Marines, Sailors and civilians assigned to Expeditionary Warfare Training Group, Atlantic (EWTGLANT) celebrated the 247th Marine Corps Birthday with a relay run on Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek from Nov. 7-9.
The relay run commenced at 3 p.m. on Nov. 7 and ended at 8:05 a.m. on Nov. 9. The event comprised of 247 time slots, scheduling participants every 10 minutes to run a mile, and continued through all hours of the day and night until 247 miles were complete.
Col. Christopher Browning, commanding officer, EWTGLANT, emphasized how impressed he was of the junior EWTGLANT Marines and Sailors who worked together and took it upon themselves to organize the second relay run of its kind on the base.
“Last year, I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly everybody signed up for the run and they wanted to try it again, so, we added one more mile this year,” said Browning. “The whole goal was not just to celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday, but, at the same time, bring our Navy brothers and sisters in and to show that we are an ‘EWTGLANT family.’ Most civilians who ran are retired military or former military, both Navy and Marine Corps, so that’s what makes this run so awesome.”
The final mile of the relay was a formation run consisting of Marines, Sailors and civilians carrying the American flag, U.S. Marine Corps flag and U.S. Navy flag. A cadence was projected proudly as the formation made its final lap to end 247 miles just after morning colors.
Master Gunnery Sgt. David Menusa, senior enlisted leader, EWTGLANT, stressed that the run will most likely become a tradition because there has been such strong participation and interest.
“The motivation to come out and do this event shows the love for the Corps and the Navy,” said Menusa. “The blue-green team is a family. We were all proud to do this together.”
Aviation Electronics Technician Senior Chief Petty Officer (AW/SW) William Liddle, senior enlisted advisor, EWTGLANT, highlighted how unique this relay run is when it comes to demonstrating the bond between the Navy and Marine Corps team.
“This run represents 247 years of combined service,” said Liddle. “Sailors and Marines are one team, one fight.”
Capt. Darren Nelson, executive officer, EWTGLANT, reiterated the significance of this run, especially in order to represent naval integration.
“The run is all about teamwork … and gives us a mutual purpose for a little physical training and allows us to illustrate naval integration,” said Nelson. “The Navy and Marine Corps have been working together for 247 years. We are always together, always working together, we are family. When the time counts, we have each other’s back on land, at sea, or wherever our nation requires our versatile capabilities.”
Yeoman Petty Officer 2nd Class William Simpson participated in the 246th birthday run last year and decided to join the run again this year to show support and teamwork.
“This year I completed six miles, but last year I ran 37 miles,” said Simpson. “The Marines have a great culture of physical fitness and I relate to that a lot. I’m motivated by their standards.”
Expeditionary Warfare Training Group Atlantic (EWTGL) is a subordinate command of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 4 and is located on Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach, Va. The command conducts world-class expeditionary warrior training, instruction, and assessment in the doctrine, tactics and techniques of naval expeditionary warfare with a focus on amphibious operations, in order to support operational commanders in maintaining forces ready to project military power from the sea.
CSG 4 is a team that consists of experienced Sailors, Marines, government civilians and reservists, who mentor, train and assess U.S. 2nd Fleet combat forces to forward-deploy in support and defense of national interests. CSG 4’s experts shape the readiness of U.S. 2nd Fleet Carrier Strike Groups (CSG), Expeditionary Strike Groups (ESG), Amphibious Readiness Groups (ARG) and independent deploying ships through live, at-sea and synthetic training, as well as academic instruction. Along with its subordinate commands, Tactical Training Group Atlantic (TTGL) and EWTGLANT, CSG 4 prepares every Atlantic-based CSG, ARG and independent deployer for sustained forward-deployed high-tempo operations.