Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Jamica Ballard | 210805-N-JB637-1261 ATLANTIC OCEAN (Aug. 5, 2021) Information Technician 3rd Class...... read more read more
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The Amphibious Communications Detachment (ACD), a part of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), embarked on the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) during Large Scale Exercise (LSE) 2021, July 30 – Aug. 14, 2021 to better prepare the blue-green team for its upcoming deployment.
Kearsarge’s primary mission is to load, transport, and deliver Marines and Marine warfighting equipment to the shore. An essential supporting factor of that mission is communications. While at sea, the seamless communication between Kearsarge and Marines ashore is accomplished when the ACD and Kearsarge’s Command, Control, Computer, Communications, Cyber and Intelligence department (C5I) join their systems together.
Maj. Craig Towells, the communications officer attached to 22nd MEU, said the ACD is a detachment of Marines intended to provide the MEU with a bridge of communication between the MEU aboard Kearsarge and the Marines on the shore.
“The ACD is meant to go out to sea with Kearsarge to establish relationships with the ship’s crew, become familiar with the ships communication systems, spaces and equipment, and begin the installation process of the detachment’s communication systems,” said Towells.
LSE 2021 was an opportunity for the ACD to start implementing the integration process early.
“ACD came out early in support of LSE which benefited the ship because it gave us an opportunity to come together and learn how to work as one team,” said Lt. Cmdr. Jordan Smith, the Command, Control, Computer, and Communications Officer (C4I) aboard Kearsarge. “I think the earlier that partnership begins to grow during the life-cycle of the ship, the more prepared we are come deployment. I think it’s a force multiplier.”
Smith said one of the biggest accomplishments the ship’s communications department had during LSE was being able to integrate with the ACD, get the MEU’s network online in a record amount of time, and ultimately be able to communicate.
During LSE, the ACD and Kearsarge’s C5I department ran drills together to work out any possible technical or logistical issues.
“We run bandwidth management drills together,” said Smith. “During the drills we simulate one or more of our satellite circuits going down so both Sailors and the Marines can come together and assess what we need to do to fix it.”
LSE 2021 marks the first time Kearsarge has had embarked Marines aboard since the ship’s last deployment ended in July 2019. The exercise provided the crew and leadership with their first glimpse of what the upcoming deployment is going to be like when Marines and Sailors join forces to support the mission.
“During the Marines’ time aboard we immediately built bonds with one another and that is something of great value that will continue to pay dividends,” said Smith.
| Date Taken: | 08.15.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 08.20.2021 07:21 |
| Story ID: | 403581 |
| Location: | ATLANTIC OCEAN |
| Web Views: | 148 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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