II MEF News - Year 2020

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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Maj. Gen. Stephen Neary, II Marine Expeditionary Force deputy commanding general, and Rear Adm. Matthew A. Zirkle, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa chief of staff, discuss Navy and Marine Corps expeditionary capabilities during Maritime Preposition Force Exercise 20 at U.S. Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy, Feb. 12, 2020. MPFEX 20 demonstrates the ability of a Navy Marine Corps team to deploy, employ and redeploy a staff capable of commanding and controlling forces in support of operations in Europe. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Hector de Jesus) - Maj. Gen. Stephen Neary, II Marine Expeditionary Force deputy commanding general, and Rear Adm. Matthew A. Zirkle, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa chief of staff, discuss Navy and Marine Corps expeditionary capabilities during Maritime Preposition Force Exercise 20 at U.S. Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy, Feb. 12, 2020. MPFEX 20 demonstrates the ability of a Navy Marine Corps team to deploy, employ and redeploy a staff capable of commanding and controlling forces in support of operations in Europe. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Hector de Jesus)

East Coast Marines "Train, Fight, Win" with 6th Fleet in Europe

II Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) is increasing readiness through a forward presence in Europe while commanding and controlling Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF) rehearsals in Florida.

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U.S. Marines with 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, fire an M252 81mm mortar during Exercise Fireball Eagle at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., Feb. 5, 2020. The training consisted of multiple scenarios using aircraft and ground support fire to simulate real warfighting situations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brian Bolin Jr.) - U.S. Marines with 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, fire an M252 81mm mortar during Exercise Fireball Eagle at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., Feb. 5, 2020. The training consisted of multiple scenarios using aircraft and ground support fire to simulate real warfighting situations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brian Bolin Jr.)

Exercise Fireball Eagle

On June 6, 1944 U.S. Army Soldiers participated in the largest amphibious landing ever conducted. By the end of the battle, allied troop casualties stood at over 200,000. Marines fighting in the Pacific took this as a learning opportunity and adapted a better manual for amphibious fighting. The Marines of the World War II implemented a system of trained pilots and artillerymen to act as the sights and coordinators for supporting fire. Today, the Marine Corps has Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) Marines to guide close air support on target and act as a link between attacks from the air, land, and sea to mitigate risk of friendly fire between supporting elements.

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U.S. Marines and Sailors travel to the USNS Lopez (T-AK 3010) by the ship’s tender boat to begin Maritime Prepositioning Force Exercise 20, in the Atlantic Ocean, Feb. 9, 2020. MPFEX 20 is a military exercise in which Marines and Sailors work together to offload and process military equipment from a single MPF ship, the USNS Lopez (T-AK 3010). The exercise is a rehearsal of the Marines and Sailors’ ability to conduct safe, efficient offloads while in a tactical environment while working in close coordination with their 2nd and 6th Fleet counterparts to enhance the rapid and scalable deployment of naval expeditionary forces in European theater. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Rachel K. Young-Porter) - U.S. Marines and Sailors travel to the USNS Lopez (T-AK 3010) by the ship’s tender boat to begin Maritime Prepositioning Force Exercise 20, in the Atlantic Ocean, Feb. 9, 2020. MPFEX 20 is a military exercise in which Marines and Sailors work together to offload and process military equipment from a single MPF ship, the USNS Lopez (T-AK 3010). The exercise is a rehearsal of the Marines and Sailors’ ability to conduct safe, efficient offloads while in a tactical environment while working in close coordination with their 2nd and 6th Fleet counterparts to enhance the rapid and scalable deployment of naval expeditionary forces in European theater. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Rachel K. Young-Porter)

II MEF rehearses distributed command, control in Naples

From Jan. 29 through March 1, 2020, approximately 575 individuals from II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF), in conjunction with Expeditionary Strike Group 2 (ESG-2), are conducting Maritime Preposition Force Exercise (MPFEX) 20 at Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island and Naval Station Mayport, Florida, to develop, refine and rehearse theater opening and force deployment processes essential to II MEF’s warfighting proficiency and readiness.

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Following the offload of the Kalmar Rough Terrain Container Handler, U.S. Marines operate forklifts to deconstruct the platform it was transported with on Blount Island Command, Fla., Feb. 4, 2020. MPFEX 20 is a military exercise in which Marines and Sailors worked together to offload and process military equipment from a single MPF ship, the USNS Lopez (T-AK 3010). The exercise is a rehearsal of the Marines and Sailors’ ability to conduct safe, efficient offloads while in a tactical environment while working in close coordination with their 2nd and 6th Fleet counterparts to enhance the rapid and scalable deployment of naval expeditionary forces in European theaters. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Rachel K. Young-Porter) - Following the offload of the Kalmar Rough Terrain Container Handler, U.S. Marines operate forklifts to deconstruct the platform it was transported with on Blount Island Command, Fla., Feb. 4, 2020. MPFEX 20 is a military exercise in which Marines and Sailors worked together to offload and process military equipment from a single MPF ship, the USNS Lopez (T-AK 3010). The exercise is a rehearsal of the Marines and Sailors’ ability to conduct safe, efficient offloads while in a tactical environment while working in close coordination with their 2nd and 6th Fleet counterparts to enhance the rapid and scalable deployment of naval expeditionary forces in European theaters. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Rachel K. Young-Porter)

Navy, Marine Corps enhance naval integration with simultaneous operations across the globe

Hundreds of Marines and Sailors from II Marine Expeditionary Force and Expeditionary Strike Group 2 kicked off Maritime Prepositioning Force Exercise 20 at several locations across the globe February 7, 2020.

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A day in the Oak

From sunrise to sunset, Marines assigned to the Battalion Landing Team and Combat Logistics Battalion conduct training every day to increase their physical fitness, knowledge and lethality aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51).

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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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Second Lady, Karen Pence, gives her remarks during an interview following a meeting with military spouses at the Marston Pavilion on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., Jan. 30, 2020. In the fall of 2018, Pence launched an awareness campaign to promote and encourage military spouses. Since then, Pence has been traveling domestically and internationally, addressing military spouse employment challenges. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Ginnie Lee) - Second Lady, Karen Pence, gives her remarks during an interview following a meeting with military spouses at the Marston Pavilion on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., Jan. 30, 2020. In the fall of 2018, Pence launched an awareness campaign to promote and encourage military spouses. Since then, Pence has been traveling domestically and internationally, addressing military spouse employment challenges. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Ginnie Lee)

Second Lady Karen Pence meets with military spouses at Camp Lejeune

Second Lady of the United States, Karen Pence spoke to more than 350 Navy and Marine Corps spouses,

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Marines Pay Ship Tax

Marines embark on U.S. naval vessels all over the world, and while doing so, each unit has to pay taxes. Ship taxes are not the taxes you pay with money, but are paid by personnel support. Ship taxes support the Marines and Sailors aboard the vessel, and they are able to accomplish more requirements that are associated with the addition of several hundred more personnel. Each unit gets taxed based on the number of personnel aboard. This ensures every unit is providing support for the ship equally.

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