MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, North Carolina -- Marines with 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division conducted ship-to-shore training with the sailors aboard the USS New York during a training evolution near Onslow Beach at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Jan. 18-20, 2017.
The purpose of this training was to make the Marines confident operating assault amphibious vehicles in the open water.
“We have some new Marines who have never operated an AAV in the ocean before,” said Lance Cpl. Alexander K. Cottrell, an assault amphibious vehicle crewman with Bravo Company, 2nd AA Bn. “We took the Marines out here for some routine training to get them used to what the ocean feels like and how to combat the waves that come against them.”
During this training, the Marines rehearsed amphibious demonstrations and amphibious raids.
An amphibious demonstration is meant to deceive the enemy into shifting his combat power to where he thinks the Marines are going to land. An amphibious raid is used to seize equipment or destroy enemy personnel, locations or vehicles.
Assault amphibious vehicle crewman must be capable of conducting amphibious assaults, demonstrations and raids to be mission ready, said 1st Lt. Michael A. Harting, a platoon commander with Bravo Co., 2nd AA Bn.
During the training, the Marines embarked the USS New York in their AAVs.
“We worked with the ship’s crew to give them annual training on ground guiding the vehicles,” said Cottrell.
This training was important for enhancing the unit’s capability to embark and disembark a ship.
“It’s always good to get in the water and conduct ship-to-shore missions,” said Cottrell. “We do this from time to time to gain experience with how to react in the water and take on waves.”
The Marines faced challenges during the operation, but they were able to overcome them with a positive attitude.
“We never want any of the vehicles to go down, but when it happens, it’s good training to figure out what happened, why it happened and how we can prevent it from happening again,” said Cottrell. “We improve at our job through trial and error and by going over procedures. We do this process repeatedly until it becomes muscle memory, so that when it comes to a combat situation we’re prepared.”
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