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22nd MEU Command Element's Focus Shifts to Training

USMC News

Story Identification Number: 2003220125944
Story by Gunnery Sgt. Keith A. Milks

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Feb. 20, 2003) -- The build-up of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf for use in a possible war against Iraq caused an interruption in the scheduled pre-deployment training of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit that the unit intends to put to good use.

Having received operational control of its major subordinate elements in mid-December, the MEU lost these units to the now-deployed 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB). Without a definitive date for 'locking on' its new MSEs or beginning its pre-deployment regimen, the approx. 175 Marines and Sailors of the Command Element are focusing on honing their individual skills in preparation for the upcoming deployment.

"The Command Element is capitalizing on the abundance of training opportunities that have recently become available," said Staff Sgt. James Reilly, of Raymond, Maine, the MEU's nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare (NBC) chief.

Marines from the MEU are now flocking to the rifle and pistol ranges, water survival training, and the gas chamber among other training requirements that require annual completion. Most individuals assigned to the Command Element remain with the unit for two consecutive deployments, and usually, the period between deployments leave precious little time to complete these vital training requirements.

According to Reilly, knocking out this training while the opportunity presents itself is beneficial not only for the individual Marine, but to the unit as a whole.

"With all the annual training requirements met," Reilly said, "the MEU will be better able to focus on the more specialized, faster paced mission training required to become SOC [Special Operations Capable] qualified."

During this period, the MEU's senior enlisted Marine, Sgt. Maj. George Mason, is pushing for his Marines to attend resident professional military education (PME) classes such as various NCO and staff NCO leadership courses.

"We now have the ability to take advantage of resident PME and are doing so," said Mason, who joined the MEU in Nov. 2002. "This is another step toward making sure 'individual readiness' is more than just a catch phrase."

In addition to meeting the training demands of the individual Marines, the MEU plans to conduct internal PMEs on recent conflicts such as Vietnam, Somalia, and the Balkans, as well as extensively wargame scenarios the MEU may face during its upcoming deployment.

Several field exercises are planned that will focus on infantry and field skills that often go untested because of the headquarters element's high operational tempo, and staff visits are planned to local historic battlefields. There the MEU's officers and staff NCOs will conduct battlefield analysis of the battles at Fort Fisher, N.C. and Petersburg, Virginia, among others.

While fulfilling individual and unit training requirements is at the forefront of the MEU's activities, the unit stands ready to deploy as the command element of a Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force (SPMAGTF) should the need arise, or to begin its pre-deployment training at a moment's notice.