Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations

The Marine Corps’ expeditionary advanced base operations—EABO—concept could entail a variety of activities as shown in this not-to-scale concept. On this page, a mechanized amphibious company seizes an uninhabited island along with HiMARS and Naval Strike Missile–equipped vehicles coming ashore to establish “shoot-and-scoot” firing positions. The missiles are fired from over the horizon at targets selected and cued by an F-35B overhead.

On the bottom half of the facing page, a Marine Recon platoon conducts a high-altitude, low-open parachute jump in advance of an infantry company inserting on MV-22s to seize a suitable forward-arming-and-refueling (FARP) and casualty-evacuation position. CH-53s and MV-22s transport fuel, refueling equipment, and weapons, supported by a KC-130J. The position can be established in under a day and is easy to abandon if threatened.

At top right, AAVs quietly establish an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance base on an uninhabited atoll, launching and recovering UAVs such as the MQ-27 ScanEagle.

Mk VI patrol boats, littoral combat ships, and expeditionary fast transports move in and out of the enemy’s weapons engagement zones, supporting, moving, and eventually evacuating the expeditionary forces to new positions.

Far offshore, usually (but not exclusively) outside the range of antiaccess and area-denial weapons, amphibious assault ships of the LHA/LHD, LSD, and LPD types support the Marines, ships, boats, and aircraft closer in, exercising command and control.