Supply, Maintenance Battalions test deployment abilities

Photo By Staff Sgt. Bruno Bego | Cpl. Casey L. Stephens (left), a motor vehicle operator, and Staff Sgt. Edward J. Esposti, Jr., the ordnance platoon staff noncommissioned officer in charge, both with 2nd Maintenance Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, observe the status of an engine being tested during a training exercise aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., Sept. 12, 2012. Troops with 2nd Maint. Bn. and 2nd Supply Battalion, 2nd MLG conducted a week-long exercise, which consisted of setting up an Intermediate Maintenance Activity facility and a Supply Management Unit.  

CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, UNITED STATES

09.13.2012

Story by Cpl. Bruno Bego 

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Marines and sailors with Combat Logistics Regiment 25 conducted a field training exercise here, from Sept. 10-14.

The exercise forced servicemembers with 2nd Maintenance Battalion and 2nd Supply Battalion out of the comfort zone that the well-equipped bays offer and put them in a field environment, where they had to start by building a place to work.

The maintenance Marines set up an Intermediate Maintenance Activity facility, which is a huge garage with the tools needed for vehicle, ordnance, electronics and equipment maintenance.

“It gives the Marines an idea of what to expect when they deploy,” said Sgt. Michael L. Watt, the maintenance chief during the training exercise. “We have moved most of our field equipment out here, and we are fully capable of conducting any type of repairs.”

While on deployments, the IMA facility reduces – and in some cases eliminates – shipping costs by providing on-the-spot maintenance for equipment the Marine Corps uses, from the smallest electronic device to the up-armored vehicles.

During the exercise, the troops replaced an engine and transmission in a Humvee as well as took a generator engine apart and replaced it with a new one.

The troops also set up a dynamometer at the training site, which allowed them to test the mechanical forces of different types of engines.

“This is the first time [2nd Maintenance Battalion] has been out in [a training exercise] in quite some time,” explained Chief Warrant Officer 2 Frank B. Allen, the officer in charge for the battalion during the exercise.

The maintenance Marines also worked with the Global Combat Support System-Marine Corps, which is a newer system that provides a more efficient way to track maintenance activity.
As 2nd Maintenance Bn. stayed busy testing their readiness capabilities, 2nd Supply Bn. set up a critical part of a logistical unit: the Supply Management Unit.

The SMU houses much-needed supplies, like parts to vehicles. Supply specialists work inside to process gear requests and to get gear out in a timely manner.

“We brought our equipment out here to make sure it works for future deployments,” explained Cpl. Samuel L. Warman, a distribution management specialist with 2nd Supply Bn. “We are practicing our standard operating procedures so when we are in a deployed environment we can know how operations are going to go.”

Some of the most essential parts of running a supply point were tested during training in order to gauge the level of readiness of the battalion, Warman concluded.

• Date Taken: 09.13.2012
• Date Posted: 09.13.2012 13:43
• Story ID: 94675
• Location: CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US