For more than 20 years, the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit has served as one of America's forward deployed forces in the Mediterranean Region. Established in the early 1970s as the 36th Marine Amphibious Unit, the MEU has deployed 13 times and participated in numerous contingency operations and training exercises.

26th MEU (SOC) Historical Timeline

1975 -- 36th MAU participates in Exercise Staff Zugel in the Federal Republic of Germany. This marks the first time since World War I that Marines took a combined arms force ashore in Germany.
1982 -- Unit redesignated as 26th Marine Amphibious Unit.
1985 -- Rotation cycle of three MAUs on the East Coast is initiated.
1985 -- 26th MAU becomes first unit to undergo Special Operations Capability training and earn the SOC qualification.
1985 -- 26th MAU becomes first unit to have AV8-B Harriers attached.
1988 -- All Marine Amphibious Units redesignated as Marine Expeditionary Units.
1991 -- 26th MEU supports Operation Desert Shield by providing a "Show of Force" in the Mediterranean, and participates in Operation Sharp Edge which was a non-combatant evacuation operation of Libera.
1992 -- 26th MEU participates in Operations Provide Promise, Deny Flight and Sharp Guard off the coast of Yugoslavia.
1994 -- 26th MEU participates in ceremonies marking the 50th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France.
1994 -- 26th MEU supports Operation Restore Hope off the coast of Somalia and participates in continuing operations in Bosnia.
1995 -- 26th MEU becomes the first MEU to deploy with M-1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks.
1996 -- 26th MEU becomes the first MEU to deploy with the JTF-Enabler communications package.
1997 -- 26th MEU launches Operation Silver Wake, the noncombatant evacuation of American citizens and Third Country Nationals from Albania.
1997 -- 26th MEU participates in Operation Guardian Retrieval, the staging of forces in Congo for a possible evacuation of Zaire.
1998 -- 26th MEU serves as the Headquarters for the Strategic Reserve Force during Exercise Dynamic Response in Bosnia. The SRF is a multinational force made up of forces from the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Romania, Poland and the United States.
1998 -- 26th MEU participates in Determined Falcon, the one-day NATO aerial show-of-force in Kosovo.