End of an era: Marines conducted final operational deployment of Assault Amphibious Vehicles

On June 14, 2026, the Marine Corps conducted the final operational deployment of the assault amphibious vehicle, when reserve Marines with the 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion, 4th Marine Division, landed in the Babadag Training Center in Romania as part of Sea Breeze 26.

The exercise marked the final operational use of the vehicles by the Marine Forces Reserve and the branch as a whole.

Often, the folks stuck with aging gear are the reserves granting them the distinct honor of being the last to use a piece of gear operationally.

The Marine Corps had retired the AAVs in September 2025, but retiring a piece of gear in the military doesn’t mean it’s going to go away overnight. The branch is currently rolling out the AAV’s replacement, the Amphibious Combat Vehicle, or ACV, but complete adoption will take time.

This AAV’s final operational use went off without a hitch finally marking the end of the vehicle’s era. But, if I’m being honest, it’s an era I’m glad to see end.

Me and AAVs

Assault Amphibious Vehicles (AAVs) line the beach below Mount Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima in a static display for the 58th Anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima Commemoration, March 12. Mt. Suribachi is the historic site where five Marines and one Sailor raised the American Flag during the WWII battle. (U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 2nd Class Wes Eplen)

I only spent five years in the Marine Corps, and a lot of that time was spent doing things that were relatively dangerous.

I think I always had a healthy amount of fear – enough to keep me alive, but not enough to make me freeze under stress. However, the most afraid I’ve ever been was when I was in the back of an AAV.

I spent a pre-deployment workup and deployment working in and around AAVs. The fear I felt splashing off the back of a landing ship dock and floating to the beach was unrivaled. I hated every splash because I wasn’t sure I was going to make it to shore. AAVs were old even then, and they had a terrible reputation for failing.

They vehicles were always breaking, and failures included everything from exhaust pouring into the troop compartment to the vehicle sinking altogether. On a good day, you might just come out dizzy from the exhaust; on a bad day, well, you might not come out at all.

The Corps employed AAVs to transport Marines from ship to shore so they could take the beach. The Marine Corps is, at the end of the day, a naval infantry force, and working from ship to shore is an integral part of its mission set. The problem is the AAVs were ancient, unreliable, and downright dangerous.

The Marine Corps AAV-P7/A1 vehicle was first adopted in 1972, when Marines were a lot less burdened with equipment. But by the time I served, equipment load had increased, so escaping the vehicle, if something went awry, seemed impossible when you cram 15 Marines and all their gear in it.

In 2020, eight Marines and one Sailor died as their AAV sank off the coast of San Clemente Island. This spurred massive change, saw a general fired, and brought the problems with AAVs to national attention.

What’s next for the Marine Corps?

A U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle assigned to 3d Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division, debarks from the well deck of the Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) during Quarterly Underway Amphibious Readiness Training 26.4, off the coast of California, July 25, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Ronnie Mejia)

The Marine Corps was never meant to be a second Army with better uniforms. So, if the Marine Corps doesn’t have ship-to-shore capability, it begins to lose its purpose.

So, another platform would have to fill the role of the Assault Amphibious Vehicle after its retirement – enter the Amphibious Combat Vehicle.

The ACV is an 8×8 wheeled vehicle that ditches the tracks used by the AVV for tires. It’s faster and better armored than its predecessor, and can hold up to 16 Marines.

AAVs had an aluminum hull that offered very little protection against IEDs and landmines. However, lessons from the Global War on Terror taught the Marine Corps that IEDs and land mines were an exceptionally lethal threat.

The ACV has a remote weapon station that allows a Marine to engage targets with a .50 caliber machine gun or an MK 19 40mm grenade launcher without being exposed. A separate model offers a 30mm Bushmaster turret for serious direct-fire support.

With a top speed of 65 mph on land, the ACV is faster than the AAV and offers a much better ride over rough terrain. In water, however, the ACV is a little slower, achieving only six knots compared to its predecessor’s seven.

The ACV seems to be a worthy successor to the AAV, and the floating death traps can finally retire after five decades of service.

Feature Image: A U.S. Marine Corps assault amphibious vehicle with 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion, 4th Marine Division, stages during dry fire rehearsals of the combined arms live fire exercise at Exercise Sea Breeze 26 at Babadag Training Area, Romania, June 15, 2026. The dry fire rehearsals were conducted in preparation for the combined arms live fire exercise, the culminating event of Exercise Sea Breeze 26. Sea Breeze 26 is an annual exercise co-sponsored by U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa and U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa, designed to develop interoperability of maritime and ground forces in the Black Sea Region through combined NATO deliberate planning, integration, and command and control of Marine amphibious forces. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Noah Masog)

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