The fleet of US, Canada, Japan and New Zealand Naval Forces in Dawn Blitz 2013
United States Marines amphibious exercise Dawn Blitz
U.S. Marines and sailors from 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, and Naval Beach Group 1 conducted amphibious landings on Red Beach with Assault Amphibious Vehicles (AAV) and both U.S. and Japanese Landing Craft Air Cushions (LCACs) as a part of exercise Dawn Blitz, June 24.
Marines and sailors from 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, and Naval Beach Group 1 conducted amphibious landings on Red Beach with Assault Amphibious Vehicles (AAV) and both U.S. and Japanese Landing Craft Air Cushions (LCACs) as a part of exercise Dawn Blitz, June 24.
It was the culminating multinational, amphibious event during the month-long exercise Dawn Blitz. The raid on Red Beach tested U.S. and coalition forces’ ability to conduct operations together.
Japan LCAC lying ashore waiting for action
Dawn Blitz 2013 is an amphibious exercise testing U.S. and coalition forces in skills expected of a Navy and Marine Corps amphibious task force. It is a multinational exercise that promotes interoperability.
Participating countries include Canada, Japan, New Zealand and military observers from seven countries.Brig. Gen. John J. Broadmeadow, commanding general of 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Rear Adm. John E. Jolliffe, deputy commander of U.S. 3rd Fleet, Lt. Gen Peter Delvin, Canadian Army, Air Vice-Marshal Kevin Short, commander of joint forces New Zealand, and Japans spoke at a press conference following the raid about the importance of a coalition effort and the success of Dawn Blitz.
“The amphibious landing is just one important aspect of what’s going on during exercise Dawn Blitz,” Broadmeadow said. “It’s a great example of what the Navy and the Marine Corps bring to our country and to our nation’s defense. The ability to use the sea as maneuver space, come across the beach and influence of events ashore.”
“I don’t know when where or what the next crisis in this world is going to be …. But I do know is that what we’re doing here during Dawn Blitz is helping not only the Navy and Marine Corps team hone it’s skills, but it’s also letting us understand our coalition partners so that when we do have to respond to whatever crisis is out there, we can do it effectively and together,” Broadmeadow said.
The Red Beach landing requires Marines to do a number of tasks as a team, but beyond the beach the Navy plays an important and vital role during any amphibious exercise.
“We spent the last dozen years fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, focused on land warfare and we’ve gotten away from our amphibious roots,” Jolliffe said. “Dawn Blitz is a tremendous success and we could do it without our coalition partners that are here working with us.”
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Kabarnya exercise Dawn Blitz ini sangat menarik perhatian dari PLA dan petinggi partai Komunis China di Beijing.
berikut cuplikan berita lainnya,
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Dawn Blitz grabs China's attention
U.S.-based amphib exercise includes Pacific allies
For the first time, the Dawn Blitz amphibious exercise includes several of the U.S.’s Pacific partners, and China has taken notice — even going so far as to request that the U.S. and Japan cancel portions of the event.
About 5,000 ground and naval forces — Marines, sailors and troops from Japan, Canada and New Zealand — are participating in this year’s iteration of Dawn Blitz, which will be held ashore at Camp Pendleton and Twentynine Palms, Calif., and aboard ships off the coast of San Diego, from June 11 to 28.
Members of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Logistics Group, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and Marine Forces Reserve will take part.
Dawn Blitz began as a Navy-Marine Corps exercise in 2010, but was widened this year to include Pacific allies. What caught the attention of Chinese officials was the plan to conduct training that simulates the recapture of a remote island, Kyodo News reported. Tensions between China and Japan have been high due to a territorial dispute over the uninhabited Senkaku Islands. China filed requests through diplomatic channels that the U.S. and Japan cancel that training, according to Kyodo.
But Cmdr. Takashi Inoue, deputy director of public affairs for Japan’s Joint Staff, said their participation in the exercise is not based on any current geopolitical situation. And 1st Lt. Garth Langley, public affairs officer for 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade, said the event is just one of many training simulations that are routine for any amphibious exercise.
“This is all to maintain our readiness,” Langley said. “These opportunities to train are very sporadic. We’re using this opportunity to conduct all of the kinds of missions we’d be required to respond to as an amphibious task force.”
It is unusual for Japanese troops — who serve in a self-defense force legally limited to maintaining peace and protecting the homeland — to participate in beach assaults. Retired Air Force Col. Carl Baker, a graduate of the Air War College and director of programs at Pacific Forum Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the exercise reflects a growing awareness in Japan that it needs to be able to defend its islands.
“As China develops its capabilities to go beyond its regional waters, [Japan] sees a need to enhance that defense,” Baker said. “I don’t want it to come across like Japan is preparing for military conflict with China, but it does have to be able to defend its islands because it is an island country.”
It’s not just the Senkakus that Japan is concerned about, he added. And China is not in a position to tell the U.S. and Japan what types of exercises they should or should not conduct.
Another significant part of the exercise is the plan to land an MV-22 Osprey helicopter on a Japanese ship. Brig. Gen. John Broadmeadow, 1st MEB’s commanding general, called it a historic moment for the Corps, according to a Marine Corps news release.
The Osprey has been a contentious issue for Japan and the Marine Corps. Thousands of people took to Japan’s streets in 2012 to protest about safety concerns, but Marine officials have touted it as an integral part of the Corps’ shift to the Asia-Pacific region since it can fly long distances, allowing them to respond to various types of crises.
Baker said he expects the Osprey will be used more and more in joint exercises with Japan.
Dawn Blitz also includes anti-mine operations with New Zealand and Canada, live-fire opportunities and Navy-led Maritime Pre-positioning Force training and sea-basing operations, Langley said. It will allow the forces to develop the skills needed for a combined response to a humanitarian crisis, he added.
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