U.S. Marines deactivate 8th Marine Regiment

Jan. 29 (UPI) -- The U.S. Marines' 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division was deactivated on Friday in a ceremony at Camp Lejuene, N.C., ending a century of involvement.

The move is one of several deactivations of Marine units after 2020 budget cuts.

It is also consistent with the Marines' "Force Design 2030," a 15-page guide to the Marines' future, released in 2020, which calls for fewer but more versatile units.

The changes are meant to give the Marine Corps an opportunity to reallocate revenue to incorporate long-range precision fires, as well as refocus its integration with the Navy, in accordance with its historical roots as a naval expeditionary force, according to the branch.

At Camp Lejuene alone, Combat Logistics Regiment 25 and the 2nd Law Enforcement Battalion were recently deactivated. Its' 2nd Tank Battalion faces a similar fate with the deactivation, beginning in July 2020, of all Marine tank battalions.

Marine Attack Squadrons 311 and 214, composed of fighter planes, held a "sunset ceremony" of deactivation in October 2020.

"It's just a natural transition that we go through as we contract or expand the Marine Corps in certain locations and places, either by skillset or by geographical location, that fits with force design," Maj. Gen. Frank Donovan said at the ceremony.

"Losing a regiment, we lose some flexibility, but the reality is we also spread some of that talent and that capability to our other regiments," said Donovan, commanding general of the 2nd Marine Division.

The 8th Marines Regimental Headquarters participated in World War I and World War II, and saw activation during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and in Operation Desert Shield in the Middle East.

Established in 1917, it has been deactivated three times, and was most recently reactivated in 1950 -- until Friday.