25k US sailors, Marines complete global, aptly named Large Scale Exercise

TALISMAN SABRE. JUNIPER OAK. AIR DEFENDER. 2023 IS FULL OF MILITARY EXERCISES, AND LET’S BE HONEST, THEY HAVE SOME GREAT NAMES.

THE US NAVY AND MARINE CORPS JUST WRAPPED UP ANOTHER JOINT TRAINING OPERATION. THE PENTAGON CALLED IT ONE OF THE MOST REALISTIC AND TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED EXERCISES EVER EXECUTED. SO, WHAT SORT OF SICK NAME DID THE POWERS THAT BE GIVE THE DRILL? LARGE SCALE EXERCISE.

LIVING UP TO ITS NAME, 25,000 SAILORS AND MARINES ACROSS 22 TIME ZONES TOOK PART IN THIS YEAR’S LARGE SCALE EXERCISE. IT’S THE SECOND ITERATION OF THE EVENT, THE FIRST WAS HELD BACK IN 2021.

LSE 2023 SIMULATED A SCENARIO WHERE TWO NEAR-PEER ADVERSARY NATIONS WERE ACTING AGGRESSIVELY, AND THIS VIRTUAL SITUATION REQUIRED A MULTI-FACETED GLOBAL RESPONSE FROM THE US NAVY AND MARINES.

LSE COMBINED BOTH LIVE AND VIRTUAL ELEMENTS INTO THE TRAINING. THIS YEAR’S LIVE ELEMENTS INCLUDED EVERYTHING FROM AIRCRAFT CARRIERS TO SUBMARINES TO SHORE LOGISTICS AND MAINTENANCE CREWS.

THE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY ON THE NAVY VESSELS ALLOWS THEM ALL TO CONNECT THROUGH A MASSIVE VIRTUAL NETWORK. FOR INSTANCE, WITH THE EASE OF ESSENTIALLY PLAYING A VIDEO GAME, SAILORS SITTING ON A SHIP DOCKED IN NORTH CAROLINA COULD INTERACT WITH THEIR FELLOW SAILORS ONBOARD A SHIP IN THE MEDITERRANEAN TO COORDINATE OPERATIONS AS IF BOTH SHIPS WERE IN THE SAME LOCATION. VARIOUS OTHER VIRTUAL ALLIED SHIPS AND ELEMENTS ALSO TOOK PART IN THE LARGE SCALE EXERCISE, AS WELL AS A HOST OF VIRTUAL COMBATANTS FROM THE TWO NEAR-PEER ADVERSARIAL NATIONS.

WHILE THE NAVY DIDN’T SAY THE TWO ENEMY NATIONS WERE MEANT TO SIMULATE CHINA AND RUSSIA, THE TACTICS EMPLOYED BY THE ENEMY VESSELS IN LSE WERE BASED ON QUOTE “REAL WORLD EVENTS.”

THE SHEER SIZE OF LARGE SCALE EXERCISE IS DESIGNED TO TEST THE FUNDAMENTAL COMPONENTS OF HOW THE MARINES AND NAVY WILL FIGHT IN FUTURE CONFLICTS. AFTER TWO DECADES LOCKED IN LAND-BATTLES, THE MARINES ARE GOING BACK TO THEIR ISLAND-HOPPING ROOTS, RELYING MORE ON EXPEDITIONARY TACTICS TO OPERATE FROM LITTORAL REGIONS.

THE NAVY WILL NEED TO COUNTER EMERGING THREATS LIKE UNMANNED SYSTEMS AND NEW ELECTRONIC WARFARE MEASURES, AS WELL AS THE OLD FAVORITES LIKE ANTI-SHIP MISSILES, TORPEDOS, SUBMARINES AND OTHER SURFACE VESSELS.

WHILE THE WAR-FIGHTING WAS ALL VIRTUAL, THE CREW OF THE USS PORTER STILL HAD TIME TO PERFORM SOME REAL LIFE HEROICS DURING LSE 2023. FOUR CIVILIAN SCUBA DIVERS, WHO’D BEEN MISSING FOR 14 HOURS, WERE SPOTTED FLOATING ON A SMALL RAFT ABOUT 40 NAUTICAL MILES OFF THE COAST OF NORTH CAROLINA.

THE PORTER SENT A SMALL SUPPORT CRAFT TO RESCUE THE DIVERS. THE COMMANDER OF THE NAVY’S 2nd FLEET SAID THE FACT THE PORTER WAS ABLE TO CONDUCT THE RESCUE AND PARTICIPATE IN ONE OF THE BIGGEST GLOBAL NAVAL EXERCISES OF THE YEAR IS A TESTAMENT TO THE CREWS FLEXIBILITY AND READINESS.

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