Battalion Commander s Comments

16 Nov 2017 Battalion Commander s Comments Lava Dog Ohana, I d like to start by thanking the spouses, children, siblings, parents and extended family members for their support. The good news is that we are scheduled to return home in less than a month. Our Advanced Party is already home and posturing the battalion for success upon our return to Hawaii. Your loved one knows our return window and will communicate that directly with you. I ask that you do not post the return window on social media sites as a force protection measure. Throughout this deployment our Lava Dogs have performed exceptionally well. The picture to the right depicts a handful of Marines that received impacts awards for a job well done during an exercise in Hokkaido, Japan. You should be proud of the accomplishments that your Marine or Sailor made over the course of the deployment. We had a great amphibious exercise with the Sailors of the USS ASHLAND during Exercise BLUE CHROMITE 18. Most of the battalion had an opportunity to live on a ship for a few days and conduct amphibious operations from Assault Amphibious Vehicles (AAVs). Half of the battalion conducted nighttime helicopter assaults while the 81mm Mortar Platoon conducted Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel (TRAP) mission. Our amphibious proficiency significantly expanded during this rewarding exercise. We will utilize those lessons learned during Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) next summer. The battalion demonstrated it resilience during one of the most memorable rifle ranges I ve experienced. In true Lava Dog form our range was conducted during the start of a typhoon. We maintained focus while sleeping in tents in the training area. Soaked to the bone each and every day, we overcame the weather through discipline and team work. After a bit of complaining, war stories and comradery our team performed exceptionally well on qualification day with the preponderance of the battalion qualifying as experts. The final month of deployment will consist of equipment preparation, return and reunion classes and numerous Professional Military Education (PME) classes. We look forward to our reunion and have lots of interesting and exciting experiences to share. Semper Fidelis, Lava 6

Important Family Readiness Contact Information for Hawaii Family Readiness Officer: orin.lucas@usmc.mil or (808) 257-1433 Military & Family Life Counselor: lavadogshawaii@gmail.com or (808) 285-8407 3d Marines Chaplain: charles.luff@usmc.mil (808) 257-8799 Remain Behind Element Officer in Charge brian.huysman@usmc.mil or (808) 291-9156 Want to see your Lava Dog in action? Facebook.com/LavaDogsUSMC For hi-res photo downloads of your Marines, use the link provided below Chaplain Update Aloha Lava Families! October was another busy month as the Battalion prepared for and executed Exercise BLUE CHROMITE 18. Despite one typhoon after another we safely and successfully got in some good repetitions which established a baseline for amphibious operations. RP3 (FMF) Cason and I went aboard the USS ASHLAND with our Lava Dogs, living life at sea for several days and then splashing with Company A. It was quite an experience and one you should ask your Lava Dog about! We had CNN on board and they produced quality videos of several aspects of the exercise. https://www/dvidshub.net/po rtfolio/1191761/aaronpatterson --or-- search your Marine s full unit on the DVIDS main page Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment We celebrated the Navy and Marine Corps Birthday with cake cutting ceremonies. Recently, a Return and Reunion brief was conducted in Oahu to prepare you for the return of your Lava Dog. We will conduct Return and Reunion briefs in Okinawa this month, to prepare your Marine and Sailor for life back home. The key thing I believe for a successful return and reunion of families is to be patient with each other and not expect life to instantly go back the way it was. Given time and special circumstances we all change, which requires patience to get through the difficulty of deployment separation and reunion. Those changes may cause friction between you and your spouse. The key thing to remember is this word TRANSITION. Allow yourself and your Lava Dog to ease back into each other s life, providing opportunities to understand each other and communicating with a purpose. As always - we appreciate the support you give through prayer and the special things you do for each of your Lava Dogs to remind them that you are thinking of them, missing them and proud of the work they do. We will see you soon! Chaplain Maruszewski

