Sailors and Marines participated in a Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF) training event during amphibious exercise Dawn Blitz at Naval Amphibious Base June 13.
The MPF training event tested logistics capabilities of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps and proficiency in moving supplies and equipment ashore from a ship at sea. MPF ships are stationed around the globe with military equipment and supplies, ready to respond when needed.
One of the most important aspects of these capabilities is the opportunity to provide disaster response and humanitarian assistance to nations in need. This gives the U.S. the opportunity to bolster relationships with partner nations, said Chief Operation Specialist Bobby Jackson, Naval Beach Group 1 leading chief petty officer.
Sailors and Marines work hand-in- hand to get the equipment of a Marine expeditionary unit from ship to shore said Lt. Cmdr. Jason Chung, operations officer for Amphibious Construction Battalion (ACB) 1.
“ACB 1 plays a vital role where we do an offload that consists of anchoring off the beach, because adequate facilities are not available for the MSC ships to moor,” said Chung. “Depending on how far the ship is anchored out we are able to transport the equipment fairly quickly. Once it is on the beach they could roll right off and go where needed.”
This event is one in a series of live amphibious training events conducted during Dawn Blitz. Dawn Blitz is an exercise that integrates Navy/Marine Corps expeditionary amphibious forces for the purpose of conducting combined operations from the sea.
Also participating in the exercise is Naval Beach Group 1 (NBG-1). “Our mission is to move logistics from the Military Sea Lift Command ship across the beach. This portion of the exercise is a training event to gain proficiency in moving equipment,” said Naval Beach Group 1 Commanding Officer Capt. Kevin Flanagan. “We couldn’t be happier about how the training went; we got some great results
U.S. Third Fleet leads naval forces in the Eastern Pacific from the West coast of North America to the international dateline and provides the realistic, relevant training necessary for an effective global Navy.
[mappress] Press Release, June 18, 2013; Image: US Navy