CAMP FUJI, Japan -- Staff members from U.S. 7th Fleet visited Combined Arms Training Center (CATC) Camp Fuji to learn about equipment and concepts associated with emergent Expeditionary Advanced Base operations.
The visit highlighted the ongoing joint III Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) - 7th Fleet integrated training, with the goal of furthering the operationalization of the “Blue-Green” team in the Indo-Pacific region.
“Today’s events allowed us to show the 7th Fleet staff what we can do, and what we can provide for them,” said Marine Corps Maj. John Zarling, operations officer for 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment. “We aim to better understand how each other fights, and how to employ each other’s assets.”
U.S. Marine personnel with 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment displayed equipment through various exercises, including an M142 HIMARS launcher, cannons and mortars, various pieces of C2 equipment, counter-battery radars, and several command posts.
“The equipment we showed today is the kind of equipment that is going to be key to any maritime campaign,” said Col. Michael Roach, commanding officer of 12th Marine Regiment. “Seventh Fleet and the III MEF have to integrate in order to succeed in the maritime environment.”
The goal was to give the 7th Fleet staff a hands-on experience with some of the elements they might see in Marine littoral regiments in the future, said Col. John G. Lehane, fleet Marine officer for the 7th Fleet.
“I think this is another great step in the relationship between the 7th Fleet and III MEF team,” said Lehane.
7th Fleet serves with III MEF to continually execute missions that enable maritime superiority through effective command and control, prosecution of naval fires, and operational maneuvers.
III MEF is a forward-deployed, expeditionary air-ground-logistics team of approximately 27,000 Marines, capable of military operations ranging from major combat operations to humanitarian aid and crisis response.
U.S. 7th Fleet provides security alongside allies and partners throughout a free and open Indo-Pacific. As the U.S. Navy's largest forward-deployed fleet, 7th Fleet has approximately 50-70 ships and submarines and 140 aircraft with approximately 20,000 Sailors in the area of operations at any given time.