Prepared at all times; 31st MEU conducts urban training exercises in Singapore

11/9/2010 By Lance Cpl. Tyler C. Vernaza, 31st MEU

MURAI URBAN TRAINING FACILITY, MURAI, Republic of Singapore — Marines with Company A (Reinforced), Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, conducted urban training exercises with the military of the Republic of Singapore, Nov. 6.

Soldiers with the Republic of Singapore Army and 20 of their sergeants major came to observe the Marines and share their experiences. With about 600 years of combined military service, the sergeants major had plenty of knowledge to go around.

31st MEU aids isolated Philippine towns after Super Typhoon Juan devastates area

10/23/2010 By Lance Cpl. Tyler C. Vernaza, 31st MEU

USS ESSEX, off the coast of the Republic of the Philippines — Marines and Sailors with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and Amphibious Squadron 11 responded to the call of the government of the Philippines to help thousands of citizens affected by Super Typhoon Juan (international name Megi) Oct 21 - 23.

Super Typhoon Juan (international name Megi) entered the Republic of the Philippines with 150-mph winds, large waves and heavy rain on Oct. 18, causing extensive destruction to municipalities along the eastern coast of the Province of Isabela.

Philippine Marines learn boat skills from Baker

10/12/2010 By Cpl. Michael A. Bianco, 31st MEU

TERNATE, Republic of the Philippines (Oct. 12, 2010) — Republic of the Philippines Marines received a class from U.S. Marines with Company B, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, on procedures for operating a Combat Rubber Reconnaissance Craft during a boat raid.

According to the commanding officer of the Philippine Marine Corps’ boat company, the use of CRRCs is a fairly new for their Corps and they are still developing their own tactics and techniques.

Marines at sea prepare for life after Corps

09.19.2010 By Lance Cpl. Tyler Vernaza, 31st MEU

USS DENVER (LPD 9), At Sea — Two Marines currently assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit are taking college history classes through distance education during their deployment.

With all of the duties and other training the Marines do, it is sometimes difficult to balance work and studies.

Battalion landing team conducts boat raid in support of certification exercise

By Cpl. Michael A. Bianco, 31st MEU

U.S. NAVAL BASE GUAM — More than 10 Combat Rubber Reconnaissance Craft filled with Marines from Company B, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, blasted through the waves off the shores of Guam during a mock boat raid in support of CERTEX, Sept. 19.

Battalion landing team's Helicopter Company seizes airfield during first exercise

By Cpl. Michael A. Bianco, 31st MEU

U.S. NAVAL BASE GUAM — Company C, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, conducted its first mock airfield seizure as the MEU’s Helicopter Company, Sept. 19.

Expeditionary unit's Amphibious Assault Vehicle platoon trains alongside sister service

By 1st Lt. Caleb D. Eames, 31st MEU

USS DENVER — Marines with the Amphibious Assault Vehicle platoon, Battalion Landing Team 1/7, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, conducted operations between two ships of Amphibious Squadron 11 at sea, Sept. 7.

The AAVs traveled between the USS Denver and the USS Harpers Ferry to conduct training that increased the proficiency of Marines and Sailors and enhanced Navy-Marine Corps teamwork.

From Shore to Sea; BLT remains ready

8/13/2010 By Lance Cpl. Tyler C. Vernaza, 31st MEU

CAMP SCHWAB, OKINAWA, Japan (August 17, 2010) — Marines with Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, prepared for the MEU’s fall patrol with a simulated mechanized raid on combat town, August 13.

Helo Company secures village

8/12/2010 By Cpl. Michael A. Bianco, 31st MEU

CENTRAL TRAINING AREA, OKINAWA, Japan (Aug. 17, 2010) — Marine Expeditionary Units throughout the Marine Corps must be capable of rapid insertion and extraction while executing specialized raids. Marines and sailors with Company C, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 31st MEU, conducted a helicopter raid at Landing Zone Snipe, Aug. 12.

Marines utilize zodiacs, splash to objective

8/10/2010 By Cpl. Michael A. Bianco, 31st MEU

KIN BLUE, OKINAWA, Japan — As they race through the water, the zodiac boats slam against harsh waves in almost total darkness. The Marines hold on tightly, but look calm and collected as they navigate the craft to shore, where a simulated enemy awaits.

