Gary Anderson
Recently, my colleague Greg Maresca wrote an excellent description of life aboard a Navy amphibious ship with one of the two Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs) currently afloat in the Persian Gulf. My last “float” was in 1978-79 with the predecessor of the 31st MEU now in the Gulf — they were then called Marine Amphibious Units (MAUs). (READ MORE: America’s 9-1-1 Force on Float)
Life aboard ship was exactly as Greg described it. However, being peacetime, we did get some great liberty in places like Hong Kong (then British), Taiwan, the Philippines, and Japan. We practiced and were ready for nearly every foreseeable contingency, ranging from the evacuation of U.S. citizens from trouble spots to humanitarian relief. What we were not ready for was urban warfare. In those days, military doctrine was to bypass cities when possible, even though Marines had fought in Seoul in the Korean War and Hue City. Today’s MEUs are no better prepared for urban warfare than we were. (RELATED: A Marine Corps Hollowed Out)
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