Semper fidelis, semper paratus; Always faithful, always ready. No matter the scenario, U.S. service members from across the joint force continue to train and prepare to respond to any crisis or conflict at a moment’s notice.
Marines and Sailors with I Marine Expeditionary Force; Sailors with U.S. 3rd Fleet; and Airmen with the 920th Rescue Wing participated in Exercise Steel Knight 23.2, Nov. 27-Dec. 17, 2023. U.S. Armed Forces Allied and partnered service members from Peru, Mexico, and the Philippines observed the exercise from various locations.
Steel Knight originated as a tank battalion exercise in 1991 and has since grown in participation, becoming an annual exercise for 1st Marine Division – the oldest, largest and most decorated division in the Marine Corps. Today, I MEF, with the participation of 1st MARDIV, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, 1st Marine Logistics Group, Expeditionary Strike Group 3, the I MEF Information Group and the 920th Rescue Wing, leads the annual three-phase, scenario-driven, live-fire exercise.
Steel Knight 23.2 maintains I MEF’s proficiency as a Joint Task Force, while certifying 5th Marine Regiment, 1st MARDIV, to command the next Marine Rotational Force – Darwin, Marine Air-Ground Task Force. The exercise also certifies 3rd Fleet to command the Amphibious Task Force, preparing both commands for the future fight. SK 23.2 simulated multiple scenarios, enabling Marines from I MEF to test their proficiency in command and control, combined-arms, amphibious and air assault operations, and expeditionary advanced base operations with an adaptive opposing force.
“The scenario for Steel Knight is constructed to give I MEF an opportunity to execute expeditionary advanced base operations as part of a maritime campaign.” said Maj. Gen. Benjamin T. Watson, commanding general of 1st MARDIV. “We create a fake map and limit ourselves in terms of geography to simulate that discrete areas of Southern California are actually islands.”
The training environment for Steel Knight simulates an island chain in the Pacific, utilizing U.S. Army Fort Hunter Ligget, Inyokern Airfield, Point Mugu State Park, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, San Clemente Island, and Yuma, Arizona as geographic areas of operation. Simulated island-hopping techniques, partnered with 3rd MAW executing through the hub, spoke, and node concept, provides depth and versatility to the battlespace. The ability to establish and utilize forward arming and refueling points in dynamic and contested environments is critical, as it ensures pilots can advance to, and sustain the fight, anywhere in the world.
The success of Steel Knight 23.2 stemmed from the culmination of events from across I MEF's major subordinate commands, demonstrating the interoperability, versatility, and range of the MAGTF.
Marines with Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, made a lasting impression during the Exercise with a short-fuse embassy reinforcement order. Marines began at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, boarded an MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, and flew to Camp Pendleton where they simulated reinforcing an embassy requesting assistance. Within the hour, the embassy received notional enemy contact and Fox Company engaged. Actors and actresses role-played as simulated casualties, sounds of simulated ammunition rang through the streets, and smoke filled the air as Marines tested their warfighting and response capabilities. At the end of this training iteration, Cpl. Earik Barton, a combat photographer with Communication Strategy and Operations, 1st MARDIV, interviewed Fox Company Commander Capt. Austin Dickey.
“The embassy reinforcement for Steel Knight [23.2] is the culmination of a large amount of coordination throughout I Marine Expeditionary Force,” Dickey said. “It gave me a lot of confidence to see our corpsmen, our Sailors, brothers and sisters helping us out, training and ready to respond to a situation like that. Friction is going to come up, the plan is going to change. I saw the Marines and Sailors handle that unanticipated event well.”
While Fox Company conducted embassy reinforcement training, Navy Corpsmen with 1st Medical Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, and Airmen with the 920th Rescue Wing worked together to navigate the complexities of a simulated mass casualty event at Inyokern Airfield in Inyokern, California. Together, the teams rehearsed concepts for treating and stabilizing casualties during extended transportation movements to facilitate a higher echelon of care. This was not the only event during Steel Knight where the Air Force brought the heat for joint training events.
“What a great opportunity to work side-by-side with our Air Force brothers and sisters during Steel Knight,” said U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Michael J. Borgschulte, Commanding General of 3rd MAW. “As the Air Force expands its expeditionary capabilities, there is natural synergy between our two services in the way we envision fighting in the Indo-Pacific.”
Pararescuemen with the 920th Rescue Wing conducted pararescue operations while working alongside Marines during their adjacent exercise, Distant Fury Stallion 23, used to validate the 920th Rescue Wing’s interoperability within the joint team while reaffirming lethality, precision, and ability to fight and win in future operation environments. Working as a tri-service team, Airmen, Marines and Sailors demonstrated their integration capabilities through joint combat search and rescue training. The pararescuemen jumped to retrieve simulated stranded Marine Corps pilots, and upon retrieval, the HH-60Gs took the pilots to the USS Cincinatti (LCS 20) for temporary follow-on care and medical assessments.
“One thing that has made this Exercise unique for the Air Force, specifically the 920th Rescue Wing, is seeing the expeditionary nature of how the U.S. Marine Corps operates,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Conrad, operations officer with the 920th Rescue Wing.
Another demonstration of the joint force’s combat capabilities included Marines with 3rd MAW loading and arming AGM-176 Joint Air-to-Ground Missiles from an AH-1Z Viper helicopter from the U.S. Navy's Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Cincinnati (LCS 20). The helicopter would go to fire the missile, commonly known as a JAGM, at a predetermined target. The JAGM is a precision-guided munition that provides improved lethality and operational flexibility for use against high value stationary, moving, and relocatable land and maritime targets. The targets were marked with a laser designator from a U.S. Navy MH-60R Seahawk helicopter, used to guide the missile to the objective.
“This Exercise really has evolved into what I MEF needs it to be today,” said U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Bradford Gering, commanding general of I MEF. “… it gives us an opportunity to integrate with the Navy and work on Navy-Marine Corps warfighting. I think the power of the MAGTF is everything that we’re able to bring to bear; we’re able to use the air wing for aviation capabilities to bring speed, agility, and depth into the battle space. We’re able to use expeditionary logistics, put them in places in a time of need when we need them, and then of course we’re able to maneuver throughout the battlespace with our ground combat arms capabilities using a combination of both surface and aviation to force project them.”
To see photos, videos, graphics, and stories from Steel Knight 23.2, visit our feature page on the Defense Visual Information Distribution System at http://www.dvidshub.net/feature/SteelKnight.