Head Hunter (H&S Co) From the Commanding Officer: Headhunter Ohana, you will be delighted to know we are all brushing up on our Hawaiian Creole English (aka pidgin) in preparation for our journey home! As the commander, I have the privilege of observing your Marines and Sailors tireless efforts that ensure the success of this battalion. Nothing can be greater than Marines and Sailors working together to achieve a common mission and taking care of each other along the way; nothing could make me more proud than to be a part of such focused and driven team of men that execute their daily duties with menacing intensity. The last weeks of the deployment can often be the most difficult, and although the end is in our sights, your Marines and Sailors will remain ever-attentive. Continue devoting your energy to supporting your Lava Dog and we look forward to seeing you in the coming weeks. From the First Sergeant: We had the chance to reflect on all of the accomplishments we have achieved and there is much to be proud of. It has been a rigorous deployment and we have seen your Marines and Sailors do tremendous things. We thank you for your support and love as we continue to push through the last month and prepare to return home. Warhammer (Weapons Co) The early part of October provided an opportunity for Marines of Warhammer Company to complete necessary PME and Annual Training. The PME consisted of 14 Marines in Lance Corporal Seminar, 8 Marines in Corporals Course, 2 in Sergeants Course, 1 in Career Course, and 80 Marines enhancing their marksmanship on the Rifle Range. The time allotted for the Marines to attend such events was invaluable to their development and the knowledge and leadership skills will remain with us for our career. The rest of October was devoted to the planning of Exercise BLUE CHROMITE 18. This operation is an annual exercise that integrates both the Marine Corps and Navy and provides unique opportunities to all service members. Snipers developed their surveillance and reconnaissance plans for Bravo Company s raid in an urban environment while the Marines of 2d Section 81mm Mortar Platoon conducted a night. The Marines of 1st Section 81mm Mortar Platoon enjoyed three nights on the USS ASHLAND and conducted an amphibious assault while supporting Charlie Company. CAAT-1 conducted surveillance and security missions for the Battalion Combat Operations Center. CAAT-2 established a defense on a beach for two days. Headquarters Platoon facilitated the establishment of the Fires Support Coordination Center aboard the USS ASHLAND. The experiences and training that Warhammer received was awesome. Although Marines are amphibious by nature, the opportunities to exercise these capabilities are few and far between. A majority of the Marines had never been on a US NAVY ship before or conducted an assault from a ship to the beach via AAVs. The Marines and Sailors of Warhammer performed extremely well throughout the exercise. We had a little taste of what it means to be ready for amphibious operations at a moment s notice. We would like to congratulate PFCs Alexander, Ashby, and McRill on being promoted to Lance Corporal, Lance Corporals Marcolla and Spicer on being promoted to Corporal, Corporal Hampton on being promoted to Sergeant, and Sergeants Miller and Lausch on promotion to Staff Sergeant. We would also like to congratulate Corporal Block on winning the

Regimental Meritorious Sergeant Board and his subsequent promotion. We are very pleased to see the Marines continue to develop into great leaders. We cannot be more proud of the Marines and Sailors of Warhammer Company. They continue to display the utmost professionalism and strive to achieve the IT factor in everything we do. Thank you for your continual support. Semper Fi, Warhammer 6 Ares (Co A) From the Commanding Officer: Aloha, Ares Families and friends, October has come and gone. For the majority of the month, your Marines were preparing for Exercise BLUE CHROMITE 18. The purpose of the exercise was to gain experience working with the Navy s amphibious ships and develop bonds between the blue/green team. Our part consisted of an amphibious landing on Kin Blue Beach utilizing AAVs. Despite numerous delays due to two typhoons passing through our region, we embarked on the USS ASHLAND for three days and two nights. This was a valuable opportunity for the company to experience a mission type that 99.9% had not, assisting us in our preparation for Exercise RIMPAC upon our return to Hawaii. The remainder of our time in Okinawa will be spent preparing to turnover our gear to 3d Battalion, 3d Marines. We will conduct weapons maintenance, inventories, and sustain our fast rope qualifications on the Camp Hansen tower. Semper Fi! Capt Reynolds

Berserker (Co B) Company B Families, Happy Marine Corps Birthday to all. Your Marines look outstanding for being 242 year old! Our time in Okinawa continues to be busy, with Marines and Sailors conducting a wide array of training. The Lava Dogs hunkered down for two typhoons and then conducted a night-time raid, using helicopters to take us to the fight. The company attacked an exercise force consisting of roughly 30 Marines. We captured the Marine playing the part of the high value target, and used the helicopters to extract us from the enemy area. We also had the opportunity to fire a new recoilless rifle the Marine Corps is experimenting with. The weapon has the ability to destroy tanks and other armored assets from distances of more than 1,000 yards. It was a great experience to learn about new technology and capabilities the Marine Corps will use to make us a better equipped fighting force. Throughout the deployment, Company B has done an outstanding jobs of representing the Lava Dogs. The feedback we ve received from different Marine units, along with partnered nations, has been tremendously positive. After celebrating the Marine Corps 242nd Birthday, our focus for the next few weeks will be to ensure Marines and Sailors are prepared to return to Hawaii and remain a viable, ready fighting force. As always, if there are any questions regarding the deployment, status of our return to Hawaii, or just a question regarding your Marine or Sailor, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Battalion s Family Readiness Officer. Semper Fidelis! Capt Vince Thompson Chaos (Co C) Konnichiwa Chaos Families Things are still busy here in Okinawa, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. After numerous delays because of two large typhoons, we conducted the final scheduled exercise for deployment. During this exercise, the company conducted a raid on a simulated enemy air field by coordinating numerous flights of helicopters to insert and extract the company from the objective. Additionally, a first for most in the company, we conducted a shore to ship movement via AAVs, spent the night on a US Navy Landing Dock Ship (LSD), and then conducted an amphibious splash and assault onto a beach. Throughout every training event, your Marines and Sailors have continued to do their very best, representing you, the company, and the battalion exceptionally well. We made a tremendous reputation for ourselves with partner nations, sister

services, and adjacent Marine units. Now the detail work of turning over living and work spaces, equipment, and weapons to our replacements begins. We look forward to our return to MCB Hawaii, but we remain focused and ready to respond to any crisis. We thank you for your continued support. Arigato Gozaimasu! Capt David Rooks, Chaos 6