Allocating Marine Expeditionary Unit Equipment and Personnel to Minimize Shortfalls

To successfully accomplish their missions, Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs) must have both the right personnel and the right equipment, as well as access to that personnel and equipment. However, in many cases, the U.S. Navy s lift capacity that is, the space available on the ships that make up the MEU falls far short of what is needed to transport the full set of equipment required for the MEU to complete its missions with maximum effectiveness and efficiency.2 This is especially true when the MEU must be prepared for stabilization, humanitarian, and contingency operations. As a result, when the MEU departs, some equipment is left behind. Several factors affect which equipment ultimately ends up aboard the ship and which remains behind. The risk preferences of the commander, expectations about the nature of the deployment or previous MEU experience, and equipment readiness and repair schedules all play a role in equipment selection. Thus, the MEU commander must make choices between pieces of equipment and is not able to deploy with an optimal or ideal equipment set. What is the impact of this shortfall on the MEU s ability to complete the tasks associated with its mission, especially when the mission includes stabilization operations? As a consequence of this limited lift capacity, MEUs afloat generally lack some support personnel and equipment. Even if these shortfalls do not prevent the MEU from accomplishing its mission, and even if the MEU receives supplemental support from other sources, equipment shortfalls do affect mission performance and efficiency. In many cases, the first responders to disasters and postconflict operations are MEUs afloat. Hence, they are often called upon to initiate stabilization and reconstruction missions in the absence of civilian leadership and direct support.