A U.S. sailor signals a Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 (Reinforced), 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), during flight operations aboard Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima while underway in the Caribbean Sea on May 13, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps)
More than 4,500 Marines and sailors with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group are heading home after a nearly 10-month deployment to the Caribbean, the Pentagon announced Thursday.
The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit will arrive at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., on Monday, where a welcome home ceremony will be held in the afternoon, the Marine Corps said.
Details of the Navy ships’ arrivals and crew disembarkation were not immediately available.
The Marines embarked in August on three ships — the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima and two amphibious transport docks, USS Fort Lauderdale and USS San Antonio.
Originally scheduled to deploy to Europe, the group was ordered to the Caribbean as part of Operation Southern Spear, the Pentagon-led effort against narcotics trafficking in the region.
“The unit demonstrated its hallmark flexibility by pivoting south just hours after leaving the pier,” the Marine Corps said in the statement.
Elements of the Iwo Jima ARG took part in the Jan. 3 raid into Caracas, Venezuela, to extricate President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The couple was transported to Iwo Jima off the coast of Venezuela and then sent to New York, where they face federal drug, weapons and conspiracy charges. Maduro and his wife have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
San Antonio returned to Norfolk on April 28 after an eight-month deployment. The Iwo Jima and Fort Lauderdale remained on station.
The Marines include Battalion Landing Team 3/6, Combat Logistics Battalion 26 and Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 (Reinforced).
“Throughout its deployment, the (Marines) executed a wide range of missions, including reinforcing U.S. embassies in Haiti and Venezuela, conducting maritime interception operations to counter illicit trafficking, delivering more than 780,000 pounds of humanitarian aid to Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa, and participating in multiple bilateral exercises with regional partners across the Caribbean,” the statement said.
