Marines complete 10-day attack simulation exercise

Sept. 11 (UPI) -- The U.S. Marine Corps announced a successful naval exercise in the Philippine and East China seas and in Okinawa, Japan, on Wednesday.

The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and Amphibious Squadron 11 conducted a large-scale series of operations in a naval expeditionary combined-arms maneuver, involving Wasp Amphibious Ready Group ships to shore in action conducted between Aug. 9 and Aug. 19, a Marine Corps statement said.

The 31st Marines Expeditionary Unit and Amphibious Squadron 11 planned, coordinated, and executed the demonstration to demonstrate its flexibility in simultaneous multi-island seizures and projection of combat power, a Marine Corps statement said. Air and ground forces integrated their capabilities across all warfighting domains.

The exercise involved ships, helicopters, amphibious raiding vessels, refueling operations and personnel executing parachute drops, security cordons, simulated casualties and successful capture of targets.

The exercise included the capture of an airfield at Okinawa's Ie Shima Training Facility.

"The speed with which the Marines were able to establish the FARP [Forward Area Refuleing-Rearming Point] demonstrates a capability that is critical to conducting expeditionary operations in a contested environment," said 1Lt. Guiron Cai, FARP officer-in-charge. "Their proficiency in swiftly setting up a refueling point with 5,500 pounds of fuel demonstrates the 31st MEU's ability to rapidly refuel and redeploy our air assets as the mission requires."