs (USS Canberra, Santa Barbara, and Tulsa) were all pulled out of Bahrain in March and have been notably MIA while two aging Avenger-class sweepers based in Sasebo, USS Chief (MCM-14) and Pioneer (MCM-9), are “speeding” towards the Hormuz, a short 6,600nm jaunt away, a sail of 20 days at their typical 14 knot cruising speed. Of course, that doesn’t include stops to refuel and flirt with monkeys.

What’s left for the rest of the world?

What does this leave for other contingencies?

A MH-60S Sea Hawk, attached to the “Indians” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 6, transports stores to Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) during a vertical replenishment-at-sea in the Pacific Ocean, April 23, 2026. Nimitz is deployed as part of Southern Seas 2026, which seeks to enhance capability, improve interoperability, and strengthen maritime partnerships with countries throughout the region through joint, multinational, and interagency exchanges and cooperation. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Johnathan McCune)

Well, of the country’s CVNs, Nimitz is in her slow-motion final cruise around Latin America to begin her deactivation, Stennis is in RCOH (where she has been for five years) and isn’t expected back in the fleet until at least October 2026, Reagan is in DPIA until at least August of 2026, Harry S. Truman (which the Navy wanted to decommission in 2019!) is set to begin her much needed RCOH in June, and JFK won’t commission until the summer of 2027 (a date likely to be pushed back after the lessons learned during Ford’s now epic deployment and saga of underway mechanical casualties).

This leaves on the East Coast the 49-year-old Ike— which is just wrapping up sea trials after a yard stint that was completed early (yes, Virginia, it is possible) and is set to retire in 2028 but probably won’t (see Ford/JFK)– Vinson and Teddy R on the West Coast, and George Washington forward deployed to Japan from where the Navy will keep her as a hedge against China/NorK.

Only four CVNs (USS Carl Vinson, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Theodore Roosevelt) can handle the F-35C as they have cooled jet blast deflectors and a hangar bay that is reconfigured to support their maintenance (i.e., ODIN data centers).

Further, speaking to big-deck LHD/LHAs, the Navy only owns nine after the Bon Homme Richard fire, and two are deployed to Epic Fury as noted above. Iwo Jima is assigned to operations off Venezuela right now (delaying a planned $200 million update to operate F-35s), and two others, Essex and Kearsarge, are working up on the East and West coasts, respectively. Of the other four, two are in fairly poor material shape, with Bataan currently receiving heavy maintenance after a fire last December during her two-year-long modernization, and America is undergoing a DSRA at NASSCO until at least July 2027.

Meanwhile, only five big deck ‘phibs (USS Wasp, Essex, America, Makin Island, and Boxer) have had their decks shielded to operate short take off/vertically landing F-35Bs.

The new construction big deck phibs, the future USS Bougainville (LHA-8), Fallujah (LHA-9), and Helmand Province (LHA-10) have had their delivery dates pushed back to July 2027, July 2031, and September 2034, respectively.

Afloat in the Pascagoula River proper is the future USS Bougainville (LHA-8), the first Flight I America-class Lightning carrier, circa March 2026. She still has another 15 months of fitting out and trials to come. Chris Eger

For reference, Bougainville was laid down in March 2019, which would give her an eight-year construction cycle. The first steel on Helmand Province hasn’t even been cut yet, so even 2034 may be optimistic (although Wasp is set to retire that year). Even if Helmand Province arrives in the fleet in 2034 as planned, class leader America (LHA-6) will be 20 years in service then, while the Wasp-class LHDs will be edging to age 40, which is never a good look on a gator (the longest serving Tarawa class, the very high-mileage Peleliu, only spent 34 years and five weeks in commission).

And the beat goes on…

Of Blockades and Commerce Raiders, 2026 Edition

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So can we just talk for a minute, not of politics, but of naval tactics at work in the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and Arabian?

As any fan of the blog knows, we lean pretty hard into the stories of the old steam/diesel navies from 1833 to 1954, which in turn is heavily punctuated by surface/commerce raiders and naval quarantine/blockade.

With that foundation under us, it has become super interesting that the Navy has delivered its first disabling gunfire against a large surface vessel since 1988, with several 5″/62 rounds delivered into the engine room of the M/V Touska by the USS Spruance (DDG 111) while operating as part of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group.

It was certainly the old “cruiser rules” with Sprunace firing five warning shots and opting to use nine BLP (Blind Loaded Projectile, the blue, steel projectile loaded with inert contents) to wreck Touska’s engine room after several broadcasted warnings and a six-hour pursuit.

