A war game exercise that deploys a battalion-size air, sea and ground assault is going on aboard the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center and other Marine Corps bases in Southern California this week. The exercise includes more than 1,000 Marines from the 1st Marine Division and more than 600 Marine aviators and their crews. It combines the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing’s “Winter Fury” exercise with the 1st Marine Division’s “Steel Knight” training. Both are held annually to prepare Marines for worldwide threats and to sharpen their skills for upcoming deployments. But the combined exercise is the first in more than a decade, military officials say. The exercise at Twentynine Palms recreates a battalion air assault to establish an air field and refueling center behind enemy lines, trains Marines and sailors in planning, deployment and command and control against an enemy force with similar capabilities. The 1st Marine Division is a 22,000-strong force.
“We’ll move a full battalion via aviation into Twentynine Palms and establish an airfield there using upwards of 40 aircraft,” a Marine official said. The exercises end tomorrow.
FULL BATTALION, AVIATION, IN TRAINING EXERCISES ABOARD 29 PALMS MARINE BASE
