26th MEU

Photos by Cpl. Patrick Johnson-Campbell

Culinary Specialist 3rd class (SW) Kathy Sawyer puts a turkey in the oven aboard USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) on Nov. 27. The turkey was served for the Thanksgiving dinner for Marines and sailors aboard the Iwo Jima.

Captain Robert Irelan and Colonel Mark J. Desens carve the Thanksgiving turkey aboard USS Iwo Jima.

Rear Admiral Andy Brown, Fleet Industrial Supply Center, serves prime rib to Marines of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit during Thanksgiving dinner aboard USS Iwo Jima.

Technicians clear firing range, ensure safe training environment
Story and photos by Cpl. Jason D. Mills
26th MEU Public Affairs
While looking into the vast expanse of the desert, it’s hard to fathom anyone spending more than a few minutes out there, let alone working with unexploded ordnance for hours, if not days, on end.
That’s just what eight explosive ordnance technicians, one radio operator and one Navy corpsman from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit did from Nov. 14-17. For four days straight the team combed the seemingly endless desert in the Middle East for any potentially hazardous unexploded ordnance.
“This range is huge,” said Gunnery Sgt. Steven Sheals, the explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) detachment officer-in-charge.
The range sweep was an essential step in ensuring the safety of the range for future exercises.
“We’re conducting surface range clearing to ensure there are no UXO range hazards out here for when the (Battalion Landing Team) comes out here for their training,” Sheals said. “By removing the UXOs we remove that hazard to make the range safe.”
After four long days of walking up and down the range, the team consolidated all of the unexploded ordnance they found and safely detonated it.
“This detachment that I have here has a wealth of knowledge; most of the guys have two or more deployments in the (Operation Iraqi Freedom) Theater,” he said, adding his Marines work from sunup till sundown to complete the mission. He said they are given a task and a timetable, and if that means they have to work all day for days on end to get the mission done, then that’s what they do.
In the end, the entire course of action focused on safety; not only the safety of those detonating the ordnance, but ultimately, on the safety of those who would come after the detonations were long extinguished.
“You have to do your best to make sure no one gets hurt during training,” said Sgt. Robert Pippin, an EOD technician. “We’re trying to make the range a safer place for when the BLT comes out here to do their training tomorrow and for the rest of the week.”



Gunnery Sgt. Steven Sheals, officer in charge of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s explosive ordnance disposal detachment, explains the differences in each explosive to Gunnery Sgt. Jason Theis, maintenance chief for Combat Logistics Battalion-26, at a training site in the Middle East.



The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s explosive ordnance disposal Marines safely cleared hundreds of pounds of unexploded ordnance found on a firing range, which was later to be used by the MEU’s Ground Combat Element, Battalion Landing Team 2/6, for training in a training site in the Middle East.


Sgts. Bill Lightner, Brandon Moore and Curtis Long (from left) place C4 on a pile of unexploded ordnance.




Unexploded ordnance is detonated by the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s explosive ordnance disposal Marines shortly after being wired with C4 at a training site in the Middle East.


Sgt. Curtis Long, an explosive ordnance disposal technician with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, explains how, why and what to expect in a crater formed by an explosion to (from left) Lance Cpl. Anthony Larchergore, Capt. Joni Ong and Lance Cpl. Charles Wiggins, at a training site in the Middle East.

Photos by 26th MEU public affairs

Photos by Cpl. Aaron J. Rock

Corporals Ronald L. Breen and Lindsey Cantrell, AH-1 Cobra mechanics with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron-264 (Rein), 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, work on a AH-1W Cobra attack helicopter on the flight deck of USS Iwo Jima in the Arabian Gulf. The Marines were performing weekly preventative maintenance to limit corrosion to the aircraft caused by the ocean environment aboard ship.  The maintenance is essential to the safe operation of any aircraft aboard Iwo Jima, as the sea air can cause rust very quickly if not prevented, according to the Marines.

“If we let it go for too long it would cause a structural breakdown of the components,” Cantrell said.

Story and photos by Cpl. Jason D. Mills

26th MEU Public Affairs

USS IWO JIMA, Arabian Gulf – To a lot of people, leadership is just a word, an idea. But to Lance Cpl. Dustin Saltsman leadership is more than a word; it’s a way of life.

Despite his relatively unassuming demeanor, the basic engineer electrical equipment system technician is anything but ordinary.

