Marine expeditionary brigade
A Marine expeditionary brigade is a formation of the United States Marine Corps, a Marine air-ground task force of approximately 14,500 Marines and sailors constructed around a reinforced infantry regiment, a composite Marine aircraft group, a combat logistics regiment and a MEB command group. The MEB, commanded by a general officer, is task-organized to meet the requirements of a specific situation. It can function as part of a joint task force, as the lead echelon of the Marine expeditionary force, or alone. It varies in size and composition, and is larger than a Marine expeditionary unit but smaller than a MEF. The MEB is capable of conducting missions across the full range of military operations.
Notional Marine expeditionary brigade in 2010
Command element (CE)
MEB command group- MEB Staff
- Detachment, Communications Battalion
- Detachment, Intelligence Battalion
- Detachment, Law Enforcement Battalion
- Detachment, Radio Battalion
- Detachment, Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company
- Detachment, Force Reconnaissance Company
Ground combat element (GCE)
Regimental Landing Team or Regimental Combat Team- Infantry Regiment, Reinforced
- 48 Amphibious Assault Vehicles, AAV-7A1 and variants
- 27 Light Armored Vehicles, LAV-25A1 and variants
- 14 Main Battle Tank, M1A1, Abrams
- 2 Armored Recovery Vehicle, M88A2, Hercules
- 2 Assault Breacher Vehicle, M1, Shredder
- 24 Howitzer, 155 mm, M777A2
- 24 Mortar, 81mm, M252
- 27 Lightweight Mortar, 60 mm, M224 LWCMS
- 24 Anti-Tank Missile Launcher, BGM-71, TOW
- 24 Anti-Tank Missile Launcher, FGM-148, Javelin
- 18 Automatic Grenade Launcher, 40 mm, Mk 19
- 18 Browning Machine Gun, Cal..50, M2, HB, Flexible
- 54 Machine Gun, 7.62mm, M240
- 243 Light Machine Gun/Infantry Automatic Rifle, 5.56mm, M249
Aviation combat element (ACE)
Composite Marine aircraft group- Marine Aircraft Group
- 45 AV-8B
- 24 F/A-18
- 5 EA-6B
- 6 KC-130
- 32 CH-53E
- 48 CH-46E or MV-22B
- 18 AH-1Z
- 9 UH-1Y
- 45 Stinger missile teams
- 1 Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron (MALS)
- 1 Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS)
- Other aviation support squadron detachments as required
Logistics combat element (LCE)
Combat logistics regiment- 1 medium girder bridge
- 6 cranes:
- *1 30-ton crane
- *5 7.5-ton cranes
- 2 600k-gal fuel systems
- 44 100-kW generators
- 75 7-ton trucks
- 9 Water purifying units
- 116 forklifts
- 5 bulldozers
- 3 road graders
List of MEBs
- 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade
- 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade
- 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade
- 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade
- 7th Marine Expeditionary Brigade
Historical MEBs
The following MEBs were deployed operationally:- Task Force Tarawa for the Iraq War
- Task Force Leatherneck for the Afghanistan War
- 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade for the Vietnam War – deployed March 8, 1965
- 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade for the war on terror - activated in 29 October 2001 and deactivated in February 2006