Linking the Chain: 5th ANGLICO Marines rehearse expeditionary communications capabilities

Photo By Cpl. Bridgette Rodriguez | U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Samuel Rockney, left, a native of California and a network administrator, and Lance Cpl. Taren Clemons, a native of Connecticut and a transmissions system operator, both with 5th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, III Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, conduct radio checks during a communication exercise at Camp Courtney, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 11, 2026. The 5th ANGLICO Marines rehearsed setting up and establishing communication assets in field environments to enhance their military occupation specialty knowledge and skills set. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Bridgette Rodriguez)  

JAPAN

02.25.2026

Story by 1st Lt. Keyon Whyte 

III MEF Information Group     

CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa, Japan – For the Marines of 5th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (5th ANGLICO), seamlessly integrating fires and effects from the air, land, and sea, is the core of their mission and a skill they train for every day. This seamless integration not only requires complex problem solving and rapid deconfliction, but the ability to communicate across vast distances and in challenging terrain. From Feb. 13 to 16, 5th ANGLICO communications Marines conducted Communication Exercise 26.1 (COMMEX 26.1) to enhance the very same skills that allow 5th ANGLICO to connect the air, ground, and naval fight.

“Communication isn’t just an asset, it’s an enabler that supports the dynamic mission sets that the unit needs to accomplish,” said 1st Lt.Vanessa Barragan, the communications officer for 5th ANGLICO. “This training allowed us to rehearse establishing and maintaining communications networks in a field environment, a capability crucial to the unit’s success.”

From atop tactical vehicles, in the tree line and on the shoreline, COMMEX 26.1 trained its Marines to set up and maintain data networks, satellite communications, and high-frequency transmission capabilities, all while managing their physical signature, the challenges of weather, the jungle environment, and varying lighting conditions.

“The goal of the training was to provide our Marines the fundamental technical skills and tactical knowledge to provide reliable communication for multiple users,” said Staff Sgt. Jesse Reyna, a transmissions chief with 5th ANGLICO. “Wherever these Marines find themselves or deploy to, being able to do their job in challenging and stressful conditions is the standard.”

5th ANGLICO’s unique mission set in the Indo-pacific often requires its communicators to deploy across the region, maintaining and troubleshooting communications for various Marine Corps allied and partner force units, an added degree of complexity that necessitates constant and specialized training. Since COMMEX 26.1 was mostly geared towards the more junior communications Marines within the unit, this allowed the more senior communicators with unique deployment or job experience to impart vital knowledge to their juniors and assess what they’ve learned. When equipment, connectivity, and reach back support vary drastically from country to country, creativity, innovation, and initiative are not just expected, but required of these Marines.

In the age of information where awareness, connection and communication are critical to averting crisis and winning in conflict, the Marines of III Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group constantly train to keep the force connected, enabling allies, partners, and joint and multinational forces to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.

• Date Taken: 02.25.2026
• Date Posted: 02.25.2026 18:48
• Story ID: 558915
• Location: JP