First Sgt. Rigoberto Melendez, left, and Lt. Col. Scott Caton, commander of the 12th Littoral Anti-Air Battalion, reveal the unit's colors during an activation ceremony at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Dec. 5, 2024. (Brian McElhiney/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa — The Marine Corps activated its second-ever littoral anti-air battalion Thursday on Okinawa, giving its seaborne quick-reaction force the means to defend against aerial attacks on contested islands in the Indo-Pacific.
The 12th Littoral Anti-Air Battalion — one of three subordinate elements within the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment — was activated during an outdoor ceremony at the regiment’s Gun Park on Camp Hansen.
Lt. Col. Scott Caton took command of the battalion during the morning ceremony, which featured about 98 Marine participants and 80 fellow Marines, friends, family and members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.
The new battalion is made up of about 300 Marines from units already on the island as well as new arrivals, 3rd Marine Division spokeswoman 1st Lt. Sarah Bobrowski said. Its missions will include “air defense, air surveillance and early warning and air control,” she wrote in a follow-up email.
“That is why we’re part of the [Marine littoral regiment] … to enable multi-domain operations and integrate aviation to really bring everything to bear,” Caton said during remarks at the ceremony. “When we arrive on day one, there is no work-up and we’re ready to fight on arrival.”
Marines march in formation carrying the U.S. and 12th Littoral Anti-Air Battalion flags during the battalion's activation ceremony at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Dec. 5, 2024. (Brian McElhiney/Stars and Stripes)
The battalion is the second of three subordinate elements in the regiment. The 12th Littoral Logistics Battalion was redesignated from Combat Logistics Battalion 12 in early October. A littoral combat team will be activated sometime in 2025, Bobrowski said.
“Every element of this formation is an extension of the [III Marine Expeditionary Force] assets and people and capabilities,” regimental commander Col. Peter Eltringham said during his remarks. “And as we apply that combat power across our operational laydown, that combined strength really effectively is captured by, I think, one statement: We are stronger together.”
Eltringham also teased the battalion’s first training on Wake Island “in a couple of days.” The exercise will include an air surveillance raid, deployment of AN/TPS-80 radar and participation in a memorial ceremony for the World War II Battle of Wake Island, Bobrowski wrote.
The 12th Littoral Regiment was created in November 2023 as part of the Marine Corps’ Force Design plan. The littoral regiment’s stand-in force operations are a key tenet of the plan’s island-fighting doctrine.
The Marine Corps’ concept for stand-in forces cites China as the joint force’s “pacing challenge.” Littoral regiments are designed as smaller, mobile units inserted within enemy missile range to seize and hold key islands and deny enemy vessels access to surrounding areas.
The Marines created the 3rd Littoral Regiment, its first, in March 2022, and plans a third for Guam. A littoral regiment consists of about 2,000 Marines.
The 12th Littoral Anti-Air Battalion traces its lineage to the 2nd Antiaircraft Battalion created in July 1937 at Quantico, Va. It later became the 1st Defense Battalion and played a role in the Battle of Wake Island in December 1941.
The battalion was reactivated in 1953 and became the 1st Light Antiaircraft Missile Battalion in 1960 with the introduction of Hawk missiles, according to the Marine Corps.
It deployed to Da Nang from 1965 to 1969 during the Vietnam War and was deactivated in 1970 and again in 1997.
“This is the fifth time this battalion has been activated,” Caton said. “And it shows you that the demand for air control and air defense continues to come back in relevance today.”
