US Marines in Okinawa inaugurate coordination of air and surface strikes with US Navy aircraft carrier.

According to Matthew M. Burke in The Stars and Stripes, the U.S. Marine Corps has taken a big step in developing the commandant’s island-fighting doctrine by coordinating simulated air and surface strikes with sailors aboard an aircraft carrier.
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M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) of 3rd Marine Division, 12th Marine Regiment,  unloaded from USNS Brunswick (Picture source: USMC/DVIDS)

Exercise Noble Jaguar 2021 began Sept. 28 and involved approximately 60 Marines from the 3rd Marine Division, 12th Marine Regiment, rocket crews from 3rd Battalion, 12th Marines, and the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.

For the first time, Navy planners and intelligence officers from the USS Carl Vinson joined the staff at 3rd Marine Division headquarters for the exercise. Meanwhile, the nearby carrier’s crew took part in the communications exercise alongside other units of the 7th Fleet, Matthew M. Burke reports. “We’ll have a Navy or Marine aircraft up in the air, find a target, communicate that, sometimes through the Navy, sometimes through the Air Force,” Montero said. “And then eventually at our level, we’ll have all of the missiles come on to the same [target], so we’re combining those strikes together.”

Certain Marine and Navy communication systems are compatible, while others are not. Developing the “patches,” or establishing connections prior to any engagement, is key to readiness.