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Red Reef

Fox Company, Battalion Landing Team 2/1, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) spent three days, 9-11 June 2001, in the desert and conducted weapons familiarization training as part of Exercise Red Reef 12. The company is the MEU's designated boat company, and prior to leaving Southern California in March, they spent months honing their skills of clandestine, over the horizon raids using their small, black Combat Rubber Raiding Crafts. Here, away from the water and surrounded by desert, they focused on weapons.

The Marines of Counter Mechanized Platoon, Weapons Company, Battalion Landing team 2/1, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) conducted rehearsals for the final event, 14 June 2001, during Exercise Red Reef 12. Their role in the final combined arms, live-fire event is to suppress a mock enemy platoon of tanks and company of infantry paratroopers with machinegun fire and destroy them with TOW missiles. The event involves support from AH-1W Cobra helicopters from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268 (reinforced), 81mm Mortars from Weapons Co., and infantry Marines from Echo Co. The Counter Mechanized Platoon has ten minutes to attack, and more than 6,000 rounds and three missiles to fire. The machineguns spit out shell casings as fast as quarters from a winning slot machine. The TOW gunners lock on to their targets and send their missiles streaking across the range to their targets. When the event is over, the Marines of "Counter Mech" convoy to base camp and spend the next few days preparing their vehicles for movement back to the USS Boxer LHD-4.

Most Marines thought their weapon was the most important thing they took ashore during Exercise Red Reef 12 on the Southwestern shore of Saudi Arabia June 7-16, 2001. However, a few hours in the sweltering desert heat convinced them they wouldn't function long without water. Engineers from MEU Service Support Group 11 were recently given the task of providing purified water for the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) Marines and Sailors during their training exercise where temperatures routinely soared above 100 degrees and afternoon humidity hovered above 60 percent. Using the Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit (ROWPU), Marines transformed saltwater from the Red Sea, into 6,000 gallons of purified water per day, supplying drinking water and limited showers for more than 750 Marines and Sailors operating ashore over the 10-day period. In addition to providing drinking water, the engineer detachment set up field showers at the MSSG camp. However, in an effort to save space aboard landing craft for their ship-to-shore transit, the engineers modified their prefabricated field showers.