Essex (LHD 2) - Naval Cruise Book

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1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO). The helicopter pilots flew Close Air Support missions called in by the ANGLICO forward air controllers on the ground. Using UH-1 Hueys, AH-1 Cobras, CH-46E Sea Knights, CH- 53E Super Stallions, and AV-8B Harrier jets, the ACE conducted 25 hours of flying time during the two-day exercise, honing communications, night flying, and night shooting skills using inert ordnance. The ordnance shoots were extremely beneficial, Murray said. Some of the ACE pilots have never been to Okinawa, and for some others it ' s been a while since they ' ve been to the island. The ACE also provided ship-to-shore transportation for men, equipment, parts, and even mail. Navy Captain Gary Stubbs, Commodore of Amphibious Squadron-5, summed up the exercise when he said: When we finish up training back in the states, it ' s usually a month before we deploy. It ' s really important to exercise all the facets of our amphibious mission; without that exercise, you start getting rusty. The biggest lesson we learned is you ' ve got to have an exercise like this in order to get the cobwebs out. Overall, Colonel Garrett was very pleased with the exercise. I felt the Marines were very motivated. Their individual actions were superb and they ' played the game, ' he said. That was the most outstanding part, Garrett said. The performance of the Marines and Sailors involved. Prior to the start of the Okinawa exercise, the Marines took time to celebrate the 219th birthday of the Marine Corps by holding birthday ceremonies aboard all three ships in the amphibious ready group. The ceremonies, which consisted of the reading of former Marine Corps Commandant, Gen. John A. Lejeune ' s famous Birthday message, the recognition of the youngest and oldest Marine present, and the traditional cutting of the birthday cake, are a time-honored tradition in the Marine Corps.