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Marines Participate in Exercise Carolina Hornet 08

US Marine Corps News

8/21/2008 By Lance Cpl. Alicia R. Giron , Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point

Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. —More than 200 Marines, Sailors and civilians from across the globe participated in Exercise Carolina Hornet 2008 aboard the USNS Wright, July 13 through Tuesday.

The purpose of the operation was to fully test the USNS Wright as an aviation logistics ship, or T-AVB, in support of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing’s forward-deployed rotary and fixed wing aircraft, said to Lt. Col. Chuck M. Dunne, the commander of troops aboard the ship.

“Our mission is to provide robust, realistic and safe training for 2nd MAW in the conduct of T-AVB operations,” said Dunne. The main element of the ship was made from four Marine Aviation Logistics squadrons, accompanied by Marine Aircraft Communications Group 28 and two Marine Wing Support squadrons.

This type of training exercise is conducted every other year on the East Coast, Dunne said.

The USNS Wright is one of two ships the Marine Corps uses in a T-AVB role. The USNS Curtis fills the T-AVB role for the West Coast and has its homeport in San Diego.

Exercise Carolina Hornet began at the USNS Wright’s homeport in Baltimore where about 30 Marines from the four MALS units came together and conducted practice drills loading and offloading mobile maintenance facilities, or vans as they are often called, aboard the ship. The Marines practiced for more than a week and then sailed down the Atlantic Coast to the port of Morehead City, N.C.

Marines from the 2nd MAW, 3rd MAW and 2nd Marine Logistics Group began loading vans once the ship arrived to Morehead City, July 26.

“The loading phase is the most difficult and most unique part in teaching our Marines from all Military Occupational Specialties to learn how to work the different equipment and loading of the ship,” said Dunne.

The exercise consisted of an eight-phase operation, and the loading portion of the operation was phase five.

“We have loaded 103 mobile maintenance facilities and additional support equipment on the T-AVB,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Arthur L. Leblanc, the cargo load officer of the ship.

The ship was fully underway from July 30 and at sea operational training was conducted throughout Carolina Hornet.

Marines, with the aid of Soldiers from the Army’s 824th Army Transport Command, conducted ship to objective maneuvers while at sea. In these simulations, they Army used a separate boat to deliver aircraft related parts to the USNS Wright. A total of six ship to objective maneuver excercises exercises occurred during Carolina Hornet.

“The purpose of a sea-based operation is to provide aviation logistics to aircraft ashore,” said Charlie R. Doyle, the aviation planner aboard the ship. “The parts will come out, we fix them and after the parts are fixed, they go back out to where they came from.”

In addition to using the Army’s tours for transporting equipment to and from the ship, Marines with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461 delivered aircraft parts to 2nd MAW Marines during CH-08.

“Our purpose is to demonstrate bringing parts out to the ship,” said Capt. Jed S. Foglesong, an aviation advisor with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 269.

Approximately five flight operations occurred while aboard ship. The demonstrations were held to train Marines for future deployments, said Foglesong.

The ship returned to port in Morehead City Aug. 13 and all equipment was removed and returned to the parent units.

The majority of Marines departed the ship and went back to their unit’s workplace. Marines who stayed on the ship sailed back to USNS Wright’s homeport in Baltimore.