Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit tcml-4

by Tom Clancy

  USS Wasp, 0600 Hours, July 21st, 1995

  I was already awake when the 1 MC blared its wake-up greeting at 0600, a sign that I was getting into the routine aboard ship. After a quick breakfast, I headed down to the LFOC one last time to see how things were going. It turned out that I was too late. By midday, the main Red force units had been engaged and defeated by BLT 2/6. The battle would continue for another twenty-four hours to completely secure the objectives, but it was a total victory for the 26th MEU (SOC). Everything was over before the sun set the next day. Despite problems with the close air support at H-Hour, and a breakdown in communications with the R&S teams, all the landings had gone as planned. Early on contact with the Koronan forces had been surprisingly light. We learned later that many of the Red force artillery pieces, tanks, and other armored vehicles had been knocked out by the last-minute air strikes and offshore destroyer gunfire. The airdrop by the 82nd Airborne's 1/325th had also gone well.

  By 0800, it was time to get ready to board a CH-46 for a ride into the landing beach area. Before I left, I took a small side trip to the logistics center, where an extremely fatigued Dennis Arinello was trying to stay awake for the six hours he needed to get the ships unloaded. Wishing him good luck and a good night's sleep, I headed upstairs, and boarded the Sea Knight for the ride in. As I passed over Whidbey Island and Shreveport, I could see the LCACs and one of the LCUs moving in and out from the beach to unload the ships of the ARG. As the Bullfrog landed, I was picked up again by the Camp Lejeune PAOs. With the taking of the airfield by the airborne troopers and the seizure of the port facility and beach by the Marines, a hypothetical liberation of Kartuna would now be possible.

  By noon the next day, the JTFEX-95 observers would issue a "change of mission" order, and the exercise would be concluded. While it had not been pretty, the 26th had performed superbly, adapting well to the many problems thrown at them. Best of all, the 26th MEU (SOC) and PHIBRON 4 could now concentrate on getting ready for their deployment to the Mediterranean, some five weeks away. Before I left, I made a promise to Colonel Battaglini to visit his unit while they were deployed.

  Monday, August 28th, 1995, Norfolk Naval Station and Amphibious Base, Little Creek, Virginia

  Less than a month after the end of JTFEX-95, I was back at Camp Lejeune, N.C. to witness the culmination of six months work for Jim Battaglini, C.C. Buchanan, John Allen, and all the other members of the 26th MEU (SOC)/PHIBRON 4 team: deployment. It was planned to occur just prior to Labor Day. Deployment is a process that sees the men and women of the ARG and the MEU (SOC) severing their ties from the land and their families, and boarding their "second home," the ships of the ARG. The day dawned rainy and decidedly ugly as the warships of the USS America (CV-66) carrier battle group (CVBG) and PHIBRON 4 got underway. A heavy thunderstorm was moving up from the south, and just getting under way was becoming quite a challenge. For the ships of the ARG, it involved heading out over the underwater automobile tunnels of the Chesapeake Bay, taking a hard right at the Virginia Capes, and heading south for Onslow Bay. During the transit, Captain Buchanan had the ships' crews stow everything possible away, because in the morning, they would be taking aboard the entire aircraft, vehicle, equipment, and personnel load of the 26th MEU (SOC).

  Tuesday, August 29th, 1995, 0500 Hours, Marine Corps Air Station, New River, North Carolina

  Deployment day for the 26th MEU (SOC) started early, even before the sun rose. In the hangar bay of HMM-264, Lieutenant Colonel Kerrick and his Marines had risen early to be the first element of the 26th to be loaded aboard the ships. Seeing that this was to be the largest ACE ever deployed by an MEU (SOC), some thought had gone into the effort, and now HMM-264 would get a chance to see if their plan would work. Around the HMM-264 hangar that morning, Marines and their families began the ritual of separation, usually over Egg McMuffins and coffee. Wives, girlfriends, parents, and children tried (sometime unsuccessfully) to hold back the tears that come with the start of a six-month cruise. It is a gut-wrenching thing to watch, and brings home the price that we ask of the sailors and Marines that serve our interests around the world.

  Unlike the day before, August 29th had dawned clear and cool, a perfect summer day in North Carolina. As the first pink glow of sunrise appeared in the eastern sky over Onslow Bay, things swung into high gear. At 0545, the order was given for engine start of the first group of aircraft that would be launched. This would be a flight of three CH-46E Sea Knights that would start the cruise aboard the Shreveport (LPD-12), which was proceeding separately across the Atlantic. The helicopters began their taxi roll at 0613, and were airborne just five minutes later. At almost the same moment, the six AV-8B Harrier IIs of VMA-231 started launching from MCAS Cherry Point, N.C., some miles to the north. The idea was that the six Harriers would be taken aboard the Wasp (LHD-1) first, and lashed down to their parking spots aft of the island. Then, the other helicopters of the ACE would be brought aboard and carefully tucked into every space that could be found.

  For the next hour, helicopters continued to leave MCAS New River in threes and fours, gradually emptying the ramp in front of the hangar. By 0715, quiet had returned to the HMM-264 ramp, and the crowd of ground and maintenance crews made their good-byes to their loved ones, loaded their gear onto trucks, loaded themselves into buses, and headed up to Morehead City for the boat ride out to the Wasp and Shreveport.

  Tuesday, August 29th, 1995, 0800 Hours, BLT 2/6 Headquarters and Barracks Area, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

  Back at Camp Lejeune, Lieutenant Colonel Allen and his headquarters team were doing their own version of what had just occurred at MCAS New River. Down at the barracks for BLT 2/6, the various companies were sorting themselves out, and loading up. Amid crying women and children, last hugs and kisses, the Marines loaded up onto their buses, and began the trip up to Morehead City, where they would ride out to the Wasp and Shreveport. When the last of the buses was loaded, Lieutenant Colonel Allen walked over to his office one last time, and loaded up his briefcase. Wishing good luck to the remaining office staff closing up BLT 2/6 headquarters that day, he happily grabbed his bags and headed down the stairs, commander of his own battalion for one last cruise before heading up to Washington, D.C., to become General Krulak's aide in the Spring of 1996. All around Camp Lejeune, there was the bustle that comes with deployment day for a unit. Over in the headquarters of the 26th MSSG, Lieutenant Colonel Cooper had already pre-loaded much of his equipment, personnel, and supplies on the ships up in Norfolk, so this day was a little less manic for him than his GCE and ACE counterparts.

  Tuesday, August 29th, 1995, 0900 Hours, 26th MEU (SOC) Headquarters, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

  Marines of the 26th MEU (SOC)'s headquarters unit ride out to the USS Wasp (LHD-1) on an ACU-2 LCU. They were preparing to leave for the Mediterranean on August 29th, 1995.

  JOHN D. GRESHAM

  Among the last of the components of the 26th to deploy was the headquarters. Behind the headquarters building, four large charter buses were being loaded along with some of the special communications equipment that the 26th MEU (SOC) would take with it. Sergeant Major Creech was busy kicking butts, and generally making life easier on officers, who had their own families to deal with. At 0955, the move to the ships kicked into high gear when one of the HMM-264 UH-1N Iroquois helicopters landed in front of the headquarters building to pick up Colonel Battaglini. Wishing us a hearty farewell, as well as an invitation to visit the 26th "on cruise," Jim Battaglini climbed aboard for the start of his first MEU (SOC) command deployment. Having already said good-bye to his teenage son, he was able to get on with the business at hand with a minimum of distractions, and you could see the confidence and pride that he had in himself and his Marines. Around the back of the headquarters, the last of the farewells were going on, and the buses were starting up. Our good friend from the 26th's S-4 (logistics) shop, Major Dennis Arinello, was saying good-bye to his wife Kathy and his kids, doing his best to set a good example. Th
en, with a final set of waves, the bus convoy pulled out of the base, and headed north to Morehead City.

  Tuesday, August 29th, 1995, 1100 Hours, Morehead City Harbor, North Carolina

  Around noon, the bus convoy pulled into Morehead City. Pulling off to a large concrete beaching ramp, the buses unloaded, and the headquarters personnel joined other members of the unit for their ride out to the Wasp. This job was being done by a quartet of LCUs from ACU-2. In the distance, we could see Shreveport completing her loading farther up the harbor. Supervising the effort on the ramp was Captain C.C. Buchanan in his ever-present blue coveralls. Right now, he was as happy a man as could be imagined, because the loading of his ARG was going perfectly, and everything was on schedule. It was, by any standards, a perfect summer day in the sun. After a short wait, we were ordered aboard one of the LCUs, and headed out on a short journey to the Wasp. With us were members of the detachment which would control the landing craft and beachmaster parties for the ARG. Pulling along steadily, we soon pulled alongside Wasp. As we did, helicopters from the ACE were still coming aboard and being stowed, giving the flight deck the look of a power line full of birds.

  As the LCU beached in the well deck, a chief warned us that we would need to be back aboard in thirty minutes if we did not want an all-expense-paid trip to the Adriatic! Properly forewarned, I helped Dennis Arinello with his baggage, and started the long climb up the loading ramps and ladders to his cabin on the O2 level. We slowly trekked around the ship, as over 1,400 other Marines were doing, and could see the transition going on between the land and the "second home" of the ship. Emotions were easing and calm determination seemed to be settling over the Marines and sailors all over the ship. Despite the favorable conditions this day, they were under no illusions as to what the sea could do to them if things got rough.

  An ACU-2 LCU enters the flooded well deck on August 29th, 1995. The landing craft was transporting personnel and their gear to the ship just prior to deploying to the Mediterranean.

  JOHN D. GRESHAM

  Then it was time to leave. Bidding Dennis and the others good luck and farewell, we headed back to the well deck. Getting back to the LCU just in time, we headed back to shore. As we did, Shreveport passed us on the way out of the harbor, headed rapidly out into the Atlantic. She looked like a gypsy wagon, loaded to the gunnels with men, vehicles, equipment, and the three of the CH-46s that we had watched take off from New River just eight hours earlier. By the time that we reached the loading ramp, the job was almost done. Before sundown that afternoon, Whidbey Island had joined up with her, and they headed east, over the horizon, to start their 1995/96 deployment. It was hard not to shed a tear, and wish that we were going alone with them. It had been a long, sweltering summer, and we had come to know these people so well.

  Thursday, September 21st, 1995, 1100 Hours, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

  The final act of the 26th's outbound deployment cycle came some three weeks later with the return of now-Brigadier General Marty Berndt's 24th MEU (SOC). They were coming home flush from their rescue of Captain O'Grady some three months earlier. The process, almost the reverse of how a deployment begins, is something you have to see to believe. Each unit is staged into their barracks, where an open-air picnic is laid on. Everywhere, bedsheet banners decorated the building and fences around Camp Lejeune, proclaiming the joy and relief of family members waiting for their Marines to come home.

  We chose to join in the reunion of the Marines of the 3/8 BLT, which had made up the GCE of the 24th, led by their commander, Lieutenant Colonel Chris Gunther. Their return was a triumph. What said it all was when Gunther, a veteran of over twenty years in the Corps, saw and hugged his wife and kids for the first time in six months. At moments like this, you feel almost guilty about intruding, but the sight is so compelling that you just have to watch. For the next couple of hours, there was a feeling that was like a decompression. With the pressure of a six-month cruise behind them, the Marines began to become human beings again. When things calmed down, we had a few minutes to visit with Lieutenant Colonel Gunther and discuss the deployment. He confirmed that the handover to the 26th had gone well, although not exactly to plan. Normally, the two units would meet at the naval base in Rota, Spain, and spend a couple of days conducting equipment exchanges and data transfers. This time, though, the handoff had been done while under way, and the 24th's port visit had been dedicated to getting ready to come home.

  Lieutenant Colonel Chris Gunther, the commander of BLT 3/8 at the moment of his reunion with his family, following the memorable 1995 Mediterranean cruise of the 24th MEU (SOC).

  JOHN D. GRESHAM

  Wednesday, February 14th, 1996, Naval Station Rota, Spain

  I kept my promise…but only at the last possible moment.

