DVIDS – News – USS Germantown conducts joint live-fire exercise with 15th MEU en route to RIMPAC 2024

The Whidbey Island-class amphibious landing ship USS Germantown (LSD 42) successfully conducted a joint live-fire exercise with Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) in the Pacific Ocean, June 19.

The sailors and Marines fired more than 2,000 rounds from multiple .50-caliber M2A1 Heavy Barrel machine guns as they headed toward Hawaii.

“Integrated firing with crew deflection weapons has honed the skills of the Navy and Marine Corps Combat Team. This exercise provided valuable training on service-specific tactics, techniques and procedures,” said 1st Lt. Patrick Murray, weapons platoon commander for Blackfoot Company, 15th MEU. “It also helped build camaraderie across the ship: from the weapons control officer to the Marines and sailors behind the weapons, all hands came together to enhance the lethality of this amphibious team.”

The USS Germantown is transporting nearly 300 Marines from the 15th MEU based at Camp Pendleton to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. The Marines will participate in the 29th biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC).

Along with the 15th MEU, USS Germantown hosts personnel from the 11th MEU, Mobile Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit 11, Naval Special Warfare, U.S. Coast Guard Port Security Unit 311, and U.S. Coast Guard Command Air Force Special Operations.

“It was great to see the Sailors and Marines throwing shells and doing what we're supposed to do,” remarked Cmdr. Ken Zilka, commanding officer of the USS Germantown. “I am proud to see our warfighters demonstrate Germantown’s operational flexibility across the Naval Service and the Department of Defense as a whole. This crew continues to show off their skills as we prepare for our next mission.

Germantown is currently conducting routine operations within the U.S. 3rd Fleet.

Twenty-nine nations, 40 surface ships, three submarines, 14 national land forces, more than 150 aircraft and 25,000 military personnel are participating in RIMPAC in and around the Hawaiian Islands, June 27 through August 1. RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and maintaining cooperative relationships among participants, essential to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and the security of the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2024 is the 29th exercise in the series which began in 1971.