page_title: Organization of the United States Marine Corps
section_title: Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF)
hierarchical_section_title: Organization of the United States Marine Corps / Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF)
caption_attribution_description: English: Basic Organization of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force
context_page_description: The United States Marine Corps is organized within the Department of the Navy, which is led by the Secretary of the Navy. The most senior Marine commissioned officer is the Commandant of the Marine Corps, responsible for organizing, recruiting, training, and equipping the Marine Corps so that it is ready for operation under the command of the unified combatant commanders. The Marine Corps is organized into four principal subdivisions: Headquarters Marine Corps, the Operating Forces, the Supporting Establishment, and the Marine Forces Reserve.
  The Operating Forces are further subdivided into three categories: Marine forces assigned to Unified Combatant Commands, Marine Corps Security Forces guarding naval installations, and Marine Security Guard detachments at American embassies. Under the "Forces for Unified Commands" memo, Marine forces are assigned to each of the regional unified combatant commands at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense and with the approval of the President. Since 1991, the Marine Corps has maintained component headquarters at each of the regional unified combatant commands.
context_section_description: Today, the basic framework for deployable Marine units is the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF), a flexible structure that can vary in size. A MAGTF is composed of four elements: the command element (CE), the ground combat element (GCE), the aviation combat element (ACE) and the logistics combat element (LCE).  A MAGTF can operate independently or as part of a larger coalition. It is a temporary organization formed for a specific mission and dissolved after completion of that mission.
  The MAGTF structure reflects a strong tradition in the Corps towards self-sufficiency and a commitment to combined arms, both essential assets to an expeditionary force often called upon to act independently in discrete, time-sensitive situations. The history of the Marine Corps as well has led to a wariness towards relying too much on its sister services, and towards joint operations in general.
  A MAGTF varies in size from the smallest, a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), based around a reinforced infantry battalion and a composite squadron, up to the largest, a Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF), which ties together a Division, an Air Wing, and a Logistics Group under a MEF Headquarters Group.
  The three Marine Expeditionary Forces are:
  I Marine Expeditionary Force located at Camp Pendleton, California
  II Marine Expeditionary Force located at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
  III Marine Expeditionary Force located at Camp Courtney, Okinawa, Japan
caption: Basic structure of a Marine Air-Ground Task Force
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