Photo By Gunnery Sgt. Paris Capers | U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Kyle Collins, a parachute rigger and Delta, Colo.,...... read more read more
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NAVAL BASE SAN DIEGO, California (Sept. 21, 2015) – U.S. Marines and Sailors with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit and their Naval counterparts with Amphibious Squadron One (PHIBRON-1) began PHIBRON-MEU Integration Training (PMINT) Exercise, Sept. 20, getting underway for a two-week stint at sea aboard the USS Boxer, USS New Orleans and USS Harpers Ferry.
The exercise is the Fighting 13th’s and Boxer Amphibious Ready Group’s first at-sea portion of the pre-deployment training package to prepare for their upcoming deployment to the Pacific and Central Command areas of operation early next year.
“[PMINT] is also first time this deployment cycle the MEU works with the Navy in such close quarters,” said Master Sgt. Rogelio Loera, operations chief for the Fighting 13th. “We also have to integrate our two skillsets into a blue-green team to be successful.”
During the exercise, Marines will work shoulder to shoulder with their Navy counterparts to conduct all of the MEUs mission essential tasks and other operational requirements including amphibious assaults from ship and Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel by Battalion Landing Team 2/1, flight deck qualifications for pilots and air crews of Marine Medium Tilt Rotor Squadron 166 Reinforced, Vehicle Boarding Search and Seizures by the Command Element’s Maritime Raid Force, and more. Each of these elements give the MEU a combination of strength and flexibility to adapt to any changes.
“[PMINT] is also a planning exercise, where we integrate and plan with the Navy so we can see their planning and they can see ours,” Loera said. “The blue side and green side planning are parallel roads and we have to meet up together to stay synched.”
Integration is the glue that keeps joint operations moving smoothly according to Loera, and as new troops learn the customs and courtesies of ship life they become part of the long tradition of sea service Marines have so closely guarded.
“The experiences these Marines will take away from PMINT are not too unlike the first Marines serving on naval vessels in the 1700s,” Loera said “[Marines] may go from a barracks room with lots of space and maybe one roommate to sleeping in a 12-inch high coffin rack in a berthing of dozens. To avoid the shock, integration is key.”
That synch includes the lifestyle at sea which many Marines with the MEU have not yet experienced. Marines like Lance Cpl. Evan Bunnell, a Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Specialist, are experiencing ship life for the first time.
“I’ve heard so many things about ship life, I didn’t know what to expect,” Bunnell said. “The hardest parts are learning my way around and the way the Navy does business.”
From lance corporal to lieutenant colonel, learning to work with the Navy is a priority, as the confines of the ship make working hand-in-hand a must. Following PMINT, the Marines and Sailors of the Fighting 13th and PHIBRON One will be a stronger team, having tackled one more stepping stone on the road to deploying as an integrated force capable of conducting missions across the range of military operations.
| Date Taken: | 09.21.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 09.23.2015 11:11 |
| Story ID: | 176955 |
| Location: | NAVAL BASE SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 523 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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