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Blue-Green Teamwork Completes Amphibious Landing

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS051026-04
Release Date: 10/26/2005 12:35:00 PM

By Journalist Seaman Adam R. Cole, Task Force 76 Public Affairs

ABOARD USS JUNEAU (NNS) -- The Marines of 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), together with Sailors of the Forward Deployed Amphibious Ready Group, successfully completed amphibious landing operations Oct. 22-23 in the Republic of the Philippine’s island of Luzon as part of Talon Vision and Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX) 06.

Talon Vision and PHIBLEX 06 are annual bilateral exercises designed to improve interoperability, increase readiness, and continue professional relationships between the United States and Philippine armed forces.

The 31st MEU Marines, abroad USS Juneau (LPD 10), launched 18 combat rubber raiding craft (CRRC) early the morning of Oct. 22 from the ship’s well deck to begin an intensive 24-hour ship-to-shore movement of personnel and equipment to begin the amphibious landing portion of PHIBLEX 06. Teamwork and cooperation between the Marines and Sailors from Juneau and Assault Craft Unit (ACU) 1 Western Pacific Detachment ensured the movement ashore was completed safely and on schedule.

By noon, Oct. 22, the Blue-Green team had moved 180 tons of equipment and supplies ashore. ACU 1 Landing Craft’s 1627 and 1631 made nine runs. The offloaded materials included Marine supplies, seven-ton trucks, humvees and M198 Howitzers.

“This displays not only the partnership, but the brotherhood—and sisterhood—that exists between the Navy and Marine Corps,” said Capt. Ronald Horton, Juneau’s commanding officer. “We share a bond as warriors, a bond that cuts deep. They need us, and we need them in order to achieve the mission.”

Juneau and ACU 1 Sailors worked around the clock, making sure equipment and supplies necessary for the mission were being offloaded and delivered to the Marines on the beach.

“We are just doing our mission, so that the Marines can do theirs,” said Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class (SW) Daniel A. Wauters. “It was tiring, yes, but we just kept going because we knew we had to get the job done.”

Marines of the 31st MEU were appreciative of the Navy effort to bring them and their equipment to shore safely.

“The Sailors do play an important role,” said Marine Staff Sgt. Brian C. Toneygay of the 31st MEU, one of the lead boat operations personnel embarked on Juneau. “They know the ship, they know the safety precautions, and they work hard to get us the assets we need to perform.”

Amphibious Squadron 11 and Forward Deployed Amphibious Ready Group with embarked Okinawa-based 31st MEU, are currently on their Fall deployment conducting bilateral exercises, Talon Vision and PHIBLEX 06, with the AFP.

The three-ship Amphibious Ready Group consists of USS Essex (LHD 2), USS Juneau and USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43). Approximately 5,000 U.S. and Philippine military personnel will participate in the exercises.

Task Force 76 is the Navy's only forward-deployed amphibious force and is headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan, with an operating detachment in Sasebo, Japan.