SAN DIEGO -- Thirty-seven Marines from 7th Engineer Support Battalion presented static displays during San Diego Fleet Week 2015 aboard Naval Base Coronado, Calif. Sept 19-20, 2015.
Fleet Week is a celebration of the sea services wherein Marines showcase service capabilities and offer the community an opportunity to see their Marine Corps first hand. Fleet Week activities consisted of ship tours, static displays, sports competitions, Coronado Speed Fest, social events, and community relations activities.
The Marine’s static displays provided an excellent opportunity for them to demonstrate the quality of military assets to the citizens of San Diego.
“This gives the public a great opportunity to see what we do on a daily basis,” said Maj. Christopher Cowen, future operations officer, 1st Marine Logistics Group, and a native of Burbank, Calif. “I’m having a great time talking with these people. Just seeing their smiling faces is fantastic and I think the rest of the Marines are enjoying their time as well.”
A wide variety of 7th ESB Marines participated in the event. These included bulk fuel Marines, combat engineers, an explosive ordnance disposal team, a corpsman and motor transportation mechanics.
“Walking around and seeing everyone going through the tours and learning all these great things that they may not have known has been great,” said HM3 Stacey Lackey, hospital corpsman, Bulk Fuel Company, 7th ESB. “I’ve never been able to experience it before. I’m truly honored to have been able to come out here.”
The Marines provided six tactical vehicles for the event including, two Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected, All-Terrain Vehicles, one Logistics Vehicle System Replacement, an Amphibious Tract Vehicle, a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle and an Amphibious Assault Vehicle. They also had various weapons systems available to the public, an EOD9 Bomb Suit and a bomb detecting robot.
“It’s great to have the Marines out here,” said Bill Kane, a native of N.Y. “I’ve never seen some of these weapons. I love getting to know these guys out here. I feel safer knowing the Marines that are protecting us.”
This event is intended to promote an understanding of the Marine Corps and the sacrifices they make in support of our nation’s military strategy and our nation’s defense.