ANDERSEN SOUTH AIR FORCE BASE, GUAM -- ANDERSEN SOUTH AIR FORCE BASE, Guam — Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard the USS Ashland (LSD 48) arrived in Guam to conduct unit-level training throughout the bases and ranges there as part of their regularly-scheduled fall patrol, August 29, 2017.
In Guam, the Ashland is receiving routine, scheduled maintenance, while Marines with India Company, Battalion Landing Team, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, and Combat Logistics Battalion 31, are honing their crisis response and warfighting capabilities with daily training events, and will be participating in service projects with local communities.
First Sgt. Frank Hernandez, India Company’s first sergeant, said the Marines are not only looking forward to the training opportunities, but are also excited for the chance to learn about Guam’s history and culture.
“I know the Marines are looking forward to seeing Guam and spending time on the beach as a unit,” said Hernandez. “There are also [Morale, Welfare and Recreation] battle site tours available, and the Marines are going to take advantage of that opportunity to learn some Marine Corps history.”
Marines with Combat Logistics Battalion 31, the Logistics Combat Element of the 31st MEU, continuously perfect their tactics, techniques and procedures during convoy training, refine their marksmanship skills through live-fire ranges, and will enhance their crisis response skills through simulated noncombatant evacuation operations.
Major Daniel Struzik, the operations officer for CLB-31, said that due in large part to regularly-scheduled training in places like Guam, the 31st MEU is ready for anything.
“I like to think of [the 31st MEU] as the MEU that never sleeps,” said Struzik. “If there are typhoons, earthquakes, tsunami or any type of crisis in the [Indo-Asia-Pacific region], the American people can rest assured that CLB-31 and the rest of the 31st MEU are prepared to respond.”