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MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. - Steel Knight is an annual exercise to train and prepare the 1st Marine Division for deployment as the ground combat element of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force. Combined arms live-fire exercises, such as Steel Knight, ensure that the nation has a Division that is fully prepared for employment as a maneuver force across the range of military operations.
Steel Knight 15 required elements of the 1st Marine Division to employ amphibious capabilities as part of the scenario, enhancing the overall readiness of the Marine Corps to respond to any crisis as the nation’s premier force in readiness.
“As the Marine Corps, we see ourselves as our nation’s quick response force and, as that crisis response force, we need to train,” said Maj. Gen. Lawrence Nicolson, the commanding general of 1st Marine Division. “And this desert area allows us the opportunity to bring in fixed-wing aircraft, rotary-wing aircraft and live-fire logistics and integrate them into a force that’s moving."
Although strengthening the offensive aspect so the Corps is “ready to go,” having a strong supporting system is also a key element in mission readiness.
Supporting units from 1st Marine Logistics Group and 3rd Marine Air Wing assisted 1st Marine Division and played a huge role during the exercise by honing their conventional war fighting capabilities by practicing the skills needed to deploy and fight as part of a MAGTF.
“One of the things the Marine Corps provides is the notion that we must be prepared when the nation is least prepared. As the nation’s response force, we may be called at any time,” said Nicholson. “We are always forward-deployed in preparation for contentions. The mentality that we have of being ‘First to Fight’ still resonates very well within our Marine Corps.”
Along with mission readiness, the exercise was also to test communication links and the ability to control and contact aviation and ground direct fires with support from 1st MLG and 3rd MAW to fulfill digital interoperability with ground forces and improve overall combat efficiency and readiness of the division in concert with the MAGTF.
“The nation is counting on us in all climates and conditions to be ready to go. And that means that sometimes the personal sacrifices, the week before Christmas to be out in the field,” said Nicholson. “The training that we’re getting out here is vital to the readiness of our Corps and you, as Marines, should be very proud that we’re better prepared today than we were two weeks ago before this exercise.”
As Steel Knight 15 wraps up, training pushes forward across the Marine Corps. Year-round units throughout the Marine Corps remain hard at work. There’s not a week where the sounds of aircraft and machine guns aren’t heard as Marines actively work in an aggressive training environment, continuously improving their skills to remain ready for future missions.
| Date Taken: | 12.18.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 12.19.2014 19:48 |
| Story ID: | 150837 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 71 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Steel Knight 15, 1st MarDiv annual training, by Sgt April Price, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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