MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, HI -- Families and friends bid farewell to Marines and Sailors deploying to Okinawa, Japan aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Dec. 8-10, 2017.
The Marines and Sailors of 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, are deploying under the Unit Deployment Program to serve as a forward deployed force in the West Pacific for the next six months.
The Marines of 3/3 are scheduled to participate in at least two bilateral and multinational exercises to enhance combat readiness and to continue to prepare the unit as a ground combat element of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force.
Prior to the UDP, the battalion prepared with Exercise Bougainville I, II, and III which were conducted at several training areas on the islands of Oahu and Hawaii. The exercises were supported by other Hawaii-based units: Combat Logistics Battalion 3, Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463, and the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Division.
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