APRIL 10, 2025 — To uphold 2nd Marine Logistics Group’s motto “You will never fight alone,” Marines and Sailors from Combat Logistics Battalion 6, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2nd MLG, participated in Mountain Training Exercise 2-25 alongside 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division, at Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, California, from February 14th to March 30th, 2025.
Mountain Training Exercises are designed to prepare units for missions across the globe by strengthening expeditionary warfare tactics and building confidence in their ability to operate in a cold-weather, high-altitude, mountainous environment. The exercise was organized into three stages consisting of pre-environmental training classes, mobility training, and a final field evaluation exercise.
During these stages, Marines and Sailors had the opportunity to participate in various cold weather training events, consisting of living at a high elevation up to approximately 9000 ft, working in below freezing temperatures, and conducting multiple strenuous hikes in more than five feet of snow, testing their ability to quickly adapt to austere conditions. Leading up to the final field evaluation exercise, the Marines and Sailors trained the proficiency of their technical skills, