The 12th Marine Littoral Regiment welcomed a new unit that will soon wield the service’s first anti-ship missile defense system in Okinawa, Japan, according to a spokesperson for Marine Corps Combat Development and Integration.
The 12th Littoral Combat Team was officially established at Camp Hansen in Okinawa on March 3 to “create chaos and uncertainty in potential adversaries,” according to a Marine Corps release. The addition of the team to the littoral regiment marks the third and final subordinate element of the regiment, which also includes the 12th Littoral Anti-Air Battalion and 12th Littoral Logistics Battalion.
The team will focus on taking advantage of enemies’ weaknesses while obfuscating their ability to accurately locate American military personnel and disrupting their decision-making, the release stated.
“The Marine Corps’ force modernization efforts designed the LCT for speed, mobility, lethality, and precision,” Lt. Col. Jacob Godby, commanding officer of the 12th Littoral Combat Team, said in the release. “We work in coordination with our adjacent commands in the 12th MLR and distributed operations to form relevant and ready combat formations in contested maritime environments.”
Starting in fiscal 2026, the team will be equipped with the Navy/Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, or NMESIS, a mobile, ground-based carrier capable of firing anti-ship missiles, said a spokesperson for Marine Corps Systems Command.
The Marine Corps redesigned the 3rd Marine Regiment to the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment in March 2022 and converted the 12th Marine Regiment — which was already based in Okinawa, Japan — to the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment in November 2023.
Military Times reported in January 2024 that the regiments would be equipped with capabilities designed to combat adversaries like the Chinese military. Along with the NMESIS system, the regiments will be expected to wield an MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial system, the AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar system and the light amphibious warship.
The regiments are slated to contain up to 2,000 Marines and sailors and are expected to carry out deployments to chokepoints along islands and coastlines.
“This formation didn’t just stand up, it surged forward,” Col. Peter Eltringham, commanding officer of the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, said in the release. “We bring this combat power to Okinawa to be able to deliver it in the eyes of our adversaries and ensure we can bring it to the decisive point on the battlefield.”
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
