Marines with 2nd Marine Logistics Group are turning ideas into reality at the II Marine Expeditionary Force Innovation Campus. This facility lets troops design and produce parts on demand, cutting wait times for supplies and keeping units combat ready.
A Hub for Marine Ingenuity
2nd MLG opened the II MEF Innovation Campus in April 2022. It serves all Marines and Sailors at Camp Lejeune with advanced tools, including 3D printers, laser cutters, and electronics workstations.
The campus supports quick fixes and new designs. Marines print custom tools, brackets, and prototypes that would otherwise take weeks or months through traditional supply chains. The campus nests perfectly with Marine Corps efforts to adopt innovative approaches such as additive manufacturing, which can allow deployed units to fix gear faster.
Additive Manufacturing in Action
At the heart of the campus sits the additive manufacturing section. High-end printers build items layer by layer from digital files. Troops have produced drone components, vehicle mounts, and medical tools.
The Marine Corps has expanded 3D printing across the force, including offering the capability across the entire Fleet Marine Force.
Hands-On Training Builds Skills
The campus hosts regular courses to teach additive manufacturing. Since its inception it has run courses to teach Marines from all different types of units how to leverage emerging innovative approaches to solve real-world problems. Participants learn to design, print, and test parts.
These classes empower junior Marines to innovate. A lance corporal can scan a broken component, model a replacement, and print it the same day. This grassroots approach fits the Corps' push for distributed operations under Force Design 2030, where units need self-reliance in contested environments.
Similar innovation efforts have produced everything from small drones to replacement parts in the field.
Impact on Readiness and Operations
The Innovation Campus directly boosts unit readiness. Long supply delays for obscure parts can ground vehicles or weapons. On-site printing eliminates that bottleneck.
As the military increasingly relies on additive manufacturing to strengthen logistics chains, facilities like this one lead the way.
Colonel Karin Fitzgerald, the 2nd MLG assistance chief of staff for logistics in 2022 stated,
“Our innovation challenges and course offerings are meant to empower our Marines, Sailors, and civilians to find new and adaptive solutions to provide II MEF a competitive advantage in the future fight.”
The Future of Marine Logistics
2nd MLG continues to expand the campus. More printers, advanced materials, and cross-unit collaboration are in the works.
In 2022 Captain Garrett M. Brown, director of the II MEF Innovation Campus and innovation officer with 2nd MLG stated:
“The Innovation Campus is a place where rank does not matter – the ideas do … By creating a space where brilliant minds from across the Marine Corps can collaborate, you start to reap the benefits that just do not happen when everyone stays in their lane.”
This facility shows how Marines adapt technology to maintain an edge. By producing what they need, when they need it, troops stay focused on the mission.
The Innovation Campus is more than just a makerspace. Rather it is a key part of keeping the Marine Corps lethal and agile in modern warfare.