In just a few months the New York native went from having a gray belt in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP), to being a green belt instructor, a title usually reserved for non-commissioned officers and which takes more than 170 hours to attain.

He earned this latest belt underway aboard USS Iwo Jima after the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit set sail late August aboard the Iwo Jima Strike Group.

MCMAP is a combat system developed by the Marine Corps in 2001 which combines existing and new hand-to-hand and close quarters combat techniques with morale and team-building functions.

The program uses a system of colored belts similar to that of most martial arts. The different levels of belts are tan, gray, green, green belt instructor, brown, brown belt instructor, black, black belt instructor and five higher degrees of black belt.

MCMAP instructors can train other Marines up to their current belt level, and certify Marines at one level below their current belt level. A green belt instructor can therefore certify others for tan and gray belts. Upon earning green belt instructor, Saltsman immediately began assisting with MCMAP training aboard USS Iwo Jima.

Despite the long-grueling hours of training he kept a positive attitude.

“I thought it was fun, actually; it was a great time,” he said. He went on to say that had it not been for the course he would have never had the chance to meet such a diverse group of people aboard the ship. “I met a whole lot of different people that I … normally don’t talk to, like (infantrymen).”

Of course his positive attitude isn’t surprising. He is no stranger to overcoming adversity.
At the age of six, he heard some dreadful news.

“When I was six I got told I was never gonna walk again,” he said. “I went to one doctor … and he told me that I was never gonna walk again, there was nothing he could do. (So,) we went and got a second opinion and a couple months later I went and got my surgery on my left hip.”

A little more than two years later he was not only walking, but playing sports – a testament to Saltsman’s spirit of perseverance.

“It’s pushing yourself to the limit,” he said, “knowing that people can tell you that, ‘you will never make it,’ and overcoming that adversity.”

Even though he often teaches those who outrank him, Saltsman has maintained his humility.

“Since getting to know … Saltsman, he has continued to impress me as a solid junior leader of Marines,” said Gunnery Sgt. Adam Wilner, the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s electronic key management system chief and MCMAP instructor. He went on to say that “not only is he performing as an NCO, I think he is doing it better than Marines with years more experience. As a (staff non-commissioned officer,) … I have seen Marines that I thought would perform well in front of their peers and seniors flop. And now, I have a (lance corporal) teaching his leadership in a very competent and professional manner. Most Marines that get a little bit of authority try to take advantage of it. Saltsman doesn’t.”

Leadership might not come as natural to everyone as it does to Saltsman, but he has a word of advice to those who are wary of taking that first step.

“Anybody can be a leader,” he explained. “It should be common sense. People shouldn’t have to tell you to do your job. You should just get out there and do it.”

Lance Cpl. Dustin Saltsman (left), a basic engineer electrical equipment system technician for the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and green belt instructor, demonstrates to Sgt. Garfield Shealy, a radio operator for the 26th MEU, the proper procedure when executing a counter to a front choke, aboard the USS Iwo Jima.

Lance Cpl. Dustin Saltsman, a basic engineer electrical equipment system technician for the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and green belt instructor, leads a group of Marines in physical training during a Marine Corps Martial Arts Program class aboard the Iwo Jima.

This press release is pretty vague… the dateline is “Middle East”… but it is still interesting. The story is by 1st Lt. Timothy Patrick. Photos by Cpl. Aaron Rock.


Host nation Marines debark a U.S. Navy Landing Craft Air Cushioned and head to the first phase line in preparation for their combined assault Oct. 28. 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit Marines and sailors would join them moments later in a combined training exercise.


Marine AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron-264 (Rein) assault “enemy” targets.

