The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), now designated as "special operations-capable" (SOC), has had a long history of exemplary service.

The II Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) certified the 26th MEU as a SOC Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) in July following a period of enhanced training.

The training included integrated events with elements of Naval Special Warfare Command and Marine Forces Special Operations Command, the US Navy's and Marine Corps' respective contributions to US Special Operations Command (SOCOM).

The drills focused on efforts such as the tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel, direct-action and combined-arms live-fire exercises, special patrol insertion and extraction, maritime interdiction operations and non-combatant evacuation operations.

An MEU(SOC) designation means that the unit is capable of specialised tasks and working alongside other special operations forces (SOF).

It broadens a combatant commander's options for campaigns and crisis response by providing rapid, multi-domain, direct-action capability, coupled with highly specialized skills and enablers.

"The MEU(SOC) is a naval expeditionary force with the operational capabilities necessary to dominate within the littorals while fusing joint force capabilities -- to include SOF -- in support of a Joint Force Commander, Theater Special Operations Commander, or Fleet Commander," Col. Dennis Sampson, commanding officer of the 26th MEU(SOC), said in July.

"When combined with the Amphibious Ready Group, the MEU(SOC) is able to exploit the asymmetric advantages the sea provides as maneuver space over any potential adversary in concert with our SOF partners or [complementary] to SOF activities."

A history of distinction

The designation of the 26th MEU as special operations-capable is a first for the Marine Corps in more than a decade.

The MEU(SOC) program was originally developed in 1985. At that time, the 26th Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU), the predecessor to the 26th MEU, was the first unit to be certified as SOC.

In the years since, the 26th MEU became one of the most-decorated units in the US military, earning the Navy Unit Commendation Award, Meritorious Commendation Award, Marine Corps Expeditionary Award and National Defense Service Award, as well as honors for participation in the Kosovo Campaign, Afghanistan Campaign, Iraq Campaign, Global War on Terrorism (Expeditionary) and Global War on Terrorism (Service).

The 26th MEU in 1991 took part in Operation Desert Shield by providing a "show of force" in the Mediterranean in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

In 1997, it helped evacuate, as part of Operation Silver Wake, US citizens and foreign nationals from Albania amid civil unrest.

The MEU in 1999 also deployed to Turkey for Operation Avid Response, in which it provided humanitarian assistance after a devastating earthquake that took as many as 18,300 lives.

The 26th MEU two years later was among the first US forces to enter Afghanistan as part of operations Enduring Freedom and Swift Freedom -- the immediate military response to the 9/11 attacks.

Its Marines advanced 450 miles (724.2km) inland to seize Camp Rhino and Kandahar Airport and constructed a detention facility that held more than 400 terrorists.

The 724.2km-long advance was considered, before the Marines did it, more than twice the distance practicable for amphibious forces.

While afloat in the Mediterranean in 2003, the 26th MEU took part in Operation Iraqi Freedom in which Marine Corps KC-130s traveled 1,100 miles (1,770.3km) and delivered MEU Marines directly to the battlefield in Mosul, Iraq.

After that, the 26th MEU deployed from August 2014 to January 2015 in support of Special Purpose MAGTF Crisis Response Africa (SP-MAGTF-CR-AF). The MEU participated in various exercises throughout Europe.

In 2017, it deployed to the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Key West, Florida, for relief efforts in the wake of hurricanes Irma and Maria. Similarly, in 2019, the 26th MEU supported disaster relief in the Bahamas.