Marine Detachment (MARDET)

Marines Aboard a Navy Ship

The Marine Detachment, or MARDET, was the contingent of United States Marines embarked aboard the carrier — a tradition aboard Navy capital ships reaching back through naval history, to the age when Marines manned the fighting tops and provided the ship’s guard. Their modern duties centered on internal security: guarding the ship’s most sensitive spaces, controlling access to vital areas, and standing as a disciplined, ready force within the crew.

Among their charges were the spaces requiring the highest protection and the ship’s brig, the shipboard place of confinement. The detachment also performed ceremonial duties — honor guards, sideboys, and the formalities of naval custom — carrying themselves with the bearing that has long marked the Marine presence aboard ship. They were sailors’ shipmates and, distinctly, Marines, keeping their own standards within the larger crew.

Aboard Constellation

Through the deployment, the detachment maintained its watch over the carrier’s most secure spaces, a steady and serious presence in compartments where access mattered most. Their guard duties continued around the clock alongside the ship’s own security force, each understanding its role in keeping the vessel and her secrets safe through long weeks at sea and visits to foreign ports.

The Marines also lent the deployment its ceremony and tradition — rendering honors, posting the colors, and marking the occasions that punctuate a long cruise. Their detachment embodied a custom older than the ship herself: Marines and sailors serving together aboard the fleet’s capital ships, a partnership woven through the long shared history of the sea services.

Divisions

Divisions

The Marine Detachment (MARDET) comprised 3 divisions; each has its own roster page with every Sailor by rank, name, and a link to the cruise book.

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