Camp Pendleton Co-Hosts 2-Week Indo-Pacific Readiness, Response Training

CAMP PENDLETON, CA — U.S. Marines and sailors with the First Marine Expeditionary Force's 3rd Fleet and the Air Force's 10th Air Force have completed Exercise Steel Knight 25, a two-week training program partly conducted in San Diego County and Arizona, military officials announced Tuesday.

The exercise, which concluded Sunday, tested the I MEF's ability to "integrate naval, joint, and information capabilities in support of Indo- Pacific readiness and crisis response," officials said.

Training was held at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Beale Air Force Base and San Clemente Island, according to Pendleton base officials.

"At its core, Steel Knight is a division-led mission rehearsal exercise, meaning we take what we learn here to make us sharper for the future fight," Maj. Gen. Thomas Savage, commanding general, First Marine Division, said in a statement. "Our Marines executed complex, multi-domain operations and integrated effectively with our MAGTF and joint partners--notably with the Air Force, which had the most robust presence to date at this year's Steel Knight. Ultimately, Steel Knight 25 demonstrates exactly what makes the 1st Marine Division and the entire I Marine Expeditionary Force team the Marine Corps' most combat-credible war fighting formation."

Officials said that throughout the exercise, Marines refined their ability to plan, deploy and command forces across dispersed, contested environments while rehearsing crisis response missions, including rapid deployment, forward command-and-control and embassy reinforcement.

The First Marine Division rehearsed decision-making, coordination, information advantage and the employment of kill-web enabled command and control, "a network that combines intel and warfare capabilities across different domains, including land, sea, air, space and cyberspace. This capability greatly increases interoperability among partners and allies," according to Marine officials.

Training also included long-range fires integration, distributed aviation operations, littoral mobility and operations in a congested information environment, which provided many junior Marines their most advanced training to date.

"I have been so impressed across all levels of the 1st Marine Division," Capt. Tyler Breeden said. "From the high standards set by the commanding general, to the professionalism demonstrated by the most junior Marine on the ground, we have shown our unique ability to respond to any crisis."

Marine officials with Steel Knight said the exercise reinforced I MEF's ability to integrate naval expeditionary forces, joint air assets and ground maneuver elements to support deterrence and crisis response in the Indo-Pacific.

— City News Service