Hub-Spoke-Node: Facilitating Combined Force Littoral Maneuver During Balikatan 24

From DVIDS (May 9, 2024): Hub-Spoke-Node: Facilitating Combined Force Littoral Maneuver During Balikatan 24

Photo By Sgt. Jennifer Andrade | U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Alexis Medina, an expeditionary fuel technician with Marine Wing Support Squadron 174, refuels a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter as part of forward arming and refueling point operations alongside Philippine Marines, with Marine Battalion Landing Team 10, and U.S. Army soldiers during Balikatan 24 in Basco, Batanes Province, Philippines, April 30, 2024. BK 24 is an annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the U.S. military designed to strengthen bilateral interoperability, capabilities, trust, and cooperation built over decades of shared experiences. The Black Hawk helicopter is with the 225th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jennifer Andrade) 

CAMP AGUINALDO, PHILIPPINES
05.09.2024
Courtesy Story
Exercise Balikatan

CAMP AGUINALDO, Quezon City, Philippines – In a display of enhanced interoperability, Philippine and U.S. military forces worked shoulder-to-shoulder in Northern Luzon and the Batanes Islands to establish and operate vital sustainment hubs for conducting all-domain, expeditionary operations on various islands in the Luzon Strait, including Mavulis, Itbayat, and Batan, during Balikatan 24.

The sustainment hubs, consisting of air sites and forward arming and refueling points, extended the operational reach of expeditionary aviation and enabled the establishment of expeditionary advanced bases on key maritime terrain. During Exercise Balikatan 24, Marine Wing Support Squadron 174, alongside their Philippine counterparts, established multiple purpose-built FARPs to create a sustainment web for distributed maritime security operations and the employment of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems in and around the Luzon Strait.

"The strategic importance of Lal-lo airport to support defensive operations in the Luzon Strait cannot be overstated," said Philippine Army Col. Michael Logico, the executive agent and spokesperson of Balikatan Exercise 39-2024. "The aviation support system and the combined force established there are central to our ability to simulate defensive operations across distributed maritime key terrain."

At air site Gryphon, situated within the Philippine Air Force Forward Operating Base, Lal-lo Airport, Cagayan - an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement site, Philippine and U.S. military forces established a fully functional expeditionary advanced base for the first time. In addition to facilitating MWSS-174’s support operations for rotary and fixed-wing sorties, the air site also served as a base of operations for the U.S. Army’s 10th Field Hospital, HIMARS from 1st Multi-Domain Task Force, and an array of aviation platforms from the U.S. Army’s 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, to include CH-47 Chinooks, UH-60 Blackhawks, and HH-60 MEDEVAC helicopters.

The air site, equipped with a 40,000-gallon tactical airfield fuel distribution system, served as the critical sustainment node for expeditionary aviation in Northern Luzon and facilitated the establishment of a “fly-away” FARP further north in Basco, Batan. The “fly-away” FARP, established by Marines and Sailors from MWSS-174, a Marine Mobile Team from Marine Air Control Squadron 4, and communicators from Marine Wing Communications Squadron 18, was inserted by a U.S. Air Force C-130, along with 9,000-gallons of fuel.

Collaborating with their Philippine counterparts in Basco, the U.S. Marines and Sailors played a pivotal role in extending the operational capabilities of the U.S. Army’s rotary-wing aircraft and facilitating the combined forces’ littoral maneuver during distributed operations throughout the Batanes Islands. The combined and joint capability to supply aircraft with fuel at these sites was a crucial factor in the success of training in the Luzon Strait.

“I could not have imagined a better opportunity than Balikatan 24 to demonstrate how central aviation ground support is to extending the operational reach of expeditionary aviation during the conduct of stand-in force operations,” said U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Matthew Schultz, the commanding officer of MWSS-174. “The fact that we were able do it here in Northern Luzon, and in the Batanes—alongside our joint partners, one of our nation’s most important defense treaty allies, and the incredible community of Lal-lo—only serves to exemplify the importance of building off this experience to generate the readiness required to rapidly respond to crises.”

Balikatan 24 served as MWSS-174’s first deployment since its reactivation in 2022 as part of the Marine Corps’ modernization efforts associated with Force Design.

Balikatan is an annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the U.S. military designed to strengthen bilateral interoperability, capabilities, trust, and cooperation built over decades of shared experiences. This year’s exercise marks the 39th iteration of the annual event, showcasing the ironclad Alliance and enduring friendship between the two nations. Approximately 16,000 Philippine and U.S. military personnel are participating.

https://www.dvidshub.net/news/470737/hub-spoke-node-facilitating-combined-force-littoral-maneuver-during-balikatan-24