NORFOLK, Va. — Large Scale Exercise 2023 is living up to its name, with 25,000 Sailors and Marines fighting a virtual fight across 22 time zones around the world.
It's a simulated massive global conflict that merges real-world operations with virtually constructed scenarios.
The idea is "to improve warfighting effectiveness against strategic competition."
It comes after 20 years of post-9/11 combat versus terrorists in the Middle East.
"Your maritime force is the Navy and Marine Corps. For the last two decades-plus, the nation asked us to be in other places," said Lt. Gen. Brian Cavanaugh, Fleet Marine Force Atlantic Commander.
"We have a responsibility and a duty to be able to respond globally to threats and vulnerabilities to peer adversaries and competition. And the way you get great at that is to practice that," said Admiral Daryl Caudle, U.S. Fleet Forces Commander.
"The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in war," said Admiral Sam Paparo, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander
The exercise will test whether U.S. Fleet Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet and US Naval Forces Europe would be truly prepared if a global conflict actually broke out.
"So, Large Scale Exercise is a demonstrative way to put the world on notice that we're watching it all, and we are able with our global force to operate anywhere in the world and be a force for good there," said ADM. Caudle.
The six Carrier Strike Groups to take part are the Bush, Eisenhower, Truman, Carl Vinson, Nimitz and Ronald Reagan CSGs.
The three Amphibious Ready groups involved are the Kearsarge, Iwo Jima and America ARGs.
This is actually the second large-scale exercise. The first one was in 2021. This one goes until August 18.