II MEF Hosts Maritime Preposition Force Staff Planning Course

CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, UNITED STATES

Story by Cpl. Stephen Campbell

II Marine Expeditionary Force

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Oct. 16, 2019) – Thirty-nine U.S. Marines graduated from the Maritime Preposition Force (MPF) Staff Planning Course at Camp Lejeune Oct. 11, 2019.

This course helps align II Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) and 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) with the Commandant’s Planning Guidance.

The Marine Corp’s MPF program provides equipment and supplies to enable rapid deployment and employment of MEBs and other amphibious task forces from prepositioned shipping. 2nd MEB is a subordinate unit of II MEF and provides a scalable Marine Air-Ground Task Force to conduct crisis response and or contingency response in order to support Marines forward deployed.

“2nd MEB has a core competency requirement to conduct Maritime Preposition Force operations at the MEB level that will align the unit with the Commandants Planning Guidance,” said U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Bryan Boyle, a logistics officer with Expeditionary Warfare Training Group Atlantic based out of Norfolk, Virginia. “The Marine Corps also has a core competency mission to do that force-wide, and this is part of the entry capability to provide the equipment necessary to outfit a MEB forward deployed around the globe.”

This course supports the Commandant’s Planning Guidance and naval integration by instructing Marines and Sailors in how to conduct MPF operations. These skills will be exercised early next year during Maritime Prepositioning Force Exercise in Florida.

Requirements to attend the course typically include having the pay grade of E-6 and above. However, Boyle knows there are some junior Marines who have the capability to think and act on the strategic level, therefore, he will welcome junior Marines into his class if they get command approval.

“We had a private first class in the course that graduated today,” said Boyle. “She attended the course because her command saw at her capabilities and decided to bring her to this class. I have no issues with that, and she did well.”

That Marine was Pfc. Leslie Bowie, a logistics embarkation specialist with 2nd MEB, G-4. After graduating from this course she will be able to see her role in the Marine Corps picture more clearly and help her peers understand their mission better.

“I am a newly joined [embarkation] Marine to the MEB and this course has prepared me to go on the Maritime Prepositioning Force Exercise,” said Bowie. “Later on in my career I can take this knowledge that I learned here, see how everything fits together, and help my peers understand our role in the Marine Corps’ mission.”

II MEF is the Marine Corps’ major warfighting organization on the East Coast aligned with U.S. European and Africa Commands as well as the U.S. Navy’s 2nd and 6th Fleets. Maintaining readiness through training is key for the command to meet its mission.

Camp Lejeune will host the course in March of 2020 to once again help Marines and their commands prepare for when they are called around the globe.