Force Design Overhaul: How the Marine Corps Mission Is Shifting in 2026

Exploring the core elements of Force Design Overhaul: How the Marine Corps Mission Is Shifting in 2026—check out the main takeaways.

The operational spearhead of this doctrine is the Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR). The Corps activated the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment in Hawaii in 2022, followed by the 12th MLR in Okinawa in November 2023, with a third formation scheduled to operate in Guam by 2027.

A Marine assigned to an MLR does not dig static trenches or wait for large-scale mechanized assaults. Instead, these units deploy in distributed detachments of 50 to 100 troops across isolated islands and coastal chokepoints in the First Island Chain, spanning Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Their operational framework, known as Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO), revolves around constant mobility and signature management.

Marines set up austere outposts in remote terrain within hours. Working alongside Navy assets under distributed maritime operations, they deploy mobile launchers like the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS), an uncrewed vehicle carrying Naval Strike Missiles capable of sinking surface combatants over 100 nautical miles away. Once a volley is fired, or before enemy reconnaissance satellites pass overhead, the unit packs up, relocates via light watercraft or vertical takeoff aircraft, and establishes a new firing position on an adjacent island.