CLR-25 prepares for ship-to-land offloading exercise

Photo By Sgt. Austin Long | A Marine with Combat Logistics Regiment 25 drives a Rough Terrain Container Handler onto an Improved Navy Lighterage System while being guided by sailors with Amphibious Construction Battalion Two, while training at Green Beach Two aboard Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island and U.S. Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville, Aug. 4. The Marines with CLR-25 practiced driving various vehicles on and off the INLS to prepare for loading and unloading material from the craft later on in the week. This exercise, led by the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade and Expeditionary Strike Group Two, is one part of BOLD ALLIGATOR 2014, the year’s largest amphibious exercise on the East Coast, which will serve as a capstone event for the Marines’ Expeditionary Force 21 concept. (Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Austin Long)  

CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, UNITED STATES

08.03.2015

Story by Lance Cpl. Shannon Kroening 

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

CAMP LEJUENE, N.C. – Combat Logistics Regiment 25 will participate in the upcoming Maritime Preposition Forces Exercise at Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island in Jacksonville, Florida, Aug. 10-21, 2015.

The exercise is one of the largest ship-to-land offloading exercises since Operation Desert Storm.

“We are doing this exercise to get back to our Marine amphibious roots,” said 1st Lt. Philip Blais, a future operations officer with Combat Logistics Regiment 25, who is one of the key planners of the upcoming MPFEX. “Marines are about readiness. We plan to execute our mission with speed and precision as if it were the real deal.”

Throughout the operation, the unit will unload equipment and supplies capable of supporting a Marine Expeditionary Unit. Then the Marines will transport the equipment to a forward operating position, simulating a real-world scenario.

“This is my first MPFEX, and I’m excited for it,” said Pfc. Matthew Weber, an engineer equipment operator with CLR-25. “I’ll be expected to keep track of gear movement. It should be a good learning experience.”

A total of 364 Marines and sailors with CLR-25 will participate in the exercise, making it the largest MPFEX ever. The unit has been planning the operation since February, and CLR-25 is confident it will aid in their unit readiness and build unit cohesion.

“We are down there to improve what we can do, this is our job and I know that our Marines are confident and ready to perform,” said Blais.

• Date Taken: 08.03.2015
• Date Posted: 08.04.2015 13:44
• Story ID: 172124
• Location: CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US