The Maritime Expeditionary Warfare Division (MExWD), Combat Development and Integration (CD&I), celebrated its eighth anniversary on Monday with a ceremony that included the reading of its charter and a traditional cake cutting. Using an oar to cut the cake, Mr. Shon Brodie, the Director of MExWD, presented pieces to the Division’s longest serving member, Mr Rick Betsinger, who then passed a piece to the newest member, Ms. Shanie Wong. The gesture symbolized the passing of institutional knowledge gained from many years of service supporting Marines.

Mr Rick Betsinger, Deputy Director, joined the Expeditionary Warfare Branch in October 2004. “Maritime Expeditionary Warfare Division has come a long way since its inception in 2004 as the Seabasing Integration Division,” said Betsinger. “This high performing eclectic team of dedicated professionals continues to evolve, finding new and more effective ways to enable the organization and the institution to engage and influence capital investments in ships, craft, C4IRST; maintenance and modernization. As advocates for Fleet Marine Forces their efforts are vital to ensuring a relevant expeditionary warfare force in readiness is available to the fleet now and well into the future. “

Shanie Wong joined the Division in 2024 as a Computational Modeling and Data Analyst.

MExWD was established in 2017 by LtGen Robert Walsh, then Commanding General of CD&I, with a direction to “develop, integrate and articulate Marine Corps maritime warfare capabilities, enabling the sea-based Marine Air-Ground Task Force to win at and from the sea.” According to the charter, for decades the Marine Corps invested bright minds and their intellectual capital in developing solutions for Marines to conduct amphibious assault and maritime prepositioning operations.

Today, the Marine Corps strives to balance modernization efforts for the future with the ability to conduct amphibious operations in naval campaigning and crisis response now. MExWD stands shoulder to shoulder with the Navy to develop and integrate 21st century capabilities to meet the demands of both.

“The Maritime Expeditionary Warfare team is made up of skilled and dedicated experts, from all walks of life, who choose to apply their collective talent in solving one of warfare’s most complex problems- expeditionary operations at and from the sea,” said Brodie. “The MExW team is dedicated to providing the capabilities that will ensure the Marine Corps consistently executes those operations better than anyone on the planet.”

MExWD works to define naval requirements and bring to reality the capabilities and technologies that the allow Marines and sailors to train and operate from a sea base of forward postured amphibious warfare ships and conduct expeditionary operations. The team is central to the Marine Corps’ efforts in setting and advocating for amphibious ship requirements, littoral maneuver for stand-in forces, maritime prepositioning options with sustainment for up to 30 days, and afloat command, control, communications, computers, combat systems and intelligence (C5I).

“It is hard to capture the breadth and depth of what you do in your role of balancing crisis response and responsible modernization in providing our warfighters with what they need to bring violence to the adversary at the time and place of our choosing,” said SgMaj Anthony Loftus, CD&I Sergeant Major and guest of honor for the ceremony.

As MExWD looks to the future, their work in integrating new fact-based analysis using the right network, studies, tools and technologies, including generative artificial intelligence will better inform the Marine Corps on how to meet the growing demands for the sea-based MAGTF and outline the requirements for a 3.0 MEU presence.

As stated in the MExWD charter, “From the first Marine landing in in New Providence, Bahamas, to the development of landing doctrine through the inter-war years, the production of amphibious assault equipment, the success if rapid deployment enabled by maritime prepositioning and the vision proffered by ship-to-objective maneuver, a group of committed professionals have applied their wisdom and talent to enhance the warfighting capability and capacity of sea-based Marines.”

The dedication and commitment of the MExWD team continues to embody the spirit of their charter and contributes daily to maintaining the maritime strategic warfare advantage the United States enjoys.