Dead in the water, Touska was soon boarded in a night operation by Marines from the 31st MEU carried via helicopter from USS Tripoli (LHA 7). Some real deal VBSS stuff on a 73,000-ton/968-foot Panamax-sized container ship– not your more typical seizure of an unflagged dhow that the Navy has typically done in the past several decades.

Such an incident shows the value of a 5-inch gun aboard a grey hull for just such a moment– and underlines why the Navy’s next frigates (and the Coast Guard’s larger cutters) need such a weapon installed. Bofors 57s aren’t going to get it.

Either way, you know Spruance’s already colorful forward mount will receive some extra paint on its gun house.

U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) approaches fleet replenishment oiler USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO-187) before a replenishment-at-sea Jan. 17, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jordan Steis)

Then came the interception of the Iranian-chartered “Botswanan-flagged” (officially stateless) crude carrier M/T Tifani— 156,967 gross tons of shipping– on the 21st in the Bay of Bengal.

Of interest, she was seized by a converted tanker design, with an Expeditionary Sea Base, possibly the Lewis B. Puller-class USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5), seen just off her bow in the photos released by CENTCOM and DoW.

There is no way you can look at that as other than a direct call back to the auxiliary cruisers of the Russo-Japanese War, WWI, and WWII, which typically saw gently converted mail steamers and ocean liners modified with a few guns, some paint, and a military crew, then sent out to halt enemy blockade runners and similar auxiliary cruisers flying the flags of the other guys.

On 22 April, CENTCOM said that it had intercepted a total of 29 ships as part of the now nine-day-old blockade, including five Iranian-flagged/contracted/controlled tankers (Diona, Sevin, Dorena, Derya, and Deep Sea).

To wit, the IRCG has also said they have bagged a couple of ships of their own.

Sal catches us up on that.

What 603 feet of Sovereign U.S. Territory can Do in a Pinch

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After mentioning the helicopter carrier that saw the first use of ships’ caps for recovered astronauts earlier this week– USS Guam (LPH 9) in 1966’s Gemini 11, we would be remiss not to mention what that same humble Iwo Jima-class phib was up to some 30 years ago this week.

Guam, some 31 years young at the time, left Morehead City, North Carolina, on 27 Jan 1996 at the head of an ARG that included the transport dock ship USS Trenton (LPD 14) and the dock landing ships USS Portland (LSD 37) and USS Tortuga (LSD 46). Embarked was the 22nd MEU (SOC), made up of Battalion Landing Team 2/4, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM) 261, and assorted support elements, sailing under U.S. Sixth Fleet orders.

Just over two months into her (planned) six-month deployment to the Med and afloat in the Adriatic on a series of planned exercises, the call came on 11 April 1996 for Guam— the Mediterranean ARG with the embarked Landing Force Sixth Fleet– to sail at best speed to Monrovia, Liberia, some 3,000nm distant, where trouble was brewing. Leaving Tortuga behind (she was in Haifa, Israel, with the MEU artillery– Battery B, 1st Battalion, 10th Marines, and the light armored reconnaissance company, Company D (-), 2d Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion) to take part in exercise Noble Shirley), Guam and the rest of the ARG made for West Africa.

Four days later, on 15 April, the Marines of the 22nd MEU’s flyaway forward liaison cell arrived at the embassy in Monrovia to begin coordinating with the deployed European Special Operations Command’s forward headquarters in the country.

By 19 April, Guam and the promise of embarked Marines just offshore became real when they arrived at Mamba Station located off the coast of Liberia. The mission now assigned to 22d MEU was to conduct noncombatant evacuation operations and to provide security for the American Embassy in Liberia– Operation Assured Response.

USS Guam (LPH-9), Op Assured Response off Liberia, April 1996. Note her mix of CH-46Es, CH-53Ds, AH-1s, and UH-1s. 

As noted by the 82-page Marine History of Assured Response:

At 0600 on 20 April, the first helicopter sorties carrying Marines arrived to replace the soldiers at the embassy in Monrovia. The well-briefed platoon guides from Company F and Weapons Company BLT 2/2 came ashore first. The main body of Marines began arriving at the basketball court landing zone one hour later. Company F arrived first, quickly followed by the small 22d MEU forward command element and some MEU Service Support Group 22 (MSSG-22) personnel. Fast attack vehicles debarked carrying .50-caliber machine guns, Mk19 grenade launchers, and tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided

missiles, commonly called TOW missiles. These vehicles, combined with the mortars, machine guns, and sniper weapons already on station at the embassy, significantly enhanced the Marines’ firepower. The MEU completed the entire lift by 1015.

