The Essex Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) successfully completed a two-week Composite Training Unit Exercise(COMPTUEX) April 1 off the coast of Southern California.

COMPTUEX is the second of three integrated-training events within the Essex ARG and 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) training cycle. The ARG/MEU team completed the first phase known as PHIBRON-MEU Integrated Training (PMINT) earlier in March, which gave the Blue/Green team their first opportunity to train together during staff-planning exercises and an amphibious-landing exercise.

"This underway really showed how far the Essex ARG and MEU have come since the last training period at sea," said Capt. Clint Carroll, commodore, Amphibious Squadron Three. "We are continually training for deployment, where we will be able to conduct a variety of sea-based operations as part of an integrated Navy-Marine Corps team."

COMPTUEX is designed to test multiple systems and capabilities to ensure required certifications are met prior to deployment. The ARG/MEU team conducted a variety of training scenarios to include humanitarian assistance/disaster relief operations, underway replenishment exercise, launching, loading and recovering amphibious craft, conducting rotary and fixed-wing flight operations, beach landing events and multiple visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) missions.

"Being able to integrate with the ships and their aircraft is essential to the training of our Marines," said Marine Col. Vance Cryer, Commanding Officer, 15th MEU. "We are able to align our goals through constant communication, briefing and collaborative training. This underway period, we were able to execute more complicated training operations and really work on the blue-green integration that is essential to mission accomplishment."

The Essex ARG consists of USS Essex (LHD 2), San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Anchorage (LPD 23) and Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Rushmore (LSD 47) and more than 2,600 Marines from the 15th MEU.

Additional Navy units assigned to and embarked aboard the Essex ARG/MEU include Tactical Air Control Squadron (TACRON) 11, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 21 and Naval Beach Group (NBG) 1, comprised of Assault Craft Unit (ACU) 5 and 1 and Beachmaster Unit (BMU) 1. The 15th MEU is comprised of Marine forces from Battalion Landing Team 3rd Battalion 1st Marines (BLT 3/1), Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 161 (VMM-161 REIN), and Combat Logistics Battalion 15 (CLB-15).

"This busy yet crucial training period at sea has allowed us to be mutually successful across a broad spectrum of missions as the blue-green team and apply the various lessons learned after each mission," said Capt. Pete Mantz, commanding officer, USS Essex (LHD 2). "We have been tightening our processes through continued training and are working better as a single cohesive Navy-Marine Corps team. We are excited to enter the last training phase as we make our final preparations for deployment."

The ARG/MEU team is now preparing for a Certification Exercise (CERTEX), the final phase in a complex-training series used to evaluate and prepare ARGs before deploying overseas.

U.S. 3rd Fleet leads naval forces in the Eastern Pacific from the West Coast of North America to the international date line, and provides the realistic, relevant training necessary for an effective global Navy.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/pages/Commander-Amphibious-Squadron-3/105934056106066 or www.cpr3.navy.mil.

For more news from USS Essex (LHD 2), visit www.navy.mil/.