About four dozen Marines will support a NATO security initiative in the Baltic Sea, the War Department said Oct. 1.
The troops come from the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. They are joining Baltic Sentry, an enhanced vigilance activity led by European allies under Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum and Allied Maritime Command. The Marine Corps is in a supporting role.
The stated tasks are expeditionary surveillance and tactical reconnaissance: a clearer picture of maritime activity, protection of critical undersea infrastructure, and a broader contribution to regional security. The Marines will operate alongside Finland’s Coastal Brigade.
“Our participation in Baltic Sentry demonstrates the dynamic agility of the Marine Corps to rapidly project specialized capabilities where they are most effective. Working side by side with our Finnish allies strengthens our collective readiness, ensuring we can operate seamlessly as a cohesive, lethal team to deter hybrid threats in the Baltic littoral,” said Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Daniel Shipley, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Europe and Africa.
“The experience, skills and systems of the U.S. Marine Corps are perfectly suited for supplementing our situation picture and supporting our monitoring of the Baltic Sea,” said Finnish Navy Capt. Johan Tillander, chief of operations at Finland Navy Command.
The announcement does not set an end date or list the ships and sensors involved. It frames the deployment as a small, specialized contribution to a NATO-led watch on the Baltic, not a stand-alone U.S. operation.
