The troops seized, searched and then piloted the vessel on a 17-hour, 530 nautical mile trip.
The journey to getting the amphibious combat vehicle ready for overseas operations has been bumpy.
Sailors and Marines deployed with the group spent nearly nine months deployed before coming home this week.
The special-operations-capable 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, embarked across three Navy ships, left the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday.
The Marine Corps pulled the amphibious combat vehicle from most operations in the surf following nonfatal mishaps in 2022.
Two Pacific-focused rotations cover more ground, and ocean, for the sea service.
Without Ospreys, the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit can still carry out its missions, according to its commander. But it has made things harder.
The grounding has left the Marine Corps without the aircraft it usually relies on for the speedy transport of people and equipment.
The special operations capable 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit faced a change of plans in the days after war broke out between Israel and Hamas.
Positioning Marines forward in the Indo-Pacific is part of the Corps’ plan for countering a potential adversary as technologically adept as China.
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