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U.S., Spain Complete Bilateral Amphibious, Aviation Exercise

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS110629-12
6/29/2011

From USS Bataan Public Affairs

USS BATAAN, At Sea (NNS) -- Sailors and Marines of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (BATARG) and 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) completed the bilateral Spanish Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX) 2011 off the coast of Spain June 29.

The exercise, which began June 22, partnered 800 Spanish service members with 4,000 Sailors and Marines from the BATARG/22nd MEU for combined joint air and amphibious operations from the sea and on the shores of Spain.

"It was great to be out here conducting valuable training with our long-standing Spanish partners," said Capt. Steve Yoder, commander, Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 6. "Over the past several days we've tested our amphibious capabilities as a bilateral team, and I could not be more proud of how each Sailor and Marine performed. This was truly a graduate-level exercise, and every person rose to the challenge by accomplishing each task smoothly, safely and professionally."

PHIBLEX was specifically developed to improve interoperability, increase readiness and develop professional relationships between the two forces.

"It was an absolute success," said Capt. Steve Koehler, USS Bataan (LHD 5) commanding officer. "Having the opportunity to integrate with the Spanish naval forces throughout the planning and the execution of this exercise has built invaluable mutual trust and cooperation that our navies will be able to build upon for years to come. It was a tremendous experience for our Sailors and Marines."

PHIBLEX took weeks of planning and coordination between Spanish and U.S. forces.

"PHIBLEX was the culmination of over six months of very deliberate planning and coordination between 22nd MEU, [U.S.] 6th Fleet, U.S. Embassy [Spain], and Spanish planners that paid off over the last 10 days with some tremendously valuable military-to-military training," said Col. Eric Steidl, 22nd MEU commanding officer. "Sharing the common bond found between brothers-in-arms, we and our Spanish counterparts developed lasting relationships and took away many valuable lessons learned. This was truly a great experience and one that will be remembered for a long time. Congratulations to the Marines and Sailors of BATARG/22nd MEU for the safe and timely execution of a very dynamic and complex exercise."

PHIBLEX events included amphibious operations from the well decks of Bataan, dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) and amphibious transport dock USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19), flight operations ashore and from the flight deck of Bataan, as well as parachute, fast rope, medical evacuation and non-combatant evacuation training from a military training facility in the area of Sierra Del Retin, Spain.

"It's always a benefit when our two countries can work together," said Spanish Marine Corps Major Carlier Grana, Commander Naval Group 2 operations officer. "In our current international environment, emerging risks exist that make it extremely important for us to be familiar with one another."

The exercise culminated during a full-scale amphibious landing demonstration that combined surface, amphibious and flight operations.

"What we do is train to go to war," said Marine Corps Capt. John Bradley, PHIBRON-6 combat cargo officer. "So this is important when it comes time to go to war and do your job in the military. It equips us to train as a team; to train to fight, so if we actually get the call in a real-world situation to debark Marines, go ashore and fight in harms way … then the amphibious portion that takes place is not going to be an issue.

PHIBLEX required the movement of approximately 1,400 Marines, 134 vehicles and tons of equipment. Bradley coordinated with combat cargo teams from the Spanish military and aboard all three ships to conduct the massive offload ashore and keep the movement as smooth as possible.

"A lot of people were involved," said Bradley. "We've learned so much from the planning process, to the communications from higher headquarters and the ships, to the Marines on the beach. All of those came together. Everybody got some experience together as a team, and we got to work together as a team on a large scale. That can only make our next exercise that much better."

The BATARG and 22nd MEU deployed three months ahead of their original schedule to relieve the Kearsarge ARG and 26th MEU. The blue-green team conducted integrated training throughout April to arrive on station and provide the combatant commander with a versatile sea-based force that can be tailored to a variety of missions.

Bataan is the command ship of the BATARG, supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility.