Nearly 1,700 Marines and sailors of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit will leave here for West Virginia this weekend, beginning three weeks of intense training in preparation for the units deployment this summer.
The Marines will operate out of Camp Dawson, home of the West Virginia Army National Guard, and conduct urban-combat training in and around nearby Morgantown until May 19. Long a key part of a MEU s predeployment workups, Training in an Urban Environment, or TRUE , represents for the 24th MEU its premier training event.
This is my main effort,said Col. Ronald J. Johnson, a native of Duxbury, Mass., and commander of the 2,200-strong MEU .Time is our enemy, we have a lot to accomplish before we deploy, and West Virginia is where were going to get much of it done.
In setting up the training, the MEU has drawn on lessons learned shared by U.S. forces fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq and other battlegrounds in the Global War on Terror. The Marines will hone their skills in firing their weapons, conducting patrols, operating vehicle checkpoints, reacting to ambushes, and employing nonlethal weapons.
The training conducted in the communities outside Camp Dawson will center on what are called situational training exercises. The MEU will be issued a series of mock orders, designed to replicate the types of missions theyre likely to face during their deployment. In much the same way they would while deployed, the MEU staff will plan the missions in detail, then execute them in designated locations in the Morgantown area.
Residents of Morgantown, Fairmont and surrounding communities can expect to see Marines periodically throughout the exercise. Additionally, citizens should notice military helicopters and ground vehicles operating in the area.
Johnson called the area ideally suited to the MEU s needs.
Camp Dawson provides us plenty of maneuver room and tremendous training opportunities,he said. Whats more,the staff there and the leadership of the communities nearby couldnt be more supportive. These people are patriots who have welcomed the chance to help us get ready to go.
Since 1985, the three Camp Lejeune-based MEUs have used numerous cities throughout the southeastern United States to simulate as realistically as possible the kinds of hotspots to which MEUs are often called in a crisis. The TRUE in Morgantown will be the 45th such training exercise conducted on the East Coast.
The 24th MEU is composed of a its Command Element, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263 (Reinforced), and MEU Service Support Group 24.
Since mid-February, when the four elements came together for the first time, the MEU has completed a host of specialized combat courses and field training exercises and two at-sea evolutions aboard the ships of the Saipan Strike Group.
The MEU is scheduled to deploy this summer to the European and Central Command theaters of operations. The Marines and sailors will sail aboard three amphibious assault ships USS Saipan, USS Trenton and USS Oak Hillas part of the seven-vessel Expeditionary Strike Group 4.
For more information on the mission, organization, history and current status of the 24th MEU , visit the units website athttp://www.24meu.usmc.mil.
If interested in covering the units training in West Virginia, please contact Capt. David Nevers at neversde@24meu.usmc.mil or at the numbers listed above.