Major General James G. Blunt

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Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Crisis Response – Central Command (SP-MAGTF-CR-CC) was a Marine Air-Ground Task Force that was based at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia.

It was a self-mobile, self-sustaining force of Marines and sailors, capable of responding to a range of crises. The unit was specifically trained to support U.S. and partner interests throughout the United States Central Command area of responsibility, to include embassy reinforcement, support to noncombatant evacuation operations, tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief. The unit also took part in bilateral and multilateral training exercises with regional partners. It was commanded by a U.S. Marine colonel (O-6).

History

  • 15.2
    • Ground Combat Element Established new US presence at al-Taqaddum, a previously occupied joint base located in close proximity to ISIS holdings in Anbar province. This was discussed in American society as a sign of going back down the path to US combat "boots on the ground" in Iraq once again.[1]
    • Supported Task Force "Al-Asad" in order to build partner capacity, train, and assist the Joint Task Force and Iraqi forces in their fight against the Islamic State in Anbar, deepening the U.S. role in efforts to halt the recent momentum of the extremists.[2]
  • 16.2
    • Exercise Eager Lion 16 in Jordan during May.
    • GCE training with 77th Jordanian Marine Battalion as part of Security Cooperation Team – Jordan during August.
    • CLB-5 and MWSS-373 with the Lebanon Armed Forces during August.
  • 17.1
  • 19.2
  • 20.2
    • GCE took part in Exercise Falcon Sentry in the UAE[4]
  • 21.1
    • The unit played a key role during the Afghanistan Crisis in August 2021. After returning to the United States of America, the unit was shortly disbanded in October 2021.[5]

Assets

Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines during a training exercise undertaken while assigned to the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Crisis Response – Central Command in March 2015
Group photo of personnel from Marine Attack Squadron 211 while deployed in support of the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Crisis Response – Central Command in April 2015
Marines from 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines assigned to the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Crisis Response – Central Command and Army soldiers with 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division discuss plans prior to a joint patrol in Syria in August 2020

The rotations were made up of four elements, Command Element (CE), Ground Combat Element (GCE), Logistics Combat Element (LCE) and the Aviation Combat Element (ACE)

2013–2018

2019–2021

See also

References

  1. ^ "Obama's new plan to send more troops to Iraq, explained". 10 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Pentagon sending up to 450 more troops to help Iraq fight the Islamic State".
  3. ^ a b https://oig.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2018-06/quarterly_oir_03312017.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  4. ^ a b AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. November 2020. p. 20.
  5. ^ "Marine Corps ends all 3 of its crisis response deployments". 21 March 2022.
  6. ^ a b AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. November 2016. p. 43.
  7. ^ a b c d e "SP-MAGTF Commander Details ISIL Strikes; Notes 1st Marines 'Could Clear' Iraq". Breaking Defense. 20 May 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  8. ^ a b "U.S. Marines conduct TRAP readiness exercise". U.S. Marines – DoD. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  9. ^ "Task Force Al Taqaddum". USMC. March 3, 2019.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h "SP-MAGTF-CR-CC – August Edition" (PDF). U.S. Marines. October 19, 2016.
  11. ^ "About". U.S. Marines. October 19, 2016.
  12. ^ "SecFor Marines "Ace" target practice". U.S. Marines. October 19, 2016.
  13. ^ "The Legacy Lives on: Tomcats train in Bahrain".
  14. ^ "SPMAGTF-CR-CC 19.2: Middle East Amphibious Commanders Symposium 2019 Air-raid".
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Purpose_Marine_Air-Ground_Task_Force_%E2%80%93_Crisis_Response_%E2%80%93_Central_Command