Photo By Master Sgt. Brian Buckwalter | Marines from 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade break down the combat operations center...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS MOUNTAIN WARFARE TRAINING CENTER BRIDGEPORT, Calif. – Marines from 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade and Marine Forces Reserve’s 4th Marine Division participated in the final exercise of Javelin Thrust 2011, July 26 - 28.
Planners designed the exercise to improve Marines battlefield capabilities while also showing any weaknesses that needed improvement.
“The purpose of this exercise is to coordinate several hundred or several thousand Marines carrying rifles,” said Maj. Jess Humphrey, one of 1st MEB’s senior watch officers. “We have to coordinate their aggressive efforts and safe guard the populous at the same time. So just like a good football practice, you realize what your weaknesses are, and you start to fix them.”
Humphrey, from Coronado Calif., noted the importance of having a culminating event during an exercise like Javelin Thrust.
“When you got your men fighting from fox holes, living in the dirt, working all night and going on lack of sleep, it’s hard for everybody to understand just how hard it is for a man to give their story and tell you what they need,” said Humphrey. “So if you don’t have a field exercise or final exercise, it’s like watching a movie instead of playing ball.”
He also said the FINEX is good because it allows everyone to focus on the overall mission.
“The exercise is a great truth teller of whether or not you’re able to talk with the guys who need help the most. Because that’s what were all here to do: everybody in here is trying to help that four-man fire team that’s taking fire.”
More than 5,000 Marine participated in Javelin Thrust - the Marine Corps’ largest total force exercise of the year. 1st MEB and 4th Marine Division exercised their ability to function as a Marine Air Ground Task Force. The MEB is the Marine Corps’ middleweight MAGTF, designed to quickly respond to a crisis and self-sustain until larger follow-on forces arrive.
| Date Taken: | 07.28.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 07.28.2011 16:18 |
| Story ID: | 74484 |
| Location: | BRIDGEPORT, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 326 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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