24th Marine Expeditionary Unit Patch
24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (24th MEU)
The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit is one of seven Marine Expeditionary Units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps, serving as America's premier forward-deployed crisis response force. First activated in 1971 as the 34th Marine Amphibious Unit, the unit was redesignated the 24th MAU in May 1982 and the 24th MEU in February 1988. The MEU consists of approximately 2,200 Marines and Sailors organized into a Command Element, a Ground Combat Element (reinforced infantry battalion), an Aviation Combat Element (reinforced tiltrotor squadron), and a Logistics Combat Element.
The 24th MEU's history is marked by both triumph and tragedy. Serving twice as part of the multinational peacekeeping force in Lebanon, the 24th MAU lost 241 servicemen in the catastrophic 1983 Beirut barracks bombing — the deadliest single-day death toll for the Marine Corps since Iwo Jima. The unit's legacy of sacrifice has fueled seven decades of service: Operation Provide Comfort (Kurdish relief in 1991), Operations Restore Hope and Continue Hope (Somalia 1993), Operation Allied Force (NATO air campaign against Yugoslavia 1999), and multiple deployments in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. In April 2008, Marines of the 24th MEU flooded into the Taliban-held town of Garmsir, Afghanistan, pushing insurgents out by June. In 2010, the MEU diverted to Haiti following the devastating earthquake, bringing the first V-22 Ospreys ever used for humanitarian operations.
Today, the 24th MEU deploys from Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, embarked aboard an Amphibious Ready Group, ready to answer the nation's call at a moment's notice.
Perfect For: 24th MEU Marines and Sailors past and present, Beirut veterans, Camp Lejeune personnel, Amphibious Ready Group members, and supporters of America's forward-deployed crisis response forces.
The 24th MEU — America's Crisis Response Force, from Beirut to Baghdad and beyond.
