Marines 3D Print Coast Guard Boat Part During Korea Exercise

3D Printing Saves Coast Guard Mission

During the Combined Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore 26 exercise in Pohang, South Korea, U.S. Marines with the 3rd Marine Logistics Group used an expeditionary fabrication unit to produce a replacement component for a Coast Guard watercraft. The part was not available through normal supply channels, and waiting for a replacement would have grounded the vessel.

Advanced manufacturing cut what would have been a two- to three-week shipping delay down to a few hours. The 3D printed strainer cost roughly $12 to produce. The vessel itself is a rigid-hull inflatable boat worth around $600,000.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jonathan B. Salas, Utilities Officer for Regional Maintenance Operations Company North, said the capability offers a direct way around backorders and supply deficiencies. The immediate effect was expediting the continued use of the Coast Guard's rigid-hull inflatable boats. This allowed the Coast Guard to operate quick-reaction-force and patrol missions.

Corporal Kenzie Gallang, a metal worker with the battalion, said the team was taken aback by how quickly the prototype came together. The first prototype was a success. A part such as their strainer can be reverse-engineered and 3D printed in full in less than half a day.

Colonel Robert Fairley, commanding officer of Combat Logistics Regiment 35, framed the achievement as proof that non-traditional manufacturing works in expeditionary environments. The joint U.S.-Republic of Korea exercise demonstrated that forward-deployed units can keep equipment running without waiting for traditional logistics chains.

The Marine Corps has been steadily integrating additive manufacturing into its logistics toolkit. This latest deployment shows the technology moving from a novelty to an operational necessity.