US Navy Littoral Combat Force-24 replaces Iwo Jima ARG with distributed nodes

The post notes SOUTHCOM’s Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group was replaced by “Littoral Combat Force-24,” described as a new, more flexible deployment strategy centered on a single amphibious transport dock ship supported by distributed land-based nodes. This reflects an operational/doctrinal shift away from traditional three-ship ARG constructs toward distributed basing and force packaging, potentially improving presence and responsiveness with fewer hulls.