II MEF News

Locate, Close With, and Destroy the Enemy

Blazing sun, humidity, and the sounds of Marines training fill the mornings from July 8 until July 31, 2020 as Marines with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division conduct a deployment for training in preparation for combat to ensure the battalion’s combat effectiveness as the Forward Deployed Battalion in support of Major Combat Operations around the globe.

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A crew chief with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 366, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, leads Marines with 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment to board a CH-53E Super Stallion during Exercise Deep Water 2020 at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., July 29, 2020. The purpose of the exercise is to increase 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing’s interoperability and readiness on a scale that simulates peer-level threats. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Yuritzy Gomez) - A crew chief with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 366, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, leads Marines with 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment to board a CH-53E Super Stallion during Exercise Deep Water 2020 at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., July 29, 2020. The purpose of the exercise is to increase 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing’s interoperability and readiness on a scale that simulates peer-level threats. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Yuritzy Gomez)

II MEF conducts regimental air assault during Exercise Deep Water

Marines commanded by II Marine Expeditionary Force began a two-battalion air assault as a part of Exercise Deep Water today on Camp Lejeune (CLNC). An exercise of this size has not been conducted in almost 20 years and is roughly double the size of Exercise Steel Pike, conducted in 2019.

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Marines assigned to Fox Company, Battalion Landing Team 2/8, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, exit an MV-22B Osprey to conduct platoon-level training on Kurayn Island, Saudi Arabia, April 22, 2020. The Bataan Amphibious Ready Group and 26th MEU, supported by air power from the Aviation Combat Element of the ARG/MEU, including AV-8B Harriers and attack helicopters, are conducting routine sustainment training in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in order to enhance the Navy-Marine Corps team’s ability to employ low-signature, operationally relevant and strategically mobile crisis response forces to project power over key maritime terrain. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Tanner Seims) - Marines assigned to Fox Company, Battalion Landing Team 2/8, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, exit an MV-22B Osprey to conduct platoon-level training on Kurayn Island, Saudi Arabia, April 22, 2020. The Bataan Amphibious Ready Group and 26th MEU, supported by air power from the Aviation Combat Element of the ARG/MEU, including AV-8B Harriers and attack helicopters, are conducting routine sustainment training in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in order to enhance the Navy-Marine Corps team’s ability to employ low-signature, operationally relevant and strategically mobile crisis response forces to project power over key maritime terrain. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Tanner Seims)

26th Marine Expeditionary Unit trains on Saudi Arabian islands

The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, embarked aboard the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, conducted routine amphibious assault training on the islands of Karan and Kurayn, Saudi Arabia, April 20-22.

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U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Samuel Argentieri, a light armored vehicle mechanic, with 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, fires his rifle at a notional enemy target during a live-fire range on the National Training Center 20-05 in Ft. Irwin, Calif., March 22, 2020. The National Training Center is a unique opportunity that allows Marines and Sailors to train with and against a peer competitor in a conventional combat operational setting. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Elijah J. Abernathy) - U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Samuel Argentieri, a light armored vehicle mechanic, with 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, fires his rifle at a notional enemy target during a live-fire range on the National Training Center 20-05 in Ft. Irwin, Calif., March 22, 2020. The National Training Center is a unique opportunity that allows Marines and Sailors to train with and against a peer competitor in a conventional combat operational setting. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Elijah J. Abernathy)

Desert Playground: NTC 20-05

U.S. Marines and Sailors with 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division trained in primarily conventional combat operations during National Training Center 20-05 at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., March 17, 2020.

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U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard Feldman, a machine gunner with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2Nd Marine Division, sights in with an M240B machine gun at Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, Calif., Feb. 2, 2020. V36 conducted company and platoon attack training scenarios during Mountain Exercise 2-20 at MCMWTC to further their familiarization and warfighting capabilities in cold, mountainous terrain. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jacqueline Parsons - U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard Feldman, a machine gunner with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2Nd Marine Division, sights in with an M240B machine gun at Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, Calif., Feb. 2, 2020. V36 conducted company and platoon attack training scenarios during Mountain Exercise 2-20 at MCMWTC to further their familiarization and warfighting capabilities in cold, mountainous terrain. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jacqueline Parsons)

The Sounds of the Hell Hounds at MTX 2-20

It was a cloudy afternoon, but the sun still reflected off the snow-capped mountains giving 1st Lt. Elaine Lewis, battalion adjutant with Headquarters and Service Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division, light to check her roster for accountability. Personnel, packs, weapons, and motor transportation assets all had to be verified and transmitted back to the command and control center. At this point, V36 had been at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, California for almost a month. They grew used to the thick, bright snow, bone-chilling wind, and constant need to change socks. One constant they could not become complacent with was the radio static. Radios must be watched nonstop; communication must stay consistent and fluid up and down the mountain.

