Sailors and Marines from the amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17) and the embarked 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit completed composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX), May 26.

COMPTUEX is designed to prepare and assess San Antonio and the rest of the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, individually and as a unit, prior to deployment.

"The goal of this exercise is to demonstrate that the San Antonio can accomplish the full range of missions we may be tasked with during our deployment, and I would say we met that goal," said Capt. Mike Patterson, commanding officer of San Antonio. "We demonstrated that we could operate successfully as an integrated ARG/MEU team under very challenging conditions and in a complex environment."

During the exercise, San Antonio ran through a series of drills that tested the crew's ability to respond to different scenarios, such as maritime patrol, humanitarian assistance and visit, board, search and seizure operations.

COMPTUEX marked the completion of the integrated phase of the ship's training cycle, as well as the certification of San Antonio as deployment ready.

Key components of COMPTUEX include communication and cooperation, not only between the ships, but also between the Sailors and Marines aboard.

"We are designed to operate as one team," said Patterson. "The MEU needs the support of the ARG, and the ARG has only limited missions that we can perform without the MEU. It was great to see the Navy and Marine Corps team come together and execute our missions flawlessly."

The Wasp ARG is composed of Amphibious Squadron Six, the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1), San Antonio, the amphibious dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41), and the 22nd MEU.

For more information on the USS San Antonio visit http://www.navy.mil/local/lpd17/

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