Special ops exercise keeps MEU sharp

[USMCRET6391]

CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan (April 21, 2006) -- The United States Marine Corps keeps its troops prepared to respond to any incident in any part of the world. From radicals across the globe who continue to terrorize communities and nature disrupting the lives of unsuspecting people - The Marines are there.

Marines and sailors with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit began a Special Operations Capable Exercise April 12 designed to ensure their military skills are razor sharp.

Overseen by III Marine Expeditionary Force Special Operations Training Group, the exercise gives the unit tangible results to determine the condition of the 31st MEU.

The biannual exercise normally lasts three days, but due to inclement weather and the natural disaster in the Philippines province of Southern Leyte during February, the timetable changed and the training is tentatively scheduled to end May 5.

Service members were evaluated in 13 core tasks such as raids, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, noncombatant evacuation operations and mass casualty evacuation.

"The (MEU) should be able to respond to a mission within six hours," said Maj. Randy Lay, the SOTG assistant officer-in-charge.

Some of the evaluation was conducted when 31st MEU provided humanitarian assistance and disaster relief for more than 3,000 people in the Leyte landslide disaster, Lay explained.

During the evaluation period in Okinawa, the MEU conducted boat raids at Kin Blue under the cover of night. Using scout swimmers to perform reconnaissance on the beach, the Marines secured the area before assaulting a simulated surface-to-air missile site.

As the only permanently forward deployed Marine expeditionary unit, the 31st MEU must be prepared to handle any call for help or respond to any threat, according to Master Gunnery Sgt. Harry C. Bush, the operations chief for the MEU. By continuously training, a level of readiness is achieved through the dedication and motivation of the service members in the unit.

"When it comes down to it, the Marines are motivated," he said. "They tense up at first, but once every thing is set up and the mission is going, they are pretty excited."

This exercise ensures all MEUs are uniform in their capabilities, Lay explained.

"MEUs are all trained in the same manner," he said. "When it comes to core task, MEUs are all certified, trained and ready."
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