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U.S. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division standby for breakfast at Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, Calif., Feb. 2, 2020. V36 conducted Mountain Exercise 2-20 at MCMWTC to further their familiarization and warfighting capabilities in cold, mountainous terrain. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jacqueline Parsons) - U.S. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division standby for breakfast at Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, Calif., Feb. 2, 2020. V36 conducted Mountain Exercise 2-20 at MCMWTC to further their familiarization and warfighting capabilities in cold, mountainous terrain. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jacqueline Parsons)

More Than A Day Trip

The Marines and Sailors of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division return to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina after not one, but two exercise experiences in Twentynine Palms, Calif. From patrolling in the snowy mountains of Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center to maneuvering through the tumbleweeds of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, V36 put its expeditionary mindset into action to advance its warfighting excellence.

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26th MEU conducts live-fire training in Kuwait

U.S. Marines and Sailors assigned to Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, conducted routine sustainment training ashore at Camp Buehring, Kuwait.

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U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard Feldman, a machine gunner with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2Nd Marine Division, sights in with an M240B machine gun at Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, Calif., Feb. 2, 2020. V36 conducted company and platoon attack training scenarios during Mountain Exercise 2-20 at MCMWTC to further their familiarization and warfighting capabilities in cold, mountainous terrain. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jacqueline Parsons - U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard Feldman, a machine gunner with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2Nd Marine Division, sights in with an M240B machine gun at Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, Calif., Feb. 2, 2020. V36 conducted company and platoon attack training scenarios during Mountain Exercise 2-20 at MCMWTC to further their familiarization and warfighting capabilities in cold, mountainous terrain. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jacqueline Parsons)

The Sounds of the Hell Hounds at MTX 2-20

It was a cloudy afternoon, but the sun still reflected off the snow-capped mountains giving 1st Lt. Elaine Lewis, battalion adjutant with Headquarters and Service Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment (V36), 2d Marine Division (2d MARDIV), light to check her roster for accountability. Personnel, packs, weapons, and motor transportation assets all had to be verified and transmitted back to the command and control center. At this point, V36 had been at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center (MCMWTC) in Bridgeport, California for almost a month. They grew used to the thick, bright snow, bone-chilling wind, and constant need to change socks. One constant they could not become complacent with was the radio static. Radios must be watched nonstop; communication must stay consistent and fluid up and down the mountain.

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U.S. Marines with Combat Logistics Battalion 451, Combat Logistics Regiment 45, 4th Marine Logistics Group, Marine Forces Reserve, pose for a photo before doing a convoy from Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway caves to Værnes Garrison near Trondheim, Norway, Feb. 14, 2020. MCPP-N gear was later transported from Orkanger Port to Bogen Port in preparation for Exercise Cold Response. Cold Response is a Norwegian-led exercise designed to enhance military capabilities and allied cooperation in high-intensity warfighting in a challenging arctic environment. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Devin J. Andrews) - U.S. Marines with Combat Logistics Battalion 451, Combat Logistics Regiment 45, 4th Marine Logistics Group, Marine Forces Reserve, pose for a photo before doing a convoy from Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway caves to Værnes Garrison near Trondheim, Norway, Feb. 14, 2020. MCPP-N gear was later transported from Orkanger Port to Bogen Port in preparation for Exercise Cold Response. Cold Response is a Norwegian-led exercise designed to enhance military capabilities and allied cooperation in high-intensity warfighting in a challenging arctic environment. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Devin J. Andrews)

Logistics across Norway for Cold Response

Cold Response 20 is a Norwegian national defense exercise in conjunction with its NATO allies and partners taking place in an area stretching from the town of Narvik to Finnmark district in northern Norway.

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1st Lt. Ashley Velez, Headquarters and Support Company executive officer, 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, and Gunnery Sgt. Nathaniel Gager, H&S company gunnery sergeant, 2nd CEB, have a discussion about a map displayed at the Warfighter Training Symposium at Marston Pavilion on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., Jan. 24, 2020. The symposium is held annually to familiarize MCB Camp Lejeune leaders about the training capabilities on the more than 120,000 acres of range training areas. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Dominique Osthoff) - 1st Lt. Ashley Velez, Headquarters and Support Company executive officer, 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, and Gunnery Sgt. Nathaniel Gager, H&S company gunnery sergeant, 2nd CEB, have a discussion about a map displayed at the Warfighter Training Symposium at Marston Pavilion on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., Jan. 24, 2020. The symposium is held annually to familiarize MCB Camp Lejeune leaders about the training capabilities on the more than 120,000 acres of range training areas. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Dominique Osthoff)

Symposium highlights base’s range capabilities to warfighters

More than 200 Marine Corps unit leaders from across Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, attended the Warfighter Training Symposium at Marston Pavilion on MCB Camp Lejeune, Jan. 24, 2020.

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