Company F, commanded by Captain Eric M. Mellinger, assumed security of the compound. The smooth transition left Marine squad leaders and platoon commanders with fire plans and field sketches drawn by the departing airborne troops. Starting at about 1230, soldiers from Company C, 3d Battalion, 325th Infantry, left in six sorties of three Boeing MH-47D Chinook helicopters. The last flight out of the embassy at 2015 included the outgoing commander of the European Special Operations Command’s Joint Task Force Assured Response. That evening, more than 275 Marines protected the compound. Captain Mellinger noted the embassy staff seemed overjoyed the Marines had arrived.

Guam, her two fellow gators, and (most of) the 22nd MEU would remain in/off Liberia with the ships often within direct-line sight of Monrovia for weeks as USAF aircraft ran a quiet evac operation ashore (103 combined sorties via MH-53 Pave Low helicopters, MC-130 Combat Talon aircraft, AC-130 gunships, KC-135 Stratotankers, and C-130 cargo aircraft) from M’Poko Airfield, with the Navy/Marine force providing muscle and presence.

USS Guam (LPH-9), Op Assured Response off Liberia, April 1996

The already split ARG/MEU was further dimenished when Trenton left for the coast of Spain to join with Tortuga for Exercise Matador 96 in early May, and Portland left on 20 June, leaving Guam alone on station off Liberia until the scratch-built SPMAGTF Liberia (732 Marines and Green side Navy personnel with 5 LAVs and 9 AAPV7s, along with six CH-46Es of HMM-264) arrived crammed aboard USS Ponce (LPD 15) on 27 June.

Between 9 April and 18 June, Joint Task Force Operation Assured Response evacuated 2,444 people (485 Americans and 1,959 citizens of 72 other countries) from Liberia.

USS Guam was decommissioned on 25 August 1998 and was disposed of as a target off the East Coast on 16 October 2001 in a SINKEX conducted by the John F. Kennedy Battle Group.

Although battered, Guam took over 12 hours to sink. One tough girl to the last.

Her motto was “Swift and bold.”

Green Knights in the Arabian Sea

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Via CENTCOM comes these amazing images of VMFA-121 F-35B night ops from the Arabian Sea aboard an LHA serving in a “Lightning Carrier” sea control/denial role, something that would no doubt make the ghost of Elmo Zumwalt very happy.

Official caption: “An F-35B stealth fighter jet is prepared for flight aboard USS Tripoli (LHA 7) as the amphibious assault ship sails in the Arabian Sea. Tripoli and its 3,500 Sailors and embarked Marines are executing the mission to blockade ships entering and departing Iranian ports. The blockade is being enforced impartially against vessels of all nations.”

The “Green Knights” of Iwakuni-based Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121 trace their lineage back to 1941 and were charter members of the Cactus Air Force during the Guadalcanal campaign, then went on to produce 14 aces– more than any other Marine squadron during WWII– downing 208 Japanese aircraft in the process.

They went on to fight in Korea (flying Skyraiders), Vietnam (Skyhawks then Intruders), became the first Marine F-18D night attack squadron in 1989 once the A-6 was retired, logged over 2,000 combat sorties during GWOT, and have been riding the Lightning since 2012.

Their motto is “Have Gun Will Travel,” which tracks.

A must for fans of the Jump Jet

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A U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier II assigned to Marine Attack Squadron 223, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, taxis on the runway at Bodø Air Station, Norway, March 3, 2022. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Adam Henke)

This week’s Fighter Pilot Podcast is on the Harrier, specifically the AV-8B, and has as guests the final skipper, Lt. Col. “Traper” Cumbie, and XO Major Eric “Porky” Scheibe, of the last Marine Harrier squadron, VMA-223, the “Great American Bulldogs.”

The ‘Dogs have a hell of a history, flying Brewster F2A-1 Buffalos at the beginning of WWII, then moving to Wildcats and Corsairs (bagging 146 victories 1942-45), Panthers in Korea, Skyhawks in Vietnam, and the Harrier since 1987.

And yes, 223 supported True Lies back in the day with actual Harriers– you can even see the Bulldog on the side. The trio of Harriers used in the Schwarzenegger flick was real and loaned from the USMC to the production for $100,000 per day, plus $2,400 per flying hour per aircraft.

It is a treat and well worth your time.

