24 MEU Host Combat Artists Onboard Bataan

ATLANTIC OCEAN, UNITED STATES

09.30.2016

Courtesy Story

USS Bataan (LHD 5)

While the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) hosted Amphibious Squadron 8 (PHIBRON) and 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) for integrated training September 11 – 23, the MEU didn’t only bring their combat gear with them, they brought four extremely talented artists with them.

Combat artistry is part the National Museum of the Marine Corps and MEUs frequently contract artists to deploy with units to record events and experiences using various artistic techniques, such as sketching, painting and sculptures. The United States Navy also has official combat artists assigned to Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC).

Col. Craig Streeter, the USMC official combat artist and Kristopher Battles, one of three official Navy artist; along with Michael Fay, a retired USMC official combat artist, civilian illustrators, Richard Johnson and Victor Juhasz, brought their sketch pads and pencils to draw the mission and people that make up the Bataan, PHIBRON 8 and 24th MEU hoping to bring an awareness to the public of each units mission.
Battles, one of three official Navy artists at NHHC, said that his whole purpose right now is to tell the Navy story. As the Navy and Marine Corps are one team, one fight, Battles believes Bataan is the perfect setting for this visit.

“I think we [combat artist] serve a function that is very important for morale, very important for the public affairs mission and very important for bridging cultural gaps,” said Battles. “Sometimes we find that our cultures aren’t always unified, and I think arts can bridge those gaps and open up an avenue of conversation.”

Juhasz expressed how great his experience on Bataan was and how welcoming everyone was to him as he shadowed various departments and captured their daily activities in his artwork.

“Every day is a new challenge; every day is a new opportunity to capture something that’s happening on the ship that is somehow advancing the story,” said Juhasz. “And the access here on the boat with the Marines and with Naval personnel has been shockingly open; to just sit and be with them and draw and follow their activities.”

Battles shared that the response he and the other artists get from Sailors and Marines makes all the time put into creating these pieces worth it.

“When you are seeing a piece of art that is being made; when an artist sat down and took the time to draw a person or the activity, to draw the gear and the environment of these young Sailors and Marines, that says something to morale,” said Battles. “It’s like, wow, the Navy and Marine Corps send artists because they care enough about what we do to capture this.”

Streeter said he is hopeful that throughout the Marine Corps other units will take notice about what happened with the 24th MEU and the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group and will want to embed combat artists with them as well.

“I hope other units reach out and that they will want to do something like this,” said Streeter.

For more information on these combat artists and their artwork, follow USS Bataan on Facebook and YouTube.

• Date Taken: 09.30.2016
• Date Posted: 09.30.2016 08:02
• Story ID: 210990
• Location: ATLANTIC OCEAN, US