Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. John E. Bejarano, left, sergeant major, and Lt. Col. James R. Arnold, right, commanding officer, both with 3d Littoral Anti-Air Battalion, 3d Marines, 3d Marine Division, uncase the colors of 3d LAAB during an activation ceremony on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Feb. 11, 2022. 3d LAAB is designed to train and employ air defense, air surveillance, early warning, air control, and forward rearming and refueling capabilities. (Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Melanye Martinez)
By: FEDweek StaffThe Marine Corps activated its first littoral anti-air battalion (LAAB) during a Feb. 11 ceremony at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, marking one of the first steps in the service’s modernization effort.
The 3rd Littoral Anti-Air Battalion will be based at the Hawaii installation as a subordinate unit to the future 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, but will not be fully operational for several years. While full activation and operational details are still in the development stages, the move will allow the unit’s Marines to begin conducting war games. Experimentation that would define requirements and employment concepts as part of the service’s modernization goals can get underway as well.
Air defense, surveillance, early warning, control, forward arming and refueling are not new missions for the Marine Corps. However, the way the service plans to organize and employ the 3rd LAAB marks a new approach to these tasks will change, in line with the service’s Force Design 2030 modernization effort. More responsibility will rest in the hands of tactical ground commanders.
“Force Design creates advantages by having Marines think, act and organize in new ways,” said Lt. Col. James Arnold, 3rd LAAB commanding officer.
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