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Camp Lejeune, N.C. – U.S. Marines with II Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) return to their home stations upon the completion of the inaugural Fleet Week Miami, May 17, 2024.
For the first time ever, the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard were invited to the city of Miami and the greater Miami-Dade County for Fleet Week. The services brought multiple Navy ships, dozens of naval and amphibious assets, and thousands of service members for the Miami community to see and meet from May 5-12, 2024.
Marines from units across II MEF joined together to form a Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force (Special-Purpose MAGTF), headquartered by 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division and augmented with Marines from 2nd Marine Logistics Group, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing and other II MEF units to display the capabilities of the Marine Corps and engage with the community of Miami.
Over the span of eight days, the Navy and Marine Corps hosted and participated in 52 events across Miami-Dade County. Service members participated in a beach Olympics event, a community 5k run, public concerts, daily ship tours, a naturalization ceremony and dozens of other community events with schools, hospitals and local organizations.
“Fleet Week Miami exceeded expectations, especially being the first Fleet Week hosted by the city of Miami. It was an outstanding opportunity for Marines to interact with the Miami community and share their stories while displaying the capability and strength of the nation’s premier expeditionary force,” said Col. David Ickles, Commanding Officer, 10th Marine Regiment.
To kick off Fleet Week Miami, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced that a future Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine SSN 811 would be named the USS Miami becoming the fourth vessel named after the city of Miami in U.S. Navy history. This historic event was one of many throughout the week highlighting the Navy and Marine Corps’ history and investment in the Miami community.
During daily ship tours aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5), community residents were able to meet and engage with Marines and Sailors while getting an up-close view of military equipment and technology that projects naval expeditionary strength across the globe. The Miami locals were able to see warfighting technologies like the UH-1Y Venom “Super Huey” helicopter, CH-53K “King Stallion” helicopter, M142 HIMARS rocket artillery system, explosive ordnance disposal equipment, and many other vehicles, aviation assets and small arms weapons.
“The hard work demonstrated by the Marines, Sailors and Coast Guardsmen in preparing ships, aviation assets and various vehicles and weapons systems displayed the far-reaching capabilities and professionalism of the world’s greatest Naval Force. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to show the Miami community a small portion of America’s Naval Expeditionary Force and showcase what makes our maritime forces revered around the globe,” said Lt. Gen. Brian Cavanaugh, commanding general, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic.
For photos and videos about Fleet Week Miami events see the Fleet Week Miami 2024 feature page on DVIDS at https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/FleetWeekMiami2024.
For additional information visit the official Fleet Week Miami website and Facebook page at https://www.fleetweekmiami.org and https://www.facebook.com/fleetweekmiami.
Media outlets interested in more information regarding Fleet Week Miami should contact the II MEF Communication Strategy and Operations office at iimefcommstrat@usmc.mil.
| Date Taken: | 05.22.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.22.2024 08:28 |
| Story ID: | 471949 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 65 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, II MEF Marines Return from Inaugural Fleet Week Miami, by 1LT Zachary Cargill, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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