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III MEF Exercises

III MEF Exercises Artillery Relocation Exercise Forest Light Korean Incremental Training [KITP] Balikatan Blue Flag Bright Star Cobra Gold Cope Thunder Cope Tiger Crocodile Eager Macea Ellipse Charlie Ellipse Foxtrot Emerald Express Foal Eagle Freedom Banner Golden Spear Indigo Desert Infinite Moon Internal Lock Keen Edge/sword Kernal Blitz Khaan Quest Native Fury Natural Fire Positive Force RimPac RSOI Southern Frontier Tandem Thrust Tempest Express Tempo Bravo UFL Ultimate Resolve

Marines and Sailors of III Marine Expeditionary Force kept a busy schedule throughout the year 2001, by participating in operations, exercises and community events in cooperation with their host nation and other allied nations. Commanded by Lt. Gen. Wallace C. Gregson, each individual Marine and Sailor of III MEF's 24,000-plus personnel continued to contribute to the larger picture of the III MEF mission in the Western Pacific.

Exercise Tandem Thrust 2001 kicked off the year's chain of significant exercises when Marines and Sailors from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) deployed to Queensland, Australia, for six weeks of combined arms training in April. More than 14,000 U.S. service members participated in the biennial exercise.

Balikatan 2001 was held in the Republic of the Philippines in April and May. This exercise was geared toward training Marines for operations that involve amphibious and heli-borne assault. This year's exercise focused on cross-training and field tactical exercises with emphasis on tactics, techniques and procedures. There was also an execution of a joint combined amphibious and heli-borne operation with subsequent operations ashore, said Maj. Bon Vibar, a Marine in the Philippine Marine Corps.

In May, the MEF deployed for Cobra Gold 2001, an annual exercise held in Thailand. Approximately 2,000 Marines and Sailors from III MEF participated with approximately 2,500 soldiers and 150 Air Force personnel in joint/combined operations with about 5,000 Royal Thai military members and 50 military members from Singapore. Cobra Gold was a smaller part of Team Challenge, a three-part exercise involving Australia, Thailand and the Philippines.

The seventh annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise was a three-month exercise that went from May to August and saw III MEF Marines and Sailors participate in a series of bilateral training exercises between the U.S. and the six Southeast Asian countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines and Brunei.