U.S. Marine Corps: U.S. Marines Activate New Littoral Anti-Air Battalion

Press release from the U.S. Marine Corps:

1st Lt. Isaac Liston

2022-02-14

The Marine Corps administratively activated its first Littoral Anti-Air Battalion, the 3rd LAAB, in a small ceremony aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Feb. 11, 2022.

While the unit is not envisioned to be fully operational for several years, the ceremony marks one of the first steps in the Marine Corps’ Force Design 2030 modernization effort.

The administrative activation of 3rd LAAB sets leadership in place and allows the unit to manage existing facilities and equipment previously managed by the recently de-activated 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. Activation also facilitates wargaming and experimentation to better define unit requirements and employment concepts in support of the Marine Corps’ Force Design modernization goals.

As designed, 3rd LAAB will serve as a subordinate unit to the future 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, or 3rd MLR. While the details of how the LAAB will operate are still in development, the Marine Corps envisions the LAAB providing critical support and protection for small teams of MLR Marines distributed across wide areas of the Pacific region.

“Force Design creates advantages by having Marines think, act and organize in new ways..." Lt. Col. James Arnold, 3rd LAAB commanding officer

This press release was produced by the U.S. Marine Corps. The views expressed here are the author’s own.