  The previous day, the ARG had "chopped" out of the Mediterranean Sea and 6th Fleet command and had started the long voyage home. But before they could do that, they had to stop and clean up after a hard six months on cruise. The stop was at the Spanish Naval Base at Rota (near Cadiz), on the Atlantic coast just north of Gibraltar. The U.S. Navy uses Rota as a rest and inspection stop for units coming home from Europe. Here all the equipment can be washed down, everyone can rest for a few days before the Atlantic crossing, and U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors can check for pests or unwanted plants.

  Wasp was moored on the north side of the bay, with Shreveport and Whidbey Island on the south side. All three ships had their vehicles out on the concrete piers; sailors and Marines were washing them down with freshwater. On the nearby beaches, the LCACs and LCUs were beached, also getting cleaned up after a busy cruise. In between was a sizable chunk of the Spanish Navy, including their small aircraft carrier, Principe de Asturias. Off the coast, the America battle group was exercising with a British force based around HMS Invincible. Aircraft came and went from the Naval Air Station. There was a buzz in the air from all the activity. As I marched up the brow, I was greeted by a host of smiles. Keeping promises, even little ones, means a lot to military personnel.

  Thursday, February 15th, 1996, Naval Station Rota, Spain

  The next day after dinner, I was invited to join Colonel Battaglini, Lieutenant Colonel Allen, and other members of the staff for a detailed briefing on the deployment. It should be noted that I have left out some details that relate to operations security issues, but I think you will understand the basic story. The 1995/96 cruise started with a series of joint international exercises around the Mediterranean. These included:

  • COOPERATIVE PARTNER—Shreveport and her embarked units conducted this exercise with the armed forces of Bulgaria between September 14th and 18th, 1995.

  • ATLAS HINGE—At the same time as Cooperative Partner (September 17th thru 21st, 1995), Wasp and Whidbey Island ran a series of force-on-force engagements with elements of the Tunisian military. This operation proved the validity of Colonel Battaglini's decision to include the platoon of M1A1 heavy tanks in the TO&E of the 26th. Of particular note was a counterattack conducted by the M1A1s at a critical point in one engagement; it really surprised the Tunisian forces. A Tunisian comment was: "We didn't know you had those things!"

  Marines of the 26th MEU (SOC) trek through the Negev Desert in Israel during a 1995 exercise.

  OFFICIAL U.S. MARINE CORPS PHOTO

  • RESCUE EAGLE II—This was the second in a series of mountain/TRAP exercises that have been conducted in Albania. Run between October 2nd and 14th, 1995, Rescue Eagle II saw Marine units off Wasp obtaining valuable high-altitude and small-unit infantry training for the MEU (SOC).

  • ODYSSEUS—Simultaneous with Rescue Eagle II (October 3rd thru 13th, 1995), Odysseus was run with the armed forces of Greece. Marines aboard Shreveport and Whidbey Island provided the forces for Odysseus.

  • ISRAEL—Early in the fall, the entire ARG/MEU (SOC) came together for a live-fire training exercise with the Israeli Defense Forces in the Negev Desert. Almost two weeks long (October 22nd to November 7th, 1995)
, this was one of the larger exercises that the force participated in. Following this, the force was given a short port liberty… which had to be cut short because of the tragic assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Rabin. In fact, several members of the armored task force embarked on Whidbey Island were just a few blocks away drinking beer in an open-air cafe when Mr. Rabin was killed.

  • BRIGHT STAR 95—One of the longest-running exercises in the world today, Bright Star provides forces assigned to U.S. Central Command an opportunity to exercise in their AOR. It was based out of Cairo West Airfield in Egypt, and the whole of PHIBRON 4 and the 26th MEU (SOC) were involved, along with numerous other U.S. and allied units. Bright Star 95 ran between November 10th and 17th, 1995, and was highly successful.

  • ALEXANDER THE GREAT—Following BRIGHT STAR (November 22nd thru 28th, 1995), Shreveport and Whidbey Island ran another exercise with the armed forces of Greece.