 As the invasion of Kuwait grew imminent, portions of the MEU landed at Al Mishab and Al Jubayl to act as the 1st MEF reserve.After the liberation of Kuwait, the 11th MEU was re-formed and stayed in the Persian Gulf after Desert Storm for a number of months performing a presence mission, finally returning to Camp Pendleton in late summer of 1991.On 24 February 2003, the 11th MEU Command Element deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and later Operation Iraqi Freedom.