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MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – After a cross-country journey of over 2,000 miles, the MAGTF Staff Training Program group out of Quantico, Va., finds themselves among the warm weather of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Ca. to support exercise Steel Knight 24.
MSTP is an active-duty unit, augmented by Marine Corps Reserve officers, whose mission is to improve the warfighting skills of senior commanders and their staff. For SK24, MSTP’s role was serving as the higher headquarters three-star command element to I Marine Expeditionary Force and Third Fleet during scenario-driven exercise. The exercise also allows the Navy-Marine Corps team to test their ability to synchronize communications and operations.
According to U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Matthew Alvis, SK24’s I MEF Planner, the exercise “served as a vital opportunity to conduct a virtually augmented rehearsal for Joint Task Force certification and enabled Third Fleet’s Maritime Operations Center certification.
During the exercise, U.S. Marine Corps Col. Garth Massey, the Officer in Charge for MSTP Individual Mobilization Augmentee Detachment, serves as the exercise’s Joint Chief of Staff—demonstrating MSTP’s capability to play high-level staff positions in realistic manners. Of his 50 Marines in the IMA DET, 23 field grade officers travelled to support SK24.
“We play the roles of the command so that the exercise support staff can make sure that the scenario goes off without a hitch and that the training is realistic,” said Massey.
This integration ensures seamless operation during exercises, with the MSTP IMA Det serving as the staff supporting the exercise commanders, and MSTP active-duty Marines and contractors focused on exercise control.
I MEF is grateful for MSTP’s expertise and involvement in SK24.
“MSTP was critical in designing the exercise and developing a scenario that aligned with our training objectives,” said Alvis. “Their excellent support brought a level of realism to the exercise that would have been nearly impossible to achieve on our own.”
Having the opportunity to serve on an exercise three-star command provides the officers in the IMA DET a unique skillset to bring back to reserve leadership positions.
“Over the last two weeks of this exercise, we’ve had a chance to see how three-star officers work from multiple perspectives from both the Navy and the Marine Corps,” said Massey.
There’s value in a reservist’s career when they step outside the standard line of command as an officer or in leadership positions as an enlisted Marine, said Massey. Joining MSTP provides you with an opportunity to be a part of exercise planning cells, knowledge that’s hard to acquire anywhere else—and with that upper hand experience, Reserve officers make themselves a more valuable resource for the MFR when they return.
For more information about Exercise Steel Knight 2024 visit: DVIDS - Exercise Steel Knight
| Date Taken: | 01.14.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 01.15.2025 10:07 |
| Story ID: | 489102 |
| Location: | CAMP PENDLETON, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 18 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Model Reserve Partnership in Steel Knight 2024, by Cpl Alexis French, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
