CLARK AIR BASE, Philippines -- Internet, phones and network communication are all vital to the Marine Corps’
mission during expeditionary operations. Communication is the direct link
between command elements, troops on the ground, aircraft in the air and
leadership in the rear.
Marines with 7th Communication Battalion, III
Marine Headquarters Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, who are currently
assigned to 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade in support of Amphibious Landing
Exercise 2015, are currently in the Philippines working around the clock to keep
a steady line of communications that will ensure the success of the
exercise.
“We provide the link that allows reporting up to the command
element, so that way [they] can make decisions; those decisions can then be
relayed out to Marines via our communications,” said 1st Lt. Collin Chew the
officer-in-charge of the 7th Communication Battalion detachment.
The 7th
Communications Battalion detachment is responsible for all forms of
communication that allows 3rd MEB to effectively accomplish their mission during
PHIBLEX 15.
PHIBLEX 15 is an annual, bilateral training exercise
conducted by U.S. Marine and Navy Forces with the Armed Forces of the
Philippines to strengthen our interoperability and working relationships across
a wide range of military operations — from disaster relief to complex
expeditionary operations.
Marines use communication assets, such as rapid
response kits to allow 3rd MEB to complete humanitarian aid and disaster relief
missions as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“A rapid response kit is
a quickly deployable communication asset that can be set up in a few hours,”
said Cpl. Wesley McCulloch, a field radio operator with 3rd MEB. “It gives you
everything you need to be successful in expeditionary
operations.”
Communication Marines are all around the Corps providing the
lines of communication that allow Marines to accomplish their mission. Marine
leadership is heavily reliant on computers to send information, so during the
exercise communications Marines provide assistance to the combat operations
center to ensure mission success.
“For this exercise it is mostly
computer based, so users spend a lot of time sending emails back and forth,”
said Cpl. Roland King a data network specialist with 3rd MEB. “With me being
there and facilitating that help, it allows them to effectively communicate and
do their job.”
As America’s expeditionary force in readiness, the Marine
Corps has to rely on communications in every part of the Marine Air Ground Task
Force.
According to King, communications are vital to everything, ranging
from ground combat elements to aircraft support to the movement of logistical
supplies.
To sustain the demands of an operation or an exercise
communication Marines are in the background working long hours to maintain lines
of communications.
According to Chew, people do not really notice the
communication Marines until things go down, and very quickly they realize that
there are people maintaining the network behind the scenes.
“When
communications are good everyone is happy, when communications are down no one
is happy,” said King from Atlanta, Georgia. “It is a job that has a lot of long
hours spent, but it is worth it.”