U.S. NAVY - Fleet Exercises

"Biggest Navy Exercise in a Generation Will Include 25,000 Personnel Across 17 Time Zones" by Gina Harkins, Military.com 5/21/2021

Tens of thousands of sailors and Marines will participate in the biggest U.S. naval exercise in a generation to test how the services will fight across vast distances as they prepare for possible conflict with China or Russia.

Aircraft carriers, submarines, planes, unmanned vessels, and about 25,000 personnel will participate in Large Scale Exercise 2021 [LSE], which will begin in late summer.  The massive exercise will span 17 time zones with sailors and Marines in the U.S., Africa, Europe and the Pacific joining.

Live forces will participate in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

"LSE is more than just training, it is leveraging the integrated fighting power of multiple naval forces to share sensors, weapons, and platforms across all domains in contested environments, globally," said Adm. Christopher Grady, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces, told Military.com in an email.

The exercise, he added, will be the first in a series "that will continue to push the envelope of what it means to be the superior maritime force."

The Navy and Marine Corps are working more closely after decades of missions focused on the Middle East.  As competition for influence builds with China and Russia, the Department of the Navy is shifting its focus from a largely land-based fight against terror groups to deterring aggression.

Three dozen units will participate in physical portions of the large-scale exercise, while more than 50 will join the exercise remotely, said Lt. Cmdr. Tabitha Klingensmith, with U.S. Fleet Forces Command.  Participating units will include personnel from all three Marine expeditionary forces and sailors from the Navy's Second, Third, Sixth, Seventh and Tenth fleets.

While the U.S. has held big naval exercises like Bold Alligator and Rim of the Pacific, Klingensmith said the training events are growing in scope and complexity.  Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday has referred to the upcoming large-scale exercise as the biggest naval training event in a generation.

That's because combining live and virtual participants "will expand the playing field beyond what has ever been achieved in live-only exercises," Klingensmith said.

"LSE 2021 will use technologies similar to what you see in virtual video gaming environments to expand the number of participants by linking commands and units around the globe virtually, thereby increasing the number of players, real and synthetic, to better replicate the realistic scale of scenarios the Navy and Marine Corps team is likely to face in the future," she added.

The sailors and Marines participating will test several concepts they're likely to encounter in a possible conflict with China.  Scenarios will test the sailors and Marines' ability to conduct distributed operations; expeditionary advanced-base operations; littoral operations in a contested environment; and command and control in a contested environment.

"We've been applying warfighting concepts like Distributed Maritime Operations ...  to fleet battle problems at the strike group level to rapidly advance organizational learning," Grady said.  "LSE 2021 is important because we will apply those lessons learned at-scale to further our employment of synchronized, integrated operations across all domains globally, to ensure we remain the superior maritime force in a high-end fight."

The Navy and Marine Corps are finalizing details on the exercise, but Klingensmith said they plan to incorporate at least one unmanned platform -- the Autonomous Littoral Connector, a surface vessel that can provide logistics support from shore to ship.

That's traditionally a Navy mission, she said, but during the exercise it'll be under the command and control of the Marine Corps.  The 2021 updates to Commandant Gen. David Berger's Force Design Plans for the Marine Corps call for that service to -- in partnership with the Navy -- explore developing "littoral maneuver groups" to operate the future light amphibious warship.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the number of time zones involved in the exercise.

CAPITOL INSURRECTION - Marine Major Arrested

"Active-Duty Marine Major Arrested After Allegedly Pushing Police Officer in Capitol Riot" by Gina Harkins, Military.com 5/13/2021

A 40-year-old active-duty Marine Corps officer was arrested Thursday after federal agents said he violently broke into the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot, pushing through a line of police officers and positioning himself inside a doorway to pull others into the building with him.

Maj. Christopher Warnagiris, 40, of Woodbridge, Virginia, has been charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding police officers; obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder; and obstruction of justice, among other charges.  His arrest was announced Thursday by the Justice Department.

Maj. J.A.  Hernandez, a Marine spokesman at the Pentagon, confirmed Warnagiris is on active duty.  An artillery officer, Warnagiris is currently assigned to the Marine air-ground task force staff training program [MAGTF] with Training and Education Command based at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia.

Warnagiris has served since 2002 and reached the rank of major in September 2013, according to his service records.  He previously deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

His personal awards include three Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals and a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

When asked about Warnagiris' case, Hernandez said there is no place for extremism in the Marine Corps.

A federal complaint says Warnagiris has been stationed at Quantico, which is about 35 miles outside Washington, since the summer of 2020.  He is scheduled to appear in a U.S. district court Thursday afternoon.

Warnagiris is one of dozens of military members and veterans accused of participating in the Jan. 6 takeover of the U.S. Capitol.  Supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the building to interrupt lawmakers' securing of the 2020 election, which President Joe Biden won.

Court documents claim the major was caught on a Capitol security camera among a group near the East Rotunda doors fighting their way into the building.  U.S. Capitol Police officers were standing guard outside the door, attempting to hold the crowd back, according to the documents.

The officers lost ground, and Warnagiris was allegedly the first person to push through the doors.

"The subject was wearing a dark jacket with bright green zippers, a military green backpack and black and tan gloves," court documents state.  "He had short, dark hair which was trimmed to the skin along the edges of his hairline."

As officers tried to physically block more people from getting past the doors, Warnagiris "positioned himself in the corner of the doorway and seemed to use his body to help keep the door partially open and reached for individuals pushing their way through to help pull them inside," the documents state.

A police officer tried to position himself between the Marine and the people outside, but Warnagiris allegedly pushed the door open further.  The police officer then tried to push Warnagiris out of the way.

The Marine allegedly responded by pushing the police officer back "to maintain his position in the open door," the documents state.

"This struggle between Warnagiris and Officer A.W. can be seen in the security footage captured at approximately 2:27 PM," the documents add.

Footage of Warnagiris inside the Capitol was also captured by a videographer for RMG News, according to the complaint, along with footage posted to YouTube by Freedom News TV.

An unnamed witness who saw photos of Warnagiris online reported to the FBI that they recognized him as an active-duty Marine Corps officer.  The witness said they worked near Warnagiris about once a week for six months in 2019.

On March 17, federal agents met with members of Warnagiris' command and interviewed one of his coworkers, the complaint states.  That witness also said they believed Warnagiris was the person seen in video footage inside the Capitol, according to the complaint.

-- This story is developing