Composite Unit Training Exercise

All photos by Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim

Marines and sailors with Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, set up a command post using two Assault Amphibian Vehicles during a field training exercise aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., Dec. 18. The training was part of the Composite Training Unit Exercise, the second at-sea training period for 24th MEU, scheduled to take place Nov. 28 to Dec. 21. The training is meant to develop cohesion between the 24th MEU and Amphibious Squadron 8 in conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations while operating from the sea.

Marines and sailors with Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit prepare to embark on Assault Amphibian Vehicles prior to conducting a mechanized assault from the USS New York (LPD-21) onto an enemy objective on land at Camp Lejeune, Dec. 18. The training was part of the Composite Training Unit Exercise, the second at-sea training period for 24th MEU, scheduled to take place Nov. 28 to Dec. 21. The training is meant to develop cohesion between the 24th MEU and Amphibious Squadron 8 in conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations while operating from the sea.

Lance Cpl. Richard Gonzalez, a radio operator with Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, sets up a field radio antenna during a training exercise aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., Dec. 18. The training was part of the Composite Training Unit Exercise, the second at-sea training period for 24th MEU, scheduled to take place Nov. 28 to Dec. 21. The training is meant to develop cohesion between the 24th MEU and Amphibious Squadron 8 in conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations while operating from the sea. Gonzalez is a native of El Paso, Texas.

Sgt. Charles Wesley Hope, the chief armory custodian with Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit ties rope around a stake to secure a field antenna during a field training exercise aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., Dec. 18. The training was part of the Composite Training Unit Exercise, the second at-sea training period for 24th MEU, scheduled to take place Nov. 28 to Dec. 21. The training is meant to develop cohesion between the 24th MEU and Amphibious Squadron 8 in conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations while operating from the sea. Hope is a native of Douglas County, Ga.

USS New York (LPD-21) positioned off the coast of Camp Lejeune, N.C., supporting Marines and sailors of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit during an amphibious assault onto Camp Lejeune, Dec. 18. The USS New York launched a mechanized infantry company from the 24th MEU's battalion landing team and air support in the form of UH-1 Hueys and AH-1 Cobras, all of which are embarked on the ship during the three-week long Composite Training Unit Exercise. COMPTUEX, the second at-sea training period for 24th MEU and Amphibious Squadron 8, is focused on developing cohesion between the 24th MEU and PHIBRON 8 in conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations while operating from the sea.

An AH-1 Super Cobra, with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron VMM-261 (Rein), 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, flies to its objective in support of an amphibious assault during a training exercise aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., Dec. 18. The training was part of the Composite Training Unit Exercise, the second at-sea training period for 24th MEU, scheduled to take place Nov. 28 to Dec. 21. The training is meant to develop cohesion between the 24th MEU and Amphibious Squadron 8 in conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations while operating from the sea