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USS ESSEX, At sea – U.S. Marines with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked aboard the Essex Amphibious Ready Group’s three ships March 16-April 1, for Composite Training Unit Exercise, or COMPTUEX, off the coast of San Diego.
These at-sea periods prior to deployment integrate the MEU and the ARG as a single unit and develop a stronger bond while executing full-mission profiles aboard the USS Essex (LHD 2), USS Anchorage (LPD 23) and the USS Rushmore (LSD 47).
COMPTUEX specifically, is the Navy’s chance to get all the qualifications needed in order to deploy. U.S. Navy Airman Michael Miniear explained some of the training they had to do.
“We’re showing the admiral what we’re capable of,” said Miniear, an aviation boatswain mate handler. “That we can get troops on the ground in a timely manner and execute it properly from start to finish.”
He added, “What he is looking for is if we can all work together as a strike group.”
The Essex ARG completed a replenishment at sea, refueling, and practiced maneuvering through straights. They are evaluated at a smaller level, each section having to meet certain qualifications.
“In engineering, we have to know all of our equipment and make sure it’s all properly stored and safe,” Miniear said. “The flight deck and well deck get certified for day and night operations. They make sure we can properly do everything while we’re in a combat zone.”
During COMPTUEX, the MEU and the ARG completed almost a mission every day.
“That’s foot on the gas pedal, we’re not letting up,” said Cpl. Matthew Wille. “We’re making sure that we’re prepared and we know how to react to certain situations; foreign humanitarian assistance, vertical raids, long-range raids, amphibious assaults and everything else we are capable of doing as the ARG and the MEU.”
These repetitions are essential to make sure the ARG/MEU can respond quickly and effectively.
“We’re going to be working with each other on this boat for the next seven months,” said Wille, a Marine air-ground task force planner with the command element of the 15th MEU. “We want to make sure that whatever we’re doing, we’re in sync. We need to know how the Navy is going to respond so we know how to react to different crises based off their response and vice-versa.”
The relationship between the Navy and Marines Corps gets stronger each time they work together. Master Gunnery Sgt. Torain Kelly, the operations chief with the 15th MEU, said he feels this particular group has more cohesion than he has experienced in the past.
“They come over and we share things with them, they share things with us and we make sure we’re talking all the time,” said Kelly. “We all come together to see how we can make things work better. That started day one; we made a point to come together as a blue-green team. I think it’s what’s going to make us better.”
They have already seen improvements since their first full at-sea period during Amphibious Squadron/Marine Expeditionary Unit Integration training, or PMINT.
“When we started PMINT, everything was a little shaky because it was so new for everybody,” Kelly said. “But we started refining those process and things got smoother and smoother. Then we took what we learned and brought it into COMPTUEX. The process starts working a lot quicker and a lot smoother.”
This training is also important at the individual level, ensuring each person thoroughly understands what his or her job is during deployment.
“I’ve developed a better understanding of the Marine Corps planning process and rapid response planning process,” Wille said. “I had a decent understanding prior to, but now when you’re actually put in situations where you’re going to use it every day, whether it’s four or five times a day or once a day, you have a better understanding of how things work. It’s not just putting slides together, it’s understanding what the ground combat element, [air combat element] and [logistics combat element] need to do.”
The Marines performing these missions use this training as an opportunity to become a stronger force and understand how to respond to a crisis in the most efficient way possible. Cpl. Aaron Telles said working with each other constantly forms a bond between the Marines that benefits them during a mission.
“Everybody knows how each one of us move, we know how each one of us think,” said Telles, a squad leader with Lima Company, Battalion Landing Team 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. “We live with each other; we’re literally with each other at all times for months at a time so we know each other in and out. We’re very close, very tight knit.”
PMINT and COMPTUEX were the Marines and Sailors chance to develop skills and learn how the Navy and Marine Corps plan and react to different scenarios. They will return to the ships for their final at-sea period, Certification Exercise (CERTEX), in April.
“Hopefully what we do for CERTEX is take that same momentum we had from COMPTUEX,” Kelly said. “Everything should be muscle memory once that warning order comes down. We’ll get no warning, just like it would be when we’re in theater. We have to be ready to [execute the mission] within six hours.”
CERTEX is the MEU’s last at-sea period prior to deployment. This will be the Marines’ turn to get evaluated and qualified to deploy. They will continue to integrate and grow as a team while at sea, but they will be well equipped for anything that comes their way after the many repetitions during their work-up periods.
| Date Taken: | 04.01.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.01.2015 16:50 |
| Story ID: | 158842 |
| Location: | USS ESSEX, USPACOM, AT SEA |
| Web Views: | 184 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
This work, 15th MEU Marines, Essex ARG complete COMPTUEX, by Sgt Anna Albrecht, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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