U.S. Marines assigned to the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion (3D AABN), 1st Marine Division (1stMarDiv) participated in a waterborne training evolution with Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACVs) aboard amphibious transport dock ship USS Anchorage (LPD 23) in the Pacific Ocean, Feb. 12-13, 2022. The two-day training evolution focused on the safety and ship-to-shore capabilities for both the Marine Corps and Navy, as part of a larger training plan to refine tactics and doctrine for amphibious operations. During the evolution, the ACV demonstrated its survivability, maneuverability, and robust swim capabilities by participating in a series of open-ocean swims between Anchorage and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. Anchorage and designated safety boats remained in close proximity of the ACVs throughout the entirety of the amphibious operations, ensuring safety in all aspects of training.
“The safety of our Marines and Sailors is a top priority, especially as we continue to test the capabilities of the newest Marine Corps platform. The Sailors and Marines involved have received extensive training on operation of the craft, providing the Navy and Marine Corps team the opportunity to rehearse together for real-world events. This underway period is a true testament of the rigorous training our Sailors and Marines are doing to prepare for ACV waterborne operations,” said Baze. “They spend countless hours preparing, which is evident in the professional manner in which they conducted themselves throughout this evolution. I could not be more proud of each and every one of them.,” said Rear Adm. Wayne Baze, commander, Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 3.
The Marines with 3D AABN, 1stMarDiv worked alongside Anchorage’s crew to successfully demonstrate the ACVs ability to launch and recover from the well deck. The ACV is an eight-wheel drive, armored vehicle with open-ocean capabilities and land mobility. It’s a unique combination of previously-fielded amphibious vehicles and new technological advances to the fleet’s capabilities. The ACV’s ability to use the ocean and waterways to carry Marines and equipment provides expeditionary readiness to Marines on the move, wherever their mission takes them, across a variety of operating environments. 1stMarDiv is the oldest, largest, and most decorated division in the United States Marine Corps, with a combat-ready force of more than 22,000 Marines and Sailors. Headquartered at Camp Pendleton, California, the division is prepared to deploy as a scalable ground combat element structured to defeat peer, near-peer, and hybrid threats across the range of military operations.
USS Anchorage (LPD-23) is a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock and the second ship of the United States Navy to be namesake of the U.S. city of Anchorage, Alaska. The ship is the seventh ship in its class and was commissioned in her namesake city May 4, 2013. Anchorage’s keel was laid down on 24 September 2007, at the Avondale Shipyard near New Orleans, Louisiana, then owned by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems. The ship was launched on 12 February 2011.;sponsored by Mrs. Annette Conway, wife of James T. Conway, a former Commandant of the Marine Corps. She was christened two months later, on 14 May – the first ship christened by Huntington Ingalls Industries since Northrop Grumman spun off its shipbuilding divisions as a separate company. The ship was formally delivered and accepted by the U.S. Navy on 17 September 2012. Anchorage was commissioned 4 May 2013, in her eponymous city.
