TRONDHEIM, NORWAY -- The
Personnel Temporary Augmentee Program Norway 2015 combined elements of 4th
Marine Logistics Group, 4th Marine Division and 4th Marine Aircraft Wing to
provide two weeks of maintenance and supply support for the Marine Corps
Prepositioning Program located in the Trondheim area of Norway.
MCPP-N is designed to support an expeditionary brigade of
roughly 15,000 Marines for 30 days. A series of fortified caves
in Norway are stocked with equipment for the Marines; with everything from
rations to high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles, kept in a
constant state of readiness. By maintaining strategic locations throughout
Norway, the
program promotes regional security, maintains national interoperability and supports
rapid response to crises and contingencies throughout the continents of Europe
and Africa.
“The
purpose of PTAP Norway for 2015 is to maintain the United States Marine Corps’
gear that is pre-staged in Norway,” said Gunnery Sgt. Damon Hummel, the
maintenance chief for Combat Logistics Battalion 451, Combat Logistics Regiment
45, 4th Marine Logistics Group, Marine Forces Reserve. “We maintain and make
sure that all the gear here is operationally ready to go wherever the Marine
Corps needs it worldwide.”
Over
the past decade, MFR has been responsible for organizing and conducting
operations for the MCPP-N. MCPP-N was
initiated in the late 1980’s with Norwegian Defense Logistics
Organization/Marine Expeditionary Brigade responsible for equipment upkeep.
MCPP equipment is stored in multiple locations and is
available for rapid preparation and assembly at aerial, sea, or rail ports of
debarkation in support of deploying Marine Air Ground Task Forces. This forward
pre-positioning reduces reaction time and eliminates the need to otherwise
deploy this equipment from locations in the continental United States.
This
year, CLB-451 took the lead during the exercise, and Reserve Marines received
hands-on training in their Military Occupational Specialties. The support CLB-451
provided involved motor transport, supply, chemical biological radiological
nuclear defense and heavy equipment.
CLB-451
was deployed to Norway during their two-week annual training. The Marines were
divided into separate caves in order to facilitate a simultaneous, continuous
workflow within each military occupational specialty, while working with local
Norwegian contracted logistics personnel.
“We normally have the same equipment almost
every month, doing inventories and limited technical inspections on the same
equipment, with no problems from day to day,” said Hummel. “Out here, Marines
are seeing multiple pieces of equipment and then potentially seeing corrective
maintenance that they actually have to maintain.”
Marines
from CLB-451 filled maintenance gaps and provided much needed manpower, and
gained not only increased MOS proficiency but also improved interoperability
with a host nation.
“The
Norwegians are very helpful, they’ll go out of their way to get anything they
can done for us,” said Lance Cpl. Kevin Gaber, an automotive organizational
mechanic for CLB-451. “We spend the day working with them, listening to their
music, learning about their culture and how they work, which is great because
they want to learn about us just as much as we want to learn about them.”
“The best parts about being here would
be getting to work with the Norwegians, learning about the culture, and at the
same time, getting to know your fellow Marines better and using team work,”
said Lance
Cpl. Madelyn E. Smith, an automotive organizational mechanic for CLB-451.
PTAP
Norway 2015 greatly increased the Marine Corps’ readiness by fostering a
cooperative relationship with another nation, enhancing MOS proficiency and
ensuring all the equipment stored in the cave sites are ready to go at a moment’s
notice when the Marine Corps needs it.