Marines on Okinawa become the first in the Corps trained on the Army's 3D concrete printer

CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa, Sept. 19, 2025 — The 9th Engineer Support Battalion has become the first Marine Corps unit trained on the Army's Automated Construction of Expeditionary Structures (ACES) printer, and its operations chief says it can build barriers and structures like some used in the ongoing exercise Resolute Dragon. Here's what happened, what it cost, and what went wrong.

Cost and outcome (as of Sept. 19, 2025)

Outcome: Marines trained on ACES with the Army Corps of Engineers' research and development team on Aug. 26–28, 2025; the battalion's use is meant to inform how the capability is used across the force. (DVIDS image 1 of 8, Aug. 26, 2025; DVIDS video, posted Sept. 11, 2025)
Cost: Not published in any source we found.
Capability: Its operations chief says it can build barriers and structures like some used in the ongoing exercise Resolute Dragon. (Stars and Stripes, Sept. 19, 2025)

The training

Marines from the 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, trained on ACES with members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' research and development team at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, from Aug. 26 to 28, 2025, according to the Marine Corps' captions. The training prepared them to operate the system, which prints custom concrete structures and, the captions say, reduces labor, logistics and manpower requirements. (DVIDS image 1 of 8, Aug. 26, 2025; DVIDS video, posted Sept. 11, 2025)

Photos show engineer assistants mixing concrete for the printer, the system laying concrete, and a combat engineer filling holes left after a print. (DVIDS image 1 of 8, Aug. 26, 2025; DVIDS image 3 of 8; DVIDS image 8 of 8, Aug. 28, 2025)

What the battalion wants to print

"You can tailor-make components for a solution, and it can be specific to the location you're operating in," Master Gunnery Sgt. Ty Ryan, the battalion's operations chief, told Stars and Stripes during a Sept. 11 tour. "You can also augment control points for things like military or civilian ports, print concrete ramps, and build makeshift railheads." (Stars and Stripes, Sept. 19, 2025)

Ryan said the technology applies to a "full spectrum" of scenarios, from contested areas to humanitarian operations and training across the Indo-Pacific. "We're able to build barriers and structures like some currently utilized for the ongoing exercise Resolute Dragon," he said. Stripes noted that for the Corps, the technology could also mean rapidly built barracks, barriers or emergency housing after a natural disaster. (Stars and Stripes, Sept. 19, 2025)

Where the other services are

ACES lets the Army produce custom-designed buildings and materials, Stripes reported, citing the Corps of Engineers. In February 2025 the Army unveiled its first 3D-printed barracks at Fort Bliss, Texas; each spans more than 5,700 square feet and can house up to 56 soldiers, according to the Army Engineer Research and Development Center. (Stars and Stripes, Sept. 19, 2025)

In April 2025, the Air Force's 175th Civil Engineer Squadron at Martin State Air National Guard Base, Md., trained airmen on similar equipment. "Our team was trained to use the 3D Concrete Printer in just four days," said Maj. Brian Vickers, project manager for the Expeditionary 3D Concrete Printer, adding that concrete buildings protect occupants far better from blasts, fragmentation and small-arms fire. (Stars and Stripes, Sept. 19, 2025)

What went wrong

Patching after the print. One Marine Corps photo shows a combat engineer filling holes left after an ACES print, a manual finishing step. (DVIDS image 8 of 8, Aug. 28, 2025)
Still learning. "We've been working with the leadership and our partners to learn and advance our process," Ryan said. (Stars and Stripes, Sept. 19, 2025)
No numbers. No source gives the cost of the printer, the concrete, or the labor saved, so the claimed reduction in manpower and logistics can't be measured yet.
What we don't know yet: what the battalion has printed beyond barriers, and whether the Corps plans to buy its own systems.

Our follow-up question for The 3rd Marine Logistics Group

What has the 9th Engineer Support Battalion printed with ACES since the training, and how do labor and material costs compare with conventional builds?

Sources

Stars and Stripes (Ryan Breeden), “From ramps to railheads, Marines explore uses for 3D-printed concrete on Okinawa,” Sept. 19, 2025. stripes.com
DVIDS, “9th ESB trains on 3D concrete printer [Image 1 of 8],” U.S. Marine Corps photo, Aug. 26, 2025. dvidshub.net
DVIDS, “9th ESB trains on 3D concrete printer [Image 3 of 8],” Aug. 26, 2025. dvidshub.net
DVIDS, “9th ESB trains on 3D concrete printer [Image 8 of 8],” Aug. 28, 2025. dvidshub.net
DVIDS, “9th ESB 3D Concrete Printer training” (video), posted Sept. 11, 2025. dvidshub.net

Disclosure: [not in copy] Editor placeholder