ARG/MEU-Ex begins, prepares 24th MEU for deployment

Photo By Gunnery Sgt. Devin Nichols | Cpl. Timothy J. Nielsen, a Light Armored Vehicle mechanic with Light Armored Reconnaissance Detachment, Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, and Oldsmar, Fla., native, conducts corrosion prevention on an LAV during Amphibious Ready Group/Marine Expeditionary Unit Exercise aboard the USS Iwo Jima, at sea, Sept. 9, 2014. ARG/MEU-Ex is the first at sea evaluations Expeditionary Operations Training Group is conducting and is the third major predeployment exercise in preparation of the deployment at the end of the year. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Devin Nichols/Released)  

USS IWO JIMA, AT SEA

09.12.2014

Story by Sgt. Devin Nichols 

24th Marine Expeditionary Unit

USS IWO JIMA, At sea - Marines and Sailors with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit will be conducting Amphibious Ready Group/Marine Expeditionary Unit Exercise aboard the USS Iwo Jima for the majority of September.

All components of the 24th MEU, a Marine Air-Ground Task Force, will be conducting daily flight missions; noncombatant evacuation exercises; simulated raids; and Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure exercises throughout their tenure on ship.

“ARG/MEU-Ex is intended to enhance the Amphibious Ready Group/Marine Expeditionary Unit team’s ability to conduct full-spectrum operations from the sea,” said Capt. Andrew A. Richard, the 24th MEU Antiterrorism/Force Protection Officer and also a senior watch officer for the operations section. “ARG/MEU-Ex builds on the skills learned at our previous work-up exercises, Realistic Urban Training and Amphibious Squadron/MEU Integration and involves scenarios that the ARG/MEU could realistically encounter while on deployment.”

Richard, a Swanton, Vermont, native, continued to comment about how the ARG/MEU-Ex becomes successful and what needs to be accomplished.

“ARG/MEU-Ex is successful if we safely accomplish all of our assigned missions within a certain amount of time,” he said. “The exercise is also successful if ARG personnel and MEU personnel achieve interoperability during the missions so that we can seamlessly perform our duties while deployed in theater.”

During all the MEU’s pre-deployment training, Expeditionary Operations Training Group is charged with evaluating the overall performance of the MEU. ARG/MEU-Ex is the second at-sea training evolution they are evaluating.

“Our role is to provide scenario injects and site controllers for the specific scenarios and provide assessment and evaluations for the MEU during the planning and execution of the various events,” said Capt. Nicholas M. Thompson, the assistant operations officer for EOTG, and a Jacksonville, North Carolina, native. “EOTG uses Marine Corps orders and the Training and Readiness Manual as the guide for the evaluation process of the MEU.”

Richards added, “It’s required that the MEU completes ARG/MEU-Ex, because our performance needs to be evaluated and the ARG/MEU certifies us as capable of performing certain missions prior to deploying.”

ARG/MEU-Ex is the 24th MEU’s third major predeployment training exercise. They are scheduled to deploy at the end of the year.

• Date Taken: 09.12.2014
• Date Posted: 09.12.2014 18:18
• Story ID: 142028
• Location: USS IWO JIMA, AT SEA
• Hometown: JACKSONVILLE, NC, US
• Hometown: SWANTON, VT, US