Essex (LHD 2) - Naval Cruise Book

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This is a rare opportunity — to be able to bring the entire MEU ashore fortraining, said Col. John C. Garrett, commanding officer of the 13th MEU{SOC). • ' ! am very pleased we have this chance, he added. Once the Marines were ashore, extensive training with the Kuwaiti Armed Forces was conducted. The training began with an operational overview between the Marines and their Kuwaiti counterparts, and progressed through the small unit level up to company sized maneuvers and battery-level firing exercises. the Kuwaiti soldiers got the chance to fire the M2 .50 cal. and MK19 machine guns at the Udayri Range with their Marine infantry counterparts. They were very attentive and willing to learn, said LCpl. Ian Scott, a machine gunner with Weapons Co., BLT 3 1. Learning new things was a two-way street. The Kuwaiti forces eager to share their military expertise and learn new warfighting skills, explained Sgt. Mohammed Yasheen, A kuwaiti .soldier who took part in the exercise. LCpl. Scott, who is from New Haven, Conn., agreed that the exchange of information was mutually beneficial. Working together really heightened our tactical proficiency, he said. And, Kuwait was a new place to go that borderlined on potential real- world activity in the area. It ' s something I ' ve never done before, Scott added. The Kuwaitis also got a chance to see antitank weapons and light armored vehicles in action at the range. Tliey even participated in several fastroping maneuvers, .something the Kuwaitis don ' t usually do. The Marines of Alpha Battery, 1 1 1 , the 1 3th MEU(SOC) ' s artillery arm, also had a chance to gain new experience while working with the Kuwaitis. The Kuwaiti military currently uses the Ml 09 self-propelled Howitzer, an indirect-fire weapon that the Marine Corps phased out of its arsenal a few years ago. (Above) CH-53E and UH-IN helicopters off the coast of Kuwait launch from the flight deck of USS Essex in support of EAGER MACE 95-1. Amphibious Assault Vehicles come ashore at the Mina Ash Shuwaykh Port.

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Col. John C. Garrett, Commanding Officer, 13th MEU (SOC) explains their intentions to Ambassador Brian C. Crocker, United States Ambassador to Kuwait. 13th MEU (SOC) conducts Eager Mace 95-1 United Stales helicopters broke the early morning silence over Kuwait City as nine CH- 53E Super Stallion and CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters carrying elements of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) assaulted Camp Monterey, Kuwait, to kick off Exercise Eager Mace 95- 1 . Exercise Eager Mace was a combined amphibious training exercise that demonstrated the capabilities of U. S. forces and the continuing U. S. commitment to the security and stability of the Gulf region. TTie 4,350 U. S. Marines and Sailors who took part in the nine-day exercise in December are from the Essex Amphibious Ready Group, which is comprised of Commander, Amphibious Squadron Five, USS Essex, USS Fort Fisher, USS Odgen and the 13th MEU(SOC), based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif. The 1 3th MEU(SOC) is comprised of Battalion Landing Team 3 1 , Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 161 (Reinforced), and MEU Service Support Group 13. The Kuwaiti Armed Forces 63rd Battalion (supported by a Kuwaiti artillery Battery) of the 26th Brigade was the major allied ground unit involved in Eager Mace. Marines from BLT 3 1 were the first combat Marines ashore, conducting a helibome assault in the vicinity of Camp Monterey, storming two buildings on the military camp 40 kilometers north of Kuwait City. Another 150 Marines conducted a surfacebome amphibious landing at Mina Ash Shuwayukh Port. Over the next 36 hours, the rest of the landing force came ashore aboard Air Cushion Landing Craft, Utility Landing Craft and helicopter sorties. The LC ACs also brought ashore the majority of the heavy equipment and firepower used during the exercise. A total of 2,000 Marines and Sailors, over 200 vehicles, and 30 aircraft came ashore. ( Below left ) LtCol. Philip Tracy, Commanding Officer, Battalion Landing Team 3 1, Sgt. Jay Chamberlain ( with binoculars ), and Cpl. Paul Ring, machine gunners from Weapons Company, BLT 3 1, look on as a Kuwaiti soldier fires a MK-19 grenade launcher downrange.

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A lot of our younger Marines have never seen an Ml 09, said Sgt. Randolph Edwards, an Alpha Battery 1 11 section chief from Landover, Md. It was a learning experience to compare their guns with our Ml 98 155 MM Howitzer, he added. TheMEU ' s aviation combat element, HMM-161(Rein), based out of Marine Corps Air Station Tustin Calif, took advantage of every opportunity to get their aircraft in the air from the Kuwaiti airbase at Ali Al Salme Airfield. We flew 10-hour flight windows and countless sorties, said Maj . Jay BuUard, assistant operations officer for HMM- 161 (Rein). We ' d deliver our ordnance, land, re-ann, refuel, and be back in the air in a matter of minutes, non- stop, Bullard said. A lot of that couldn ' t have been done without the Kuwaitis support, the Annandale, Va., native said. The Kuwaitis supplied the fuel for the U. S. aircraft and ground transportation for the pilots, aircrew and maintenance personnel. The MEU helicopter and AV-8B Harrier pilots went through various flying maneuvers alongside the Kuwaitis Super Puma and Gazelle helicopters, and Kuwaiti F A-18 aircraft. TTie Kuwaiti pilots were very skilled and we enjoyed training with them, Bullard said. As the exercise continued, the withdrawal phase of the operations began. We backloaded 1 8 LCAC loads to the USS Essex alone, said 13thMEU(SOC) embarkation officer, CW03 Dirk Prentice of Irvine, Calif At 40 short tons (80,000 lbs.) per LCAC that ' s a lot of gear to be backloaded properiy, Prentice said. SSgt. Samson Avenetti, 13th MEU(SOC) embarkation chief, agreed. A simple mistake of putting a five-ton truck where two HMMWVs should be could really put a monkey wrench into the backload, the Hayden, Ariz., native said. The equipment and vehicles coming back to the ships must follow a certain load plan. This is to ensure an efficient offload should the 13th MEU(SOC) need to be inserted into a contingency quickly. Prior to the backload, all vehicles and equipment went through a washdown and maintenance check at Camp Doha and Mina Ash Shuwaykh Port. The landing force shore party, part of MSSG-13, worked around the clock for 36 hours to wash down 235 vehicles and trailers. Preventive maintenance is a must, said Sgt. Randy Graf, MSSG-13 ordnance inaintenance chief. You can ' t take soil from one country to another due to contaminants. Hence the need for a good washdown, explained Graf. Twenty vehicles were at one of three points at any given time, which made the backload go much faster. LtCol. William Macak, 13th MEU(SOC) executive officer, said the exercise exceeded all expectations. I have received numerous compliments from the U. S. Naval Forces Central Command, the U. S. Ambas.sador to Kuwait, and the Kuwaiti Military. The spirit of cooperation of all the participants and the dedication to safe tactical training made it a complete success. LCpl. Nathan Favilla, a machine gunner with Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team 3 L checks the windage knob on an M2 .50 caL machine gun prior to it being fired by Sgt. Mohammed Yasheen, a Kuwaiti soldier in the 63rd Regiment, 26th Brigade A Kuwaiti soldier has his M2 .50 cal. machine gun rounds guided on target at Kuwait ' s Udayri Range by LCpl. Ian Scott.