1/7 arrives in Okinawa to join 31st MEU

7/11/2010 By 1st Lt. Caleb Eames, 31st MEU

KADENA AIR BASE, OKINAWA, Japan (July 12, 2010) - — Marines assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, based out of Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twenty-nine Palms, Calif., arrived in Okinawa July 11 to be deployed with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.

‘First Team’ trains for every clime, place

June 11, 2010 Lance Cpl. M. C. Nerl, Combat Correspondent

ABOARD THE USS BONHOMME RICHARD - Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, along with others from the Combat Center, boarded the amphibious assault ships USS Germantown and Bonhomme Richard to participate in Dawn Blitz May 31 to June 4.

'First Team' Marines seize day, airfield

5/14/2010 By Cpl. Andrew Avitt, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms

TWENTYNINE PALMS AIRPORT, Calif. — Sand blew lightly across a quiet Twentynine Palms’ Airport runway, as the chopping sounds of flying metal beasts echoed throughout the Morongo Basin May 10.

The Marines, with Company C, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, glided to the soft sand now whirling around their CH-53 Super Stallion helicopters, as shots from role-playing insurgent fighters rang out across the airfield.

Simulator helps combat stress

4/20/10 - By Gretel C. Kovach, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Their mission is to meet the village leader and assess his needs, but this being Afghanistan and war, Sgt. Anthony Garbo hands out the ammunition. Then his Marines disperse, past a plot of red poppies and slabs of meat hanging in the bazaar, the Muslim call to prayer keening in the distance.

‘First Team’ revives amphibious roots

4/23/2010 By Cpl. Andrew Avitt, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms

All was quiet on the shores of San Onofre, Calif., the night of April 14, except for the sound of waves crashing on the shore as the tide rolled in and out.

The scene was still - almost surreal - until two Marines rose from the water slowly and aimed their rifles toward the sandy beach ahead. Their objective – find a safe landing zone for an amphibious raid force tasked with taking out a simulated lightly-defended enemy force three kilometers inland.

'First Team' Marines continue training for MEU mission

4/12/2010 By Lance Cpl. Benjamin Crilly, Regimental Combat Team 7

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Pilots and their crews undergo rigorous training to prepare themselves in the event of a crash in a combat zone, but they are not the only personnel who train to be ready. Marines and sailors on the ground and at sea also train to answer the call.

Marines with 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, conducted a Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel exercise at the K2 Military Operations in Urban Terrain facility here March 25.

Marines learn to recover downed aircraft personnel

3/26/2010 By Cpl. R. Logan Kyle , Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Marine pilots and their crew provide ground units tactical leverage over today’s enemies with superior firepower, maneuverability and other key elements crucial to winning a war. When an aircraft goes down, those ground units are expected to return the favor by quickly and efficiently recovering their comrades.

In your face; Marines train to be nonlethal

3/26/2010 By Cpl. Monica C. Erickson, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. — “Close your eyes and take a deep breath.” Those were the last words the Marines with Battery M, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regimentand two company’s with 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, heard before being sprayed in the face with Oleoresin Capsicum, more commonly known as pepper spray, during their level one contamination training at Del Valle Field March 23.

Former ‘First Team’ Marine recognized for civil service

4/1/2010 By Cpl. R. Logan Kyle, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — First Sgt. Billy Davidson, a former member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, received the Sheriff’s Medal for Valor during the 2010 San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Exceptional Service Awards ceremony at the California Theatre of the Performing Arts Wednesday.

‘First Team’ returns to amphibious roots, trains like WWII Raiders

During World War II, an elite group was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to carry out clandestine amphibious attacks while operating from small rubber boats behind enemy lines. The Marine Raiders, as they were aptly named, were the first American special operations personnel to see combat in the war.

Baker Co. Marine receives M1 Garand

The M1 Garand rifle saw action in World War II, Korea and even the early years of Vietnam, despite the M14 service rifle’s official adoption in 1957. With nearly 35 years of use in the Corps, many Marines have lived and died by their M1s, setting in stone a rich history and tradition behind the infantrymens’ first standard-issue, semi-automatic service rifle.

First Team on the hunt

A Marine, clad in camouflage utilities and bearing a full combat load, discovers a set of shoeprints leading away from the remnants of a destroyed military vehicle. Slowly contemplating his next move, he tracks the patterns to a nearby village where he watches and observes its inhabitants. After gathering intelligence, he and his comrades launch an assault with clear knowledge of who the enemy is, eliminating any chance of escape. He is a warrior. He is a hunter.