U.S. and coalition forces conducted an amphibious assault as part of Exercise Bold Alligator 2017 (BA17) on the shoreline of Camp Lejeune, N.C. Oct. 25, 2017.

Bold Alligator is an annual exercise established in 2011 featuring U.S. Navy and Marine Corps personnel undertaking tactical level training for amphibious operations in support of the Navy-Marine Corp team's core mission of maritime power projection.

This year's exercise incorporated amphibious and carrier strike group operations along with expeditionary mine countermeasures to provide a rigorous training environment for the combined forces. Nine partner countries participated in the training.

"The ability to connect and improve our interoperability with partner nations is an important goal for Bold Alligator," said Capt. Daniel Blackburn, commander, Amphibious Squadron 6. "Creating a strong team between the Navy and Marine Corps is the key enabler for us to have the ability to project power from the maritime environment."

D-Day, the main event of BA17, was a simulated, live amphibious assault on the beach involving multiple vessels and crafts from U.S. and partner nations. Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV) loaded with U.S. Marines and allies led the charge towards the beachhead. Amphibious dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) and Mexican Navy ship ARM Papaloapan (A411) served as critical staging platforms for the vehicles and launched the first two waves of AAVs commencing the assault.

After securing the beach, landing craft air cushions (LCAC) were the primary method of transport for the remainder of the amphibious operations. Six LCACs were used by the team to transport personnel, equipment and cargo throughout the exercise.

Upon arrival on the beach, coalition forces were met by their counterparts from the Marines and Navy Beachmaster Unit (BMU) 4 to conduct an expeditious and safe offload. D-Day also included Marine Corps helicopters, vehicles, and partner nations' vehicles and field units.

Assault Craft Unit (ACU) 4, assigned to Joint-Expeditionary Base Little Creek in Virginia Beach, embarked six LCACs between three U.S. Navy ships: amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24), and amphibious dock landing ships USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44) and Fort McHenry. Together these units completed approximately 51 ship-to-shore movements throughout the exercise.

"LCACs are what the Navy primarily uses because of their versatility, load capacity and over-the-horizon range capabilities," said Master Chief Operations Specialist William Clements, craftmaster for LCAC 87. "LCACs can reach 75 percent of the world's coastlines."

Sailors and Marines also worked alongside their foreign counterparts to share information and further develop relationships towards working together in future exercises.

By the end of D-day, all participants had the opportunity to conduct extensive exercises oriented towards real world operations.

"Lack of interoperability was a possible road block with working together with other nations' forces," said Arlington's Command Master Chief Charles Eakley. "Bringing everyone together and uniting behind a common mission was the real compelling force for the unit cohesion we saw."

Leaders expressed that the success of BA17 raised the possibility of expanding future allied training exercises into larger operations.

"I believe that exercises like Bold Alligator will continue to grow in complexity and size," said Blackburn. "There's a continuing need to develop our amphibious warfare skills and to expand our relationships with our partner nations. I also attribute the success of this year's Bold Alligator to the hard work and dedication of the crews of Arlington, Fort McHenry, Gunston Hall, Beachmaster Unit 2, Assault Craft Unit 4 and the Mexican Navy ship ARM Papaloapan."

BA17 slated for Oct. 18-30, 2017, along the eastern seaboard boosted interoperability and partnership. Improving Navy-Marine Corps amphibious core competencies along with coalition, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and allied partner nations is a necessary investment in the current and future readiness of our forces and a mission element of BA17.

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