The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit is a forward-deployed, flexible sea-based Marine air-ground task force designed to provide geographic combatant commanders with a rapid-response force capable of conducting amphibious operations, selected maritime special operations at night or under adverse weather conditions, crisis response and limited contingency operations, to include enabling the introduction of follow-on forces in order to support the theater requirements of geographic combatant commanders from the sea, by surface and/or by air while under communications and electronics restrictions.
1979-1997 Temporarily activated 13 April 1979 and at various times during the early 1980s at Camp Pendleton, California, as the 17th Marine Amphibious Unit Redesignated 25 July 1984 as the 11th Marine Amphibious Unit Redesignated 5 February 1988 as the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit Participated in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Southwest Asia, January-April 1991 Participated in operations in Somalia, August 1992-March 1994 Participated in Operation Distant Runner, Rwanda, April 1994 1998-2009 Participated in Operation Safe Departure, Eritrea, June 1998 Participated in Operation Stabilise, East Timor, October-November 1999 and November 2002 Elements participated in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan, September-October 2002 Deployed during February 2003 to Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom Participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq, March-May 2003 and July 2004-February 2005 Participated in humanitarian relief efforts, Gulf of Mexico, in response to Hurricane Katrina, September 2005 Participated in Operation Sea Angel II, Bangladesh, December 2007
AWARDED Presidential Unit Citation Streamer Iraq, 2003 Joint Meritorious Unit Award Streamer Somalia, 1992 Navy Unit Commendation Streamer with two Bronze Stars* Southwest Asia, 1991 1997-1998 Iraq, 2004-2005 Meritorious Unit Commendation Streamer with four Bronze Stars* 1987 Somalia, 1994 1999 2001 2002 Marine Corps Expeditionary Streamer with Bronze Star* National Defense Service Streamer with Bronze Star* Armed Forces Expeditionary Streamer with Bronze Star* Southwest Asia Service Streamer with three Bronze Stars* Iraq Campaign Streamer with Bronze Star* Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Streamer Global War on Terrorism Service Streamer *Each Bronze Star denotes a subsequent time an honor is awarded.