 

Vintage Vindy

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Here we see, some 85 years ago this month, a spick and span SB2U-3 Vindicator, on 25 April 1941. Note the “meatball” national insignia and the aircraft’s ribs showing through its fabric fuselage. The Navy’s first monoplane scout-bomber, the Vindicator, entered squadron service with the VB-3 High Hats (now the VFA-14 Tophatters) in 1937, but was soon replaced by the better SBD Dauntless.

U.S. Navy picture via the NARA 80-G-3042

The above new production SB2U-3 (BuNo 2050) was delivered to Marine Scouting Squadron Two (VMS-2) on 14 March 1941, part of just 57 such aircraft ordered for the USMC in 1939.

On 1 July 1941, VMS-2 was redesignated Marine Scout-Bombing Squadron 231 (VMSB-231).

BuNo 2050 was later destroyed on the ground with six other “spare” Vindicators of the squadron when the Japanese attacked Ewa Marine Corps Air Station on 7 December 1941, the rest of the unit being sent aboard USS Lexington (CV-2) during the first week of December to reinforce some place few had heard of, far off Midway Atoll.

231’s sister Vindy squadron, VMSB-241, would give its best during the battle.

Obsolete fabric-covered SB2U-3 dive bombers of Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 241 taking off to attack the Japanese fleet striking force on the morning of 4 June 1942, during the battle of Midway. Part of Marine Aircraft Group 22 (MAG-22), they would earn a Presidential Unit Citation for their role in the epic naval clash.

The next time VMSB-231 met the Japanese in 1942, it would be from SBD Dauntless dive bombers, as the Corps was busy divesting itself of the old Vindy. No Marine SB2U-3 remains in existence, with only a sole Navy Vindicator, SB2U-2 BuNo 1383, on display at the NNAM in Pensacola.

Now in its 107th year of service, the “Ace of Spades” of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMA) 231 is still around today, transitioning from AV-8Bs to F-35s.

Marines OK Optics for Pistol Qualifications, Kinda

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The nation’s 911 force is now officially authorizing pistol quals with a red dot optic, provided it is one very specific system.

On March 13, Marine Administrative Message (MARADMINS) 104/26 updated that the service’s Marksmanship Program will include the paragraph, “Marines are authorized to use unit funded Using Unit Responsibility Item, M17 Romeo red dot optic, National Stock Number 1240-01-713-9795 for Combat Pistol Program (CPP) qualifications.”

In short, so long as the SIG M17 Romeo sight is used– which was designed specifically for the P320-based M17 and M18 9mm Modular Handgun System– and it is bought with unit funds, the country’s premier amphibious warfare force can run red dots in qualifications.

M17 Romeo on an M17 MHS pistol
The Romeo M17 sight (NSN: 1240-01-713-9795), seen attached to an M17 MHS handgun, is a mil-spec, fully enclosed and gas-purged red dot reflex sight with a distortion-free glass aspheric lens. It is submersible to depths up to 35 meters. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
M17 Romeo on an M17 MHS pistol
The optic incorporates a high-efficiency point source red LED emitter, with 2 MOA dot/32 MOA circle reticle, independent brightness adjustment buttons, 15 brightness settings including night vision settings, and a side-mounted CR2032 battery compartment with a threaded battery cap so the optic does not need to be removed from the pistol for battery changes. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Completely U.S. made and constructed of forged 7075 aluminum with a beryllium copper flexure arm (more on that in a minute) the Romeo M17 has an extremely low deck height so that armorers can reuse standard iron sights, has 15 illumination settings (including three for use with Gen 3+ night vision), beats drop and submersion tests, and, importantly, has an integral loaded chamber gas deflector shield that keeps the MHS from gassing up the lens after 10-15 rounds.

SIG Sauer M17 MHS pistol with Romeo M17 MRD sight
The Romeo M17 is a hoss. This installed example we saw dropped from 10 feet onto concrete at SIG’s plant in Oregon earlier this year with nothing but cosmetic damage to the housing. SIG explained to Guns.com that the Romeo M17 has surpassed 100,000 rounds in testing without loss of zero or parts breakage.  (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
SIG Sauer Romeo M17 MRD sight flexure arm
That magical Romeo M17 flexure arm. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
SIG Sauer Romeo M17 MRD sight flexure arm
Installed near the base of the Romeo M17, the arm provides a backbone – so to speak – for the sight, cutting down on the number of parts that can fail. That, combined with the unique mounting process used on the sight that gives it six points of contact with the pistol host, makes it so tough. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Marines deployed with the Fleet have already been seen with red dot-equipped M17 Romeo-equipped M18s and Surefire X300 white lights.

