CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- More than 40 Marines with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment conducted an embassy reinforcement operation during Exercise Bold Alligator 2014 aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Oct. 29.
The Marines from the battalion boarded two MV-22B Ospreys with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162 at Marine Corps Air Station New River and landed at the Military Operations on Urban Terrain town here.
The purpose of the training was to deploy an air assault force capable of providing embassy reinforcement and fixed-site security. The event is one of many exercises scheduled as a part of Bold Alligator.
“What is really special about this exercise is we have Ambassador David N. Greenlee out here, a U.S. Department of State ambassador,” said Capt. Douglas Rendall, the tactical exercise control group Camp Lejeune site controller. “So the Marines flying in here today are going to have as close to real-world experience as we can replicate.”
In addition to having a U.S. ambassador present for the exercise, there were more than 80 role players acting as protesters to give the Marines a more realistic training environment.
Rendall said the embassy reinforcement exercise is another example of the Marine Corps’ ability to be the nation’s 9-1-1 force. Rendall said with the war in Afghanistan coming to an end, the Marine Corps will be able to focus on crisis response, which he believes is important for the future of the Corps.”
The battalion is participating in the exercise to prepare for the unit’s upcoming deployment as the ground combat element for the Black Sea Rotational Force. Embassy reinforcement is one of the many tasks that the unit may be required to support as part of the crisis response force.
In November, the unit will travel to the Muskatatuck Urban Training Center in Indiana, where they will again team up with VMM-162 to conduct embassy reinforcement and non-combative evacuation operations in conjunction with Bold Alligator.
Bold Alligator is a scenario-driven, simulation-supported, amphibious assault exercise and is the largest exercise held on the East Coast. The exercise is scheduled to be conducted through Nov. 10.