Photo By Cpl. Leslie Alcaraz | Graphic created to highlight Staff Sgt. Anthony Barranco, an assault amphibious...... read more read more
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TRONDHEIM, Norway – Far from their homes across the globe, Reserve Marines were supporting the Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway. The Marines inspected and performed maintenance on hundreds of tactical vehicles, pallets of equipment, and crates of ammunition from various sites across the Norwegian county of Trøndelag.
Marines with Marine Forces Reserve travelled to support the Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway, a shared responsibility between the U.S. and Norwegian governments to sustain maintenance requirements for prepositioned equipment and vehicles in Norway. More than 120 Reserve Marines traveled to the Scandinavian country in support of an important North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally.
The surge of personnel was accomplished through a temporary augmentee program, designed to activate reserve Marines in support of any mission the Marine Corps is tasked with. In this case, the Marines were activated to travel to Norway to reinforce the United States’ commitment to NATO and the shared defense of the Norwegian people.
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Eric Geiger, the Personnel Temporary Augmentee Program-Norway (PTAP-N) officer-in-charge, led Marines from various Marine Forces Reserve units, stationed throughout the United States, to Norway as a part of the PTAP-N Program.
“PTAP is the Personnel Temporary Augmentee Program, a term used interchangeably for various exercises and such,” said Geiger, “but in this case it applied to the surge of maintenance personnel into Norway in support of the Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway.”
The Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway is managed by the Marines stationed at Blount Island Command in Jacksonville, Florida. The Marines, Sailors, civilians and defense contractors track and manage the equipment with the Maritime Prepositioning Force that is distributed throughout the world.
The Maritime Prepositioning Force consists of Marine Corps gear that is staged around the world, ready for transportation by Merchant Marine ships belonging to the Military Sealift Command. The Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway is one of the staging points for this gear.
Geiger, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-native, explained that the purpose of sending the Marines to Norway was to, “sustain the maintenance requirements for all the prepositioned equipment in Norway.”
The Norwegian Armed Forces, totaling around 23,000 personnel during peacetime, maintain the facilities in which the equipment is stored. However, it is the Marine Corps’ responsibility to maintaining the gear and equipment.
“We were there to perform corrective and preventative maintenance on the equipment,” said Staff Sgt. Anthony Barranco, the assault amphibious vehicle maintenance chief with PTAP-N 22, “it was a great opportunity for the Marines to get some hands on some equipment they don’t get to touch more often than a few times a year.”
Barranco, a former active duty Marine currently living in Deltona, Florida, is with 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion, a 4th Marine Division Reserve unit in Tampa, Florida.
“In the event the equipment is needed, these are assets that are already on that side of the globe, already positioned in that theater,” said Barranco. “It’s easier to get the equipment where it needs to go when you don’t have to send it all the way from the [United States].”
Barranco stressed the importance of their mission to his Marines, that should the equipment ever need to be used, its condition and readiness was in their hands. Barranco utilizes the experience he gained during his time on active duty to effectively employ and lead his Marines.
“After separating after 4 years of active duty, I went to school and got a job, which I do enjoy, but I still wanted to be a Marine,” said Barranco, “I still wanted to be a part of it, put on the uniform, it’s something I take a lot of pride in.”
Deployments to Norway are just one example of how the Marine Corps leverages its Reserve Force resources and expertise to accomplish missions anywhere in the world.
“Having prepared vehicles in Norway is pretty important,” said Cpl. Jorge Vargas, an automotive maintenance technician with Combat Logistics Battalion 453, 4th Marine Logistics Group, Marine Forces Reserve. “The world is pretty unpredictable right now, having vehicles already close to where they may be needed lets the military get to where it’s needed faster.”
Who We Are: The United States Marine Corps Reserve is responsible for providing trained units and qualified individuals for mobilization to active duty in time of war, national emergency, and crisis or contingency operations. On a day-to-day basis, Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES) consists of a talented and dedicated pool of nearly 100,000 Marines able to augment the Active Component in a myriad of ways, to include operational deployments, support to training, participation in bi/multi-lateral exercises with partner nations and allies, and service-level experimentation in support of Force Design 2030 and refinement of new concepts, tactics, techniques, and procedures.
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| Date Taken: | 06.23.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 07.08.2022 15:05 |
| Story ID: | 424631 |
| Location: | TRONDHEIM, NO |
| Hometown: | DELTONA, FLORIDA, US |
| Hometown: | PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 759 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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