Hello all,
You may have caught a comment or two on other posts, but I wanted to tell everyone about my latest (and last) trip on the MEU. We have been at sea for about a month now and have spent the time do exercise in the vicinity of Okinawa. The first two weeks was "get back together with the Navy" training called Amphibious Integration Training (AIT). We normally don't get that much AIT in the 31st MEU, but we were lucky to get it this time. Sometimes it's two days of some basic functions - not even ops - and then it's off to do our big exercise. If you are wondering, some of those "basic funcitons" are "splash and recoveries" when we launch the Combat Rubber Raiding Crafts (Little rubber boats - CRRCs) or the AMTRACKs. Another basic function is something called "Call-aways". This is when an an element of the MEU is called to be on "alert". Basically, elements that you have that are subject to be called to board aircraft or landing craft are things like the Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel (TRAP - think Scott O'Grady), a reinforcing element (Bald Eagle - company reinforcement, Sparrow-hawk - platoon reinforcement), or a mass casulaty team (Nightengale). During some missions you have one or more of those on alert. Depending on the likelyhood of needing them, you may have them on Alert 120 or Alert 60, the number indicating the reaction time from call to launch. This is more complex then you might think. Once you call one of those groups to be on alert, they have to have their full kit, weapon issued, ammo issued, and get staged by serials for embark on what type of craft (normally aircraft) is available. They also need to know where to go and that isn't as easy as it would seem - especially if it is your first time on an Amphib (as in, amphibious ship). Alert 120 means they can be hanging out in the berthing and Alert 60 means they need to be "on the ramp" and they have to know that, too. I take the time to explain that because it is not something people would ever think about being something to even do, let alone rehearse.
So far we haven't done anything new necessarily so I have not been taking many pictures. That is soon to change.
In a couple of days, we are going to transfer to the USS Denver. This is because for the exercise we are doing, we are being subsummed into a larger unit. We are going to go from being a footloose and fancy-free MEU to being the Ground Combat Element (GCE) for a MEB. A MEB is like a MEU but it is based around a infantry regimental landing team (RLT) whereas a MEU is based around a battalion landing team (BLT). So that higher headquarters is kicking us out of the USS Bonhomme Richard (BHR) and we are having to displace to LSD 9 - the venerable USS Denver. The fact that it participated in Operation Frequent Wind (the evacuation of Viet Nam in 1975) when the ship was 7 years old should give you an idea of how long in the tooth the old gal is. As a matter of fact, she is the oldest ship still in use by the Navy. This is reflected in the fact that they generally don't spend a whole lot of dollars fixer her very often. Of course, as the commo, I still need to be able to get comm up - it's just going to be a challenge.
After that we go to Korea to participate in the exercise that is irking the North Koreans so much. I'll take lots of pictures there.
Anyway, I'm outta here - got a meeting to get to. Here's a pic of me in one of the Navy's MH-60 helicopters (the Navy version of the Black Hawk).
