CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Marines and sailors with Combat Logistics Battalion 24, Combat Logistics Regiment 27, 2nd Marine Logistics Group participated in a field exercise here Oct. 16 to 18.
The exercise gave different sections of the battalion the opportunity to bring their specialties together as they trained in preparation for an upcoming Marine Expeditionary Unit deployment.
“This is our first field exercise as a brand new staff for the CLB,” said Maj. Chad E. Roberts, the executive officer of CLB-24. “If you use the ‘crawl, walk, run’ analogy, we’re still crawling. We’re trying to establish a battle rhythm for a deployment as a [logistics combat element], but that’s still about a year away.”
The battalion operations included water purification, vehicle convoys and helicopter support team, or HST, exercises. The operations tied in directly with each other and were held together by the Marines at the command operations center, who tracked the movements of the platoons and kept constant communications with them.
“This is step one, so to speak,” said 1st Lt. Thomas J. Heemer, the commander of Landing Support Platoon, CLB-24. “It gives us the opportunity to get out here and start integrating all the things we do as individual platoons. The work we do is pretty impressive as landing support, engineer and communications Marines, but we make our money when we bring it together.”
The water purification specialists produced 500 gallons of clean water, which the motor transport section moved to LS Plt. to be air-lifted along with an 8,000-pound beam to simulate supplies during an HST.
“It’s definitely an equipment and [personnel] test,” said Sgt. Parker S. Radcliffe, a combat engineer with CLB-24. “Being first response to natural disasters around the U.S., we have to know that the Marines know how to use the equipment and that the equipment works.”