The U.S. Navy has transitioned its search for a missing Marine from the USS Anchorage into a recovery operation following integrated amphibious training exercises off the Southern California coast. A multiservice response involving three surface ships and 12 aircraft from the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Air Force covered approximately 2,400 square miles before officials made the shift in operational posture. The Marine was participating in training with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based at Camp Pendleton, as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group exercise.
Search Scope and Transition to Recovery
The search began Thursday and was reclassified as a recovery operation by Friday, a designation that signals authorities no longer expect to find a survivor. The scale of the effort — three surface vessels and a dozen aircraft across four branches of the armed forces — underscores the seriousness with which the military treated the disappearance from the outset. The USS Anchorage, an amphibious transport dock ship homeported at Naval Base San Diego, was operating as part of a larger integrated training package when the Marine was reported missing.
The Navy has withheld the Marine's name pending notification of next of kin. In a public statement, the service said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and all who are affected during this difficult time."
A Pattern Emerging in Training Operations
The incident marks at least the second time in six weeks that U.S. military forces have mounted a search for missing service members during training exercises. In May, the Army announced it had recovered the remains of a second U.S. soldier who went missing during exercises in Morocco, concluding a multinational operation that deployed air, naval, and artificial intelligence assets. The first soldier's remains had been recovered earlier in that same search.
The back-to-back incidents put renewed attention on the inherent risk profile of large-scale amphibious and expeditionary training, operations that by design push personnel and equipment into high-complexity, maritime environments. The 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group represent a core forward-force pairing designed for rapid deployment — training cycles for such units are intensive and conducted in open-ocean conditions.
What Comes Next
With the operation formally reclassified as a recovery mission, the immediate objective shifts from rescue to accountability — recovering remains and providing closure to the Marine's family. The Navy has not indicated a timeline for concluding operations or releasing further identifying information.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.