Thanks to the great hospitality of BGen Kevin Killea, Commanding General Marine Corps Installations West and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Tim and his Amigos Forum visited Camp Pendleton in October, and had the opportunity to observe current Marine operations. The trip had a very full agenda and these are some of the highlights. The group first went to MCAS Miramar and toured the flight line which included a F/A-18 Hornet, MV-22 Osprey, KC-130 Hercules and then lunched at the Officer’s Club – which was an iconic setting in the movie Top Gun with the singing by “Maverick” and “Goose” of the song “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.” Back on Camp Pendleton, the group paid tribute to the statue of Sgt Reckless and then had dinner with LtGen Lew Craparotta and other leaders of I Marine Expeditionary Force. The next day the group visited the Infantry Immersion Trainer facility, which presents realistic situations in a scenario-based training environment; observed some live fire close combat operations by a Force Recon unit; toured the 11th Marines gun park where “Cannon Cockers” were training on 155 howitzers, mortars, and rocket launchers; and tried driving in a convoy simulator that prepares Marines to fight off attackers. The group then visited MCAS Camp Pendleton which had attack helicopters on display – AH-1Z Viper, AH-1W Super Cobra, UH-1Y Venom (Super Huey). The Amigos Forum also had some downtime, and enjoyed dining with our fellow Marines and discussing the state of affairs in today’s world. Many thanks to members of the Tribe, BGen Kevin Killea and BGen Steve Sklenka, Commanding Officer of 1st Marine Logistics Group, as well as Colonel Patrick A. Gramuglia for organizing such an exciting and memorable visit.
