Asia-Pacific
GALLERYMarine exercise on Okinawa includes 2 amphibious landings
Stars and Stripes
October 28, 2015
A landing craft air cushion-class hovercraft approaches Kin Blue, Okinawa, Japan, for a beach landing Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015, during Blue Chromite 2016. Blue Chromite is a large-scale training event lead by the 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine division, III Marine Expeditionary Force. (Courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps)
A landing craft air cushion-class hovercraft approaches Kin Blue, Okinawa, Japan, for a beach landing Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015, during Blue Chromite 2016. Blue Chromite is a large-scale training event lead by the 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine division, III Marine Expeditionary Force. (Courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps)
Marines take over Combat Town at the Central Training Area, Okinawa, Japan, Monday, Oct. 26, 2015. Marines rode in on amphibious assault vehicles during the exercise, which was part of Blue Chromite 2016. The Marines are from Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force. (Courtesy of the III Marine Expeditionary Force)
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Lorelie P. Flinn treats a patient during a shock trauma drill, part of Blue Chromite 2016, Monday, Oct. 26, 2015, on Okinawa, Japan. Flinn, a critical-care nurse with 3rd Medical Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, is assisted by Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Caleb Alkire, a team leader with Company B, 3rd Medical Battalion, and Petty Officer 3rd Class Ryan T. Badillo, also a team leader with the company. The shock trauma drill gave the Navy medical team an opportunity to practice stabilizing patients in an expeditionary setting. (Drew Tech/Courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps)
Cpl. David Vargas-Merlo waits calmly in the darkness of an amphibious assault vehicle before rushing into an attack, Monday Oct. 26, 2015, on Okinawa, Japan, during Blue Chromite 2016. Blue Chromite is a large-scale exercise led by the 4th Marine Regiment. Each element of III Marine Expeditionary Force is represented in Blue Chromite. (Jorge A. Rosales/Courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps)
Lance Cpl. Dakota A. Kaiser engages enemy units during a raid on Combat Town, Central Training Area, Okinawa, Japan, Monday, Oct. 26, 2015. The raid was part of Blue Chromite 2016, a large-scale exercise that aims to achieve high-level training at a low cost, while keeping naval forces in a forward-deployed posture. (Steven Tran/Courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps)
Flares from a C-130 Hercules transportation aircraft illuminate the landing zone for an incoming CH-53 Super Stallion helicopter during a fire-support coordination exercise that kicked off Blue Chromite 2016 on Okinawa, Japan. (Courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Marines and sailors are building up their seaborne, rapid-reaction capabilities during Blue Chromite 16, a large-scale training exercise underway on Okinawa.
The training includes two amphibious landings, a regimental air assault, a fire-support exercise, a mass-casualty evacuation drill and unit-level training events that test expeditionary warfighting capabilities within III Marine Expeditionary Force, a Marine Corps statement said.
Blue Chromite cuts travel costs by capitalizing on resources organic to Okinawa without sacrificing participating units’ ability to respond to situations that might arise in the Pacific, the statement said.
“In Okinawa, we are forward-deployed only 900 miles from Seoul, Manila and Tokyo,” said Lt. Col. Justin J. Anderson, operations officer for 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III MEF. “Blue Chromite allows us to stay close and ready to support any crisis our partners may encounter and still conduct high-level training that is comparable to anything stateside. Units deployed to Okinawa return to the States more operationally ready than when they arrived.”