Steve Greene News

Marines assigned to the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) offload a Landing Craft Utility (LCU) after disembarking USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) The LCU is assigned to Assault Craft Unit (ACU) 1 Det Delta. U.S. By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Ryan Tabios, U.S. The USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) (BHR) off-loaded the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) here May 25-28. The four-day offload saw the departure of more than 2,200 Sailors and Marines from BHR, USS Denver (LPD 9) and USS Rushmore (LSD 47). The offload also included 300,000 pounds of equipment and heavy artillery and the MEU’s Aviation Combat Element. “This was a calculated and well executed movement of personnel and equipment from ship to shore,” said Marine Gunnery Sgt.

USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) (BHR) and Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 5 brought Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) to a close Feb. 28. COMPTUEX, a two-part exercise of scripted and spontaneous simulations, is another step the strike group must complete to be certified ready for deployment. According to Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 7 Commander Capt. Bradley D. Martin, COMPTUEX further solidified the expeditionary strike group's ability to operate as a single warfighting entity. “COMPTUEX is a training opportunity that allows us to assess our ability to operate at the warfare commander level,” said Martin. “It allows us to bring the different parts of the strike group together and put them in a threat environment similar to what we would face in the real world.

USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) brought its Navy and Marine Corps team back together Jan. 22 to participate in a pre-deployment integrated training exercise, one of the final preparations for the ship's upcoming deployment. Ships assigned to Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 5, including USS Denver (LPD 9), USS Rushmore (LSD 47), USS Milius (DDG 69), USS Chosin (CG 65) and USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) got underway to kick off the pre-deployment training evolution. ESG Integration Training (ESGINT) is one of three pre-deployment, at-sea training exercises that give ESG 5 the opportunity to work together as a team and test out plans for the first time, according to Operations Department leading chief petty officer Master Chief Operations Specialist Gerard Sprewell.

The multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) was certified for well deck operations April 26, following two days of ship-to-shore maneuvers off the coast of Southern California. Bonhomme Richard launched and recovered a wide variety of landing craft, including amphibious assault vehicles (AAV), utility landing craft (LCU) and combat rubber raiding craft (CRRC). The ship also launched and recovered lightering amphibious recovery craft (LARC) for the first time in almost five years. A month earlier, BHR operated with air cushion landing craft (LCAC). “It takes a lot of training to launch and recover the various landing craft Bonhomme Richard supports,” said Senior Chief Boatswain’s Mate (SW) Mark Cass, deck department leading chief petty officer.