Photo By Gunnery Sgt. Marcin Platek | Brig. Gen. James M. Lariviere, commanding general of 4th Marine Division, and Sgt....... read more read more
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ABOARD HNLMS ROTTERDAM, At Sea — As sea raged and waves crashed violently against the rocks, the slushy snow coming down was trying to match the intensity. Battling the conditions, a Dutch landing craft utility was trying to make its way through.
Aboard, Brig. Gen. James M. Lariviere, commanding general of 4th Marine Division, and Sgt. Maj. George Muskievicz, sergeant major of Headquarters Battalion, 4th Marine Division, were headed toward the amphibious-warfare ship scarcely seen on the horizon. Their destination: Her Netherlands Majesty's Ship Rotterdam.
Lariviere and Muskievicz toured Rotterdam March 11 during a two-day visit to Norway for Exercise Cold Response 2012.
“The visit to the Rotterdam was great,” said Lariviere. “I’m really excited that our Marines are getting on board and are taking an advantage of it."
The Dutch landing platform dock ship is supporting Company K, 3rd Battalion, 24th Regiment, 4th Marine Division, during their participation in Cold Response. The multi-national invitational event focuses on rehearsing mid-intensity operations in winter conditions and exercising the interoperability with the NATO allies.
While the Marines were off the ship and training, the general and sergeant major received a personal tour with the help of ship’s commanding officer, Dutch Col. Huub Hulsker.
“It is great to have the general here, as he is an experienced man," he said. “It is good to have the U.S. Marines aboard as well as we don’t really get a visit from them often. I think it was a good experience for everyone to have them aboard our amphibious ship.”
As the Rotterdam sailed off the shores of Norway, the attending party visited the ship’s well deck, command deck, landing force operating center, armory, hospital, chow halls, berthing areas for the Company K Marines, and landing pad that can support two helicopters.
“She's a great ship and has great capabilities for our Dutch allies,” Lariviere said. “It was great to go out there and see many of the features that she has.”
After the tour, the general and sergeant major sat down for lunch with some officers involved in Cold Response to discuss the exercise and other relevant topics.
“Meeting and integrating with any of our international forces for training evolutions is an outstanding and welcomed opportunity,” said Muskievicz.
“It was an opportunity to interact with our allies,” said Lariviere. “Many of them are veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan and anti-piracy task forces off the coast of Somalia. They all have a lot of experience working with the U.S. and our allies in various capacities. It was a great opportunity and a great conversation. “
The visit to the ship and having Marines aboard came in wake of Marine Corps efforts of returning to its amphibious roots.
“It is a great opportunity for us to get back to our amphibious roots because of the short falls in the amphibious shipping we are currently experiencing,” said Lariviere. “This is a great opportunity for us to get aboard an allied ship and conduct an amphibious landing and learn about shipboard life. It will help us train for the future as we look ahead of what comes after Afghanistan.”
This would have been a first time for many Marines to be aboard a navy vessel, said Muskievicz. He was also surprised at the amenities available for the Marines.
“The berthing areas were very well appointed and roomy,” said Muskievicz. “Plenty of space for up to 12 per room in some areas to include storage.“
As for the Company K, Lariviere said it was a new experience to perform an out-of-ordinary annual training.
“For many of them this is their first time overseas,” he said. “ It's important because they are getting cold weather training, something they don’t get to normally do, and they get to go on an allied ship and do a landing in conjunction with the Dutch marines and British marines,” he said. “It provides an opportunity for these Marines to see something different and go back and talk to their fellow Marines and people in their hometown about the exciting things that are going on in the Marine Corps Reserve.”
| Date Taken: | 03.17.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 03.17.2012 14:40 |
| Story ID: | 85411 |
| Location: | HARSTAD, 19, NO |
| Web Views: | 842 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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