NORFOLK, Va. — Preparing to fight and win the battles of the future, the Navy and Marine Corps are conducting a massive exercise.
It is called, appropriately enough, "Large Scale Exercise 2021."
Taking place across the globe, it is a progression of scenarios that will assess and refine the Navy and Marine Corps team's ability to employ precise, lethal, and overwhelming force.
The drill - said to be the largest of its kind in 40 years - involves 25,000 participants across 17 time zones, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, on 36 ships at sea and more than 50 virtual units.
The goal is to put adversaries on notice that the US can fight a global war on multiple fronts simultaneously.
At Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, sailors from Navy Expeditionary Combat Command Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Mobile Diving and Salvage, and Underwater Construction Teams did their part.
If a pier anywhere in the world is damaged or sabotaged, this team would respond.
Their leaders say they are ready.
"Like any high-performing team, you have to practice and be proficient in the activities that you perform," said Rear Adm. Christopher Asselta, deputy for Naval Construction Force, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command.
Commander Steven Cabos, commanding officer of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2 said this drill is vital.
"A scenario like this is driven to force us to apply all of our capabilities in a succinct action to generate the effect the fleet requires," he said.
The exercise has already gotten some high-profile visitors in House Armed Services Committee Member Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Virginia, 1st District), newly-confirmed Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, and Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Gilday.
Gilday said the exercise represents a "path to the future"
He continued: “No doubt, the Navy’s ability to conduct globally integrated operations is absolutely fundamental to us maintaining sea control and power projection. Ultimately, this exercise will help us refine concepts and capabilities so we can better deliver coordinated effects from all domains in support of the Joint Force."
Del Toro was also impressed.
“What separates us from our adversaries are our people,” he told a group of Sailors and Marines at Navy Warfare Development Command and aboard USS Kearsarge. “My commitment is to work tirelessly to get you the resources you need to fight and win. Thanks for what you do day-in and day-out.”
Over the past 10 years, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have conducted numerous major exercises in the European, Atlantic, and Pacific theatres, which have grown in scope and complexity in a testament to sustained U.S. commitment to maritime security globally.
The Navy says Large Scale Exercise 2021 is the first of what will become a triennial exercise with plans for future iterations to include allies and partners. It is a CNO-directed exercise led jointly by U.S. Fleet Forces Command, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and U.S. Naval Forces Europe alongside their Marine Corps counterparts, U.S. Marine Forces Pacific, U.S. Marine Forces Atlantic, and U.S. Marine Forces Europe.