History

The concept of the maritime prepositioning force emerged in the late 1970s as the Marine Corps sought to project combat power more rapidly without prolonged buildup. President Jimmy Carter’s 1977 directive establishing the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force laid the groundwork. By 1979, the Marine Corps began loading equipment and supplies aboard Military Sealift Command ships, creating a forward-positioned capability that reduced reliance on strategic lift and enabled rapid response.

By 1981, the first maritime prepositioning force ships were fully operational, with maintenance and support nodes established at Diego Garcia, Okinawa and Subic Bay. That same year, the United States and Norway signed an agreement to preposition equipment for the reinforcement of Norway. The initial program, known as the Norway Air-Landed Marine Expeditionary Brigade, achieved operational capability in 1990, using climate-controlled caves to preserve equipment for cold-weather operations.

The value of maritime prepositioning was proven during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The 7th Marine Expeditionary Brigade deployed to Saudi Arabia and, within days of arrival, established defensive positions using prepositioned equipment—validating the concept for large-scale expeditionary power projection.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, prepositioned assets supported crisis response and humanitarian missions, including Operation Fiery Vigil in the Philippines, Operation Restore Hope in Somalia and Operation Iraqi Freedom beginning in 2003. As expeditionary operations ashore expanded, the Marine Corps adapted its prepositioning model to include theater-based augmentation.

In 2005, two developments reshaped the enterprise. The Marine Air-Ground Task Force Augmentation Program–Kuwait was established under the U.S.-Kuwait Defense Cooperation Agreement to provide Marine expeditionary units with equipment maintained and configured for immediate operational employment ashore in support of operations within the U.S. Central Command area. Managed by Blount Island Command, MAP-K sustained approximately 1,500 principal end items, including armored vehicles, tanks and communications systems, supporting operations such as Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn and Inherent Resolve.

That same year, the Norway program was refocused and renamed the Marine Corps Prepositioning Program–Norway. Directed by a commandant-level review, the program shifted from a general equipment stock to a balanced Marine air-ground task force set. Today, MCPP-N includes a shore-based infantry battalion task force, aviation support equipment and specialized extreme cold-weather equipment. It supports reinforcement of Norway, crisis response in Europe and functions as a critical node within the Marine Corps’ global positioning network.

Property Leased, Later Purchased

Blount Island Command, established Sept. 1, 1989, became the central hub for managing, maintaining and modernizing prepositioned assets. In 1986, the Marine Corps leased 262 acres of Blount Island from Gate Maritime Properties for $11 million annually. With the lease set to expire in 2004, the Corps allocated $115.7 million to purchase the property. Negotiations stalled when the land was valued between $160 million and $200 million. In August 2004, the Marine Corps acquired 1,100 acres through eminent domain, initially paying $101 million. A jury later determined the fair value to be $160 million. On Nov. 21, 2006, Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island was activated as the host installation for Blount Island Command under Marine Corps Installations East at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

With shifts in defense strategy and the transition to distributed operations aligned with Force Design, MAP-K concluded in 2022, marking the Marine Corps’ move toward more agile, globally distributed sustainment models. MCPP-N remains a key component of that architecture, integrating modernization and sustainment practices to support deterrence and rapid reinforcement in the European theater.

Today, Blount Island Command operationalizes dynamic maritime sustainment by integrating lessons from the Maritime Prepositioning Force, MAP-K and MCPP-N. Through disciplined lifecycle management, modernization and enterprise asset visibility, BICmd ensures equipment is positioned, regenerated and sustained across the global positioning network, maintained and configured for immediate operational employment in support of combat-ready Marine forces.

Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island provides the secure and resilient infrastructure that underwrites this enterprise.

Every 42 months, maritime prepositioning ships undergo dry-docking for inspection and maintenance. During these periods, Blount Island Command teams inspect, repair, test and modernize equipment to ensure alignment with current and future force structures.

In 2024, Blount Island Command marked its 38th anniversary and received its sixth Meritorious Unit Commendation for supporting four geographic combatant commands, participating in seven large-scale exercises and executing 18 time-sensitive presidential directives. From maritime squadrons to Norway’s cave complexes to distributed sustainment nodes, Blount Island Command has evolved into the Marine Corps’ center of excellence for global prepositioning—sustaining warfighting readiness at scale.