M17 Romeo on an M18 MHS pistol
A U.S. Marine with Maritime Special Purpose Force, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), fires an M18 pistol during a qualification range aboard San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28), while underway in the Caribbean Sea, Feb. 22, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)
M17 Romeo on an M18 MHS pistol
An inset of the above image, clearly showing the M17 Romeo on an M18 MHS pistol. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)

The Marines adopted the M18 in 2019, ordering 35,000 of the SIGs to not only replace legacy Beretta M9s but also the Colt M45A1 CQB .45ACP railgun and the M007 Glock.

Devil Dog Icicle

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Talk about dramatic. Check this one out.

Official caption: “Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Sebastian Gutierrez-Quiroz and Sgt. Matthew Blake shoot a FIM-92E Stinger missile at a simulated hostile counter-unmanned aircraft system during Arctic Edge near Fort Greely, Alaska, March 7, 2026. The exercise was designed to improve readiness, demonstrate capabilities, and enhance joint and allied force interoperability in the Arctic.”

Credit: Marine Corps Sgt. Aaron Torres-Lemus, VIRIN: 260307-M-UQ888-1037M

Replacing the old Redeye and British Blowpipe systems– which never worked well– Stinger has been the go-to NATO MANPADS since 1981 and earned its first combat kill before it was a year old with SAS commandos in the Falklands.

New Providence Raid at 250

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We would be remiss for not marking the recent 250th anniversary of the first amphibious maritime force raid by the Continental Marines, the March 3–4, 1776 landing on Nassau in the British colony of the Bahamas, putting 284 Sailors and Marines on the surfline of New Providence Island.

The landing force was led by Captain Samuel Nicholas, at the time the sitting Commandant of the budding Corps, which had only been formed some four months prior.

“New Providence Raid, March 1776,” Oil painting on canvas by V. Zveg, 1973, depicting Continental Sailors and Marines landing on New Providence Island, Bahamas, on 3 March 1776. Their initial objective, Fort Montagu, is in the distance on the left. Close offshore are the small vessels used to transport the landing force to the vicinity of the beach. They are (from left to right): two captured sloops, the schooner Wasp, and the sloop Providence. The other ships of the American squadron are visible in the distance. Commodore Esek Hopkins commanded the operation—courtesy of the U.S. Navy Art Collection, Washington, D.C., U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Catalog #: NH 79419-KN

They successfully captured Fort Montague, seizing 88 canons, 15 mortars, and 24 casks of much-needed gunpowder for the Continental forces– a cache even larger than Benedict Arnold’s seizure at Fort Ticonderoga the previous year. Task force commander, Commodore Esek Hopkins (the Navy’s first man to hold the rank) made good his withdrawal without loss, even carrying away the governor of the colony.

John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, wrote Hopkins: “I beg leave to congratulate you on the success of your Expedition. Your account of the spirit and bravery shown by the men affords them [Congress] the greatest satisfaction . . .”

From the sea, right?

Doodlebugs over Nassau

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The amphibious assault ship “USS Nassau (LHA 4) cruises in the Gulf of Oman,” during Desert Storm by John C. Roach. with air cover provided by two AV-8B Harrier IIs of Marine Attack Squadron 331 (VMA-331).

(U.S. Navy History and Heritage Command Art Collection)

On 25 January 1985, the “Doodlebugs” became the first fully operational AV-8B Harrier II squadron in Marine Corps service.

The Doodlebugs deployed on the Nassau to the Persian Gulf for Desert Shield and eventually flew 243 sorties, dropping 256 tons of ordnance, during Desert Storm to become the first Marine Attack Squadron to conduct combat operations from a general-purpose amphibious assault ship in the process.

AV-8B Harrier II (VMA-331) aboard USS Nassau (LHA 4) – February 1991. NNAM

While supporting Operation Desert Storm, a Harrier from the squadron was shot down by a “two or more” SA-7s over Safwan, Iraq, on 27 February 1991. The pilot, Capt. Reginald C. Underwood, USMC, was killed in action, a more somber note for the Harrier in Marine service.

The 86 Marine Harriers in theatre flew 9,353 sorties and logged 11,120 hours during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Five were lost during the campaign.

Mission-capable rates averaged 90% throughout the war. Maintenance crews were able to hold five to ten aircraft per squadron in maintenance reserve and still meet the flight schedule. Turnaround times between sorties averaged 20 minutes for gas and arming. The land-based AV-8Bs consistently flew as many as 120 sorties a day, with highs of 160.

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