US Marine Corps stands up 3 new combat logistics companies in Japan

The U.S. Marine Corps activated three new companies last month as part of the service’s Force Design 2030 recalibration toward agile logistics across the contested island chains of the Indo-Pacific.

Combat Logistics Battalion 4 officially stood up its Headquarters, Alpha and General Service companies during a Nov. 14 ceremony aboard Camp Schwab, Japan, the Marine Corps announced. A fourth combat logistics company, Bravo, is expected to be added in the near future.

The activation of the new formations is geared toward the Marine Corps commandant’s emphasis on building out mobile logistics capable of quickly equipping units across the Indo-Pacific, CLB-4 commanding officer Lt. Col Nathan Green said in a service release.

“This is about outpacing our adversaries in a rapidly evolving operating environment,” Green said, adding that the nature of the theater often warrants quickly adapting.

“If we have to change again, we’ll change again,” Green said.

Commandant Gen. Eric Smith published an update to Force Design 2030 in early October, highlighting the service’s push to make faster decisions and alter course when needed.

“We are modernizing at a time when the character of war is shifting rapidly,” Smith wrote in a preface to the 24-page document. “Adversaries are fielding advanced weapons and employing new methods designed to erode our warfighting advantages. Drones, long-range precision fires, cyber effects and electronic warfare are now daily features of conflict. The lessons drawn from contemporary battlefields underscore what Marines have long understood: combat is unforgiving, and victory belongs to the side that adapts faster, fights harder and endures longer.”

CLB-4 training exercises and joint operations will further impact how the new companies evolve for future fights, Green noted, adding that keeping the Japan-based 4th Marine Regiment and naval expeditionary elements well-equipped in the Indo-Pacific theater will anchor those moves.

As part of the original Force Design 2030, the 4th Marine Regiment was slated to be converted to a Marine littoral regiment based out of Guam.

The most recent program update unveiled by the commandant backtracked on that, however, with the document stating that the regiment “will be retained in III [Marine Expeditionary Force] as a reinforced Marine Infantry Regiment, preserving its core mission while preparing to respond to potential crisis and conflict.”

A Marine Corps spokesman, Lt. Col. Eric Flanagan, told Marine Corps Times that this shift was driven by threat assessments.

“This decision to retain 4th Marine Regiment is informed by recent wargames and analysis which address the growing threat posed by competitors in the Indo-Pacific and, together with other forces in the region, postures the Marine Corps to decisively respond to regional threats, provide integrated deterrence alongside allies and partners, and address emergent crises,” Flanagan said.

“Our current priorities are focused on ensuring that our existing infantry regiments and purpose-built MLRs are equipped and trained to meet the demands of the evolving security environment.”

J.D. Simkins is Editor-in-Chief of Military Times and Defense News, and a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War.

作为美国海军陆战队“2030 年部队设计”调整计划的一部分，上个月美国海军陆战队启用了三个新连队，旨在加强在印太地区争议岛链上的敏捷后勤保障。

美国海军陆战队宣布，第4战斗后勤营于11月14日在日本施瓦布营地举行仪式，正式组建了营部、A连和通用勤务连。预计不久的将来还将增设第四个战斗后勤连，即B连。

CLB-4 指挥官内森·格林中校在一份新闻稿中表示，新部队的启用是为了响应海军陆战队司令官的号召，即建立能够快速装备整个印太地区部队的机动后勤力量。

格林说：“这关乎在快速变化的作战环境中超越我们的对手。”他还补充说，战场的性质往往需要我们迅速适应。

“如果需要再次改变，我们就会再次改变，”格林说。

10月初，司令官埃里克·史密斯将军发布了《2030年部队设计》的更新版，重点强调了该军种加快决策速度并在需要时改变方向的努力。

“我们正处于现代化进程中，而此时战争的性质正在迅速转变，”史密斯在这份24页文件的序言中写道。“对手正在部署先进武器，并采用旨在削弱我们作战优势的新方法。无人机、远程精确火力、网络效应和电子战如今已成为冲突的日常特征。从当代战场汲取的经验教训印证了海军陆战队员长期以来所理解的：战争残酷无情，胜利属于那些适应速度更快、战斗力更强、坚持时间更长的一方。”

格林指出，CLB-4 的训练演习和联合行动将进一步影响新连队如何为未来的战斗而发展，他还补充说，保持驻扎在日本的第四海军陆战团和海军远征部队在印太地区的装备精良，将巩固这些行动。

作为最初的“2030 年部队设计”的一部分，第 4 海军陆战团计划改编为驻扎在关岛的海军陆战队近岸团。

然而，司令官最新公布的计划更新却推翻了这一说法，该文件指出，该团“将作为加强型海军陆战队步兵团保留在第三海军陆战队远征军中，在保持其核心任务的同时，做好应对潜在危机和冲突的准备。”

海军陆战队发言人埃里克·弗拉纳根中校告诉《海军陆战队时报》，这一转变是由威胁评估驱动的。

弗拉纳根表示：“保留第四海军陆战团的决定是基于最近的兵棋推演和分析，这些兵棋推演和分析旨在应对印太地区竞争对手日益增长的威胁，并与该地区的其他部队一起，使海军陆战队能够果断应对地区威胁，与盟友和伙伴一起提供综合威慑，并应对突发危机。”

“我们目前的重点是确保我们现有的步兵团和专门建造的多管步枪队配备齐全并接受过训练，以满足不断变化的安全环境的需求。”

JD Simkins 是《军事时报》和《防务新闻》的总编辑，也是参加过伊拉克战争的海军陆战队老兵。