A US Marine Corps Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force (SPMAGTF) is set to play a key role in this year's biennial Native Fury exercise.

The exercise aims to showcase the Corps' ability to rapidly offload and integrate maritime prepositioned forces (MPFs) in the US Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility in support of regional security, crisis response and contingency operations.

This year will mark the ninth iteration of Native Fury and the second year Saudi Arabia will serve as one of the host nations.

Drills are also set to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and involve the US Marine Corps, US Navy, US Army and the US Coast Guard's Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA).

Members of the Bahraini and Jordanian militaries will also participate.

As a part of the exercise, Native Fury 2024 participants will conduct an MPF combat offload in the waters off the coast of Saudi Arabia with support from the logistics-focused US Army Theater Sustainment Command.

The US Navy defines an MPF operation as "the rapid deployment and assembly of a Marine air-ground task force in a secure area using intertheater airlift and forward-deployed maritime prepositioning ships."

This year's exercise will see the creation of an SPMAGTF that will concentrate on rapidly deploying equipment from halfway around the world from the US East Coast.

The SPMAGTF will carry out a complex "in-stream" offloading and then redistribute the equipment to units nearby, coordinating with the US Navy's Beach Team and a US Marine Corps Combat Logistics Regiment.

In-stream offloading is the Marine Corps' specialized method of transferring equipment and supplies offshore, without the need for a port.

SPMAGTF

An SPMAGTF is a version of the Corps' MAGTF, a term used to describe the principal organization for all missions across the range of military operations.

MAGTFs are a balanced air-ground, combined arms task organization of Marine Corps forces under a single commander that is structured to accomplish a specific mission and designed for rapid scalability and adaptability.

Each MAGTF has four core elements: a command element that includes a headquarters unit that directs the other elements; a ground combat element comprising infantry supported by armor and artillery; an aviation combat element that includes all aircraft, both fixed wing and helicopters; and a logistics combat element that contains all of the support units for the MAGTF, such as communications, combat engineers, motor transport, medical, supply units and certain specialized groups such as air delivery and landing support teams.

The size of each MAGTF depends on its mission, but its structure never varies. Each one can operate either alone or as part of a coalition.

The largest type of MAGTF is a Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF), which is made up of 46,000–90,000 Marines.

Marine Expeditionary Brigades (MEBs), which are task organized for specific missions and are scaled with 4,000–16,000 Marines, represent the next size of MAGTF.

The smallest MAGTF is the Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), which is forward deployed and often the first to arrive at a crisis. Designed to be versatile and quick to respond, an MEU usually has 2,200 Marines.

An SPMAGTF is formed when situations arise for which an MEU or other unit is either inappropriate or unavailable.

They are typically no larger than an MEU and have tailored capabilities required to accomplish a particular mission. SPMAGTFs may be task organized from non-deployed Marine forces or formed on a contingency basis from a portion of a deployed MAGTF.

Trans Arabian Network

This year's Native Fury exercise will involve moving forces and projecting offensive combat power from Saudi Arabia to the UAE and will focus on training forces in the use of the Trans Arabian Network's lines of communication.

The Trans Arabian Network is a network of nodes, modes and routes that spans the Arabian Peninsula. It provides freedom of movement across the Arabian Peninsula in support of contingency operations, transporting equipment and manpower with ease.

Development of the Trans Arabian Network is a strategic priority for CENTCOM to ensure cargo and equipment can move around the area.

The network is linked to the Western Access Network -- Red Sea ports in Jordan and Saudi Arabia that could provide alternate routes to transport equipment and personnel throughout the region if the Strait of Hormuz is blocked.

Over the years, Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most strategically significant naval choke points.

From the ports of the Western Access Network, equipment and personnel could move via the Trans Arabian Network to reach the Gulf states from the west.