Essex (LHD 2) - Naval Cruise Book

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(Above) MSSG-13 Commanding Officer, LtCol. Steve Miller, tal es time to give an interview to a Kuwaiti television news crew during Eager Mace 95-1 while Marines from CAAT A unload vehicles at the Mina Al Shuwaykh Port.

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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.

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