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Joining forces... LF CARAT loads up, ships out

Marine Corps News

Release Date: 5/28/2003

Story by Cpl. John F. Silwanus

WHITE BEACH, Okinawa, Japan(May 28, 2003) -- More than 400 Marines and Sailors from III Marine Expeditionary Force departed here May 28, to take part in the ninth Landing Force Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training exercise.

The Marines and Sailors will travel to four Southeast Asian countries for bilateral training as part of the regularly scheduled annual exercise. The countries - all members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - include Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

"CARAT gives us an opportunity to get a bunch of Marines and Sailors onboard an amphibious ship to go out and conduct operations with host nation militaries that allow us to share ideas and enhance our readiness," said. Lt. Col. Timothy Armstrong, commanding officer, LF CARAT.

"For years, Marines on Okinawa have associated CARAT as a good exercise that delivers good training and good liberty. Giving our Marines the opportunity to get down range, meet with their counterparts and tell them that the Marines are the best, and then have them go out and prove it is priceless," he continued.

The LF CARAT exercise was created in 1995 when planners consolidated several annual regional exercises into a single deployment. The conversion simplifies both planning and logistics for the exercises. The purpose of LF CARAT is to promote cooperation and interoperability between U.S. forces and those of participating nations in the areas of operational planning, command and control as well as tactics.

"The Marines and Sailors of the Landing Force have been given the opportunity to sail around this region, support stability and interact with host nation military, government and populace," Armstrong said.

"In addition to the one-on-one training we get from our counterparts, the Landing Force will also be able to interact on a more personal level by supporting and assisting our numerous Medical and Dental Civic Action and Community Relations projects."

This year the Marines and Sailors of LF CARAT are scheduled to participate in a multitude of training events with their host nations, to include amphibious raids, a number of live-fire exercises, jungle survival training and even Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain (MOUT) training, according to Master Gunnery Sgt. John F. Singleton, operations chief, LF CARAT. The Marines and Sailors will also participate in community building events, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts.

One of the training events added to this year's exercise is a noncommissioned officer and staff noncommissioned officer symposium with the military of Brunei, Singleton said. The symposium will help each nation learn how the other's NCOs handle themselves personally and professionally.

"The symposium will give our NCOs and their NCOs a chance to discuss the role of an NCO," said 1st Lt. Zeb B. Beasley, executive officer, I Company, LF CARAT's ground combat element. "It will be a learning experience for our NCOs and for theirs as well. We expect a lot of positive results from the time they spend learning from each other."

The primary Marine unit participating in this year's LF CARAT exercise is Combat Assault Battalion (CAB), which is comprised of multiple units. The major units represented in CAB are I Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, 3rd Marine Division, deployed to Okinawa from Camp Lejeune, N.C.; a Combat Engineer Platoon assigned to CAB, and an Assault Amphibian Vehicle Platoon, CAB, 3rd Marine Division, which is deployed to Okinawa from Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Also represented is a detachment from 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division; a Light Armored Reconnaissance Platoon, CAB, 3rd Marine Division, which is deployed from the reserve 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance, Salt Lake City, Utah, and a Combat Service Support Element from the 3rd Force Service Support Group.

In preparation for LF CARAT, many of these units met aboard the Harpers Ferry to test their equipment and practice unloading the ship and delivering Marines and equipment to shore. The two-week workup included several planning and reconnaissance missions designed to prepare the units for the missions they will conduct during the exercise.

The workup was not the only training the Marines participated in as they prepared for deployment. The Marines of I Company and AAV Company, using AAVs off Okinawa's shores, trained in the techniques of amphibious raids and troop transfers in preparation for operations in support of CARAT.

This training was of particular importance to the Marines of LF CARAT, who are looking forward to the deployment.

"This deployment will give our Marines an opportunity to work with elements not organic to the Marine Corps rifle company and help us attain more of the individual training standards for a rifle company," said Beasley, a Timberton, N.C., native.

"It will help increase their knowledge of the Marine Corps and also broaden their horizons to other training opportunities. Very rarely does the individual Marine get an opportunity to train with the military of another country. I hope everyone will learn a lot from this opportunity."