Marines and sailors of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit demonstrated their interoperability with Middle Eastern counterparts at an exercise in the Middle East on Oct. 28. The 26th MEU conducted the exercise to strengthen cooperation with regional partners.
The exercise was the culmination of several days of bilateral training the 26th MEU conducted there. The Marines trained with their Middle Eastern counterparts at several warfighting abilities, including combined air parachuting, military operations in urban terrain, live-fire exercises and other infantry-level skills.
Senior military and civilian officials from both nations arrived the morning of Oct. 28 to observe the final exercise, or FINEX.
Shortly after 9:30 a.m., as they looked out over several hundred square kilometers of desert, observers were greeted by the explosion of the “enemy” anti-air facilities, courtesy of host-nation special forces, making way for a combined air assault from host-nation helicopters, U.S. AV-8B Harrier jets and AH-1 Super Cobra attack helicopters from the MEU’s Aviation Combat Element, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron-264 (Rein).
Nearly simultaneously, a U.S. Navy Landing Craft Air-Cushioned brought a company of host-nation Marines, who rushed forward to the first phase-line in preparation for their combined final attack.
With “enemy” command and control facilities destroyed by the air assault, two support by fire positioned opened up with heavy machine guns, Tube-launched Optically-tracked Wire-guided (TOW) missiles, 81mm mortars and a variety of other weapons. The support by fire positions knocked out enemy weapons positions and suppressed the enemy in preparation for the next phase of the operation.
26th MEU’s Super Cobras returned, laying down suppressing fire as seven accompanying CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters brought in Fox Co., Battalion Landing Team 2/6, the MEU’s Ground Combat Element. The Marines landed north of their host-nation counterparts and quickly prepared for the joint assault.
As the Sea Knights flew off, the support by fire positions resumed their rain of fire on enemy positions and the combined infantry assault began. Fighting side-by-side, the Marines and host-nation Marines consolidated on the enemy position, firing small arms, Shoulder-launched Multi-purpose Assault Weapons (SMAW), and Rocket-Propelled Grenades until the cease-fire sounded, indicating successful destruction of the enemy.
“These kinds of events are truly important,” said 26th MEU Commanding Officer Col. Mark J. Desens. “They demonstrate to our friends and the world that the U.S. is a team player, willing to train with friends and allies to strengthen both our forces and our relationships.”

Info from public affairs:
Rear Adm. Kendall Card, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 3, this week toured multiple training areas that the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit has been using with Southwest Asian military forces.

Card, along with Col. Mark J. Desens, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit commanding officer, took a rare opportunity to visit the Marine “green” side of his ESG. The sailors of the Iwo Jima Strike Group make up the ”blue” side of the ESG.

During his tour, Card visited Marines from the 26th MEU’s ground combat element, Battalion Landing Team 2/6, during their training in a variety of different scenarios — including military operations in urban terrain; a pistol-range reaction course and multiple weapons ranges where Marines demonstrated the operation of different types of machine guns and rocket launchers.

While transiting between different training areas, Card, a naval aviator by trade, took the opportunity to fly a Marine CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter, as well as conduct a few touch-and-go landings.

Photos by Cpl. Patrick Johnson-Campbell

Lance Cpl. Shane M. Correl, explains the operating procedures of the Shoulder Launched, Multipurpose Assault Weapon (SMAW) to Rear Adm. Kendall Card, commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 3, during his visit to Marines and sailors of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Capt. Mark C. Cameron, company commander of Fox Co., Battalion Landing Team 2/6, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, briefs Rear Adm. Kendall Card, commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 3, on the training the Marines and Sailors are conducting during an exercise in the Middle East. The 26th MEU is conducting the exercise to strengthen ties with regional partners.

Photos by Cpl. Aaron Rock:

Part of the 26th MEU is in Kuwait right now doing some training. I just received these photos today. I hear that I will find out where the rest of the MEU is later in the week. Photos are all by Marine Sgt. Edward R. Guevara Jr.
   

Above, a Navy Landing Craft Utility (LCU) from the Iwo Jima Strike Group approaches the shore at Camp Patriot, Kuwait, and sailors prepare to offload Marines and equipment.

Marines stage their weapons and offload their gear.

Offloading Light Armored Vehicles

Amphibious Assault Vehicles and Abrams tanks

1st Lt. Chris Upton and Lance Cpl. David Hanson chain their M-1A1 Abrams tank to the deck of an LCAC.

Some of the Marines got a chance to jump off the starboard aircraft elevator of the USS Iwo Jima into the Arabian Sea recently… thought you would enjoy these “swim call” photos.
Photos by Cpl. Aaron Rock and Lance Cpl. Jacob Chase

Above, Lt. Col. John Capdepon, executive officer of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, takes the plunge.

Just got these photos by Cpl. Patrick Johnson-Campbell of CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters taking off from the deck of the USS Iwo Jima to fly missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

 

 



Gunnery Sgt. Earnest Sheffield, a combat cargo Marine, asks for permission to cross the safety line on the flight deck of the USS Iwo-Jima during flight quarters Sept. 14.

 

Marines of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron-264 (REIN), 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, board a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter