Overview
- The Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit began offloading at White Beach, Okinawa on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, ending a six-month deployment to the U.S. 5th and 7th Fleet areas of operations.
- The force shifted mid-deployment in March from Exercise Iron Fist with Japan to U.S. Central Command control and arrived in the northern Arabian Sea to support Operation Epic Fury.
- While under CENTCOM authority the ARG-MEU enforced a U.S. maritime blockade, conducted at least two merchant boardings and seized the Iranian-flagged container ship M/V Touska after USS Spruance disabled its engines.
- Units logged more than 1,600 mishap-free combat aviation hours, moved about 800,000 pounds of cargo and roughly 5,000 personnel, and refueled over 300 aircraft ashore and underway to sustain joint operations.
- The return to Japan restores the forward-deployed ships to their homeport rhythm and highlights how a permanent sea-based Marine Air-Ground Task Force can deliver rapid crisis response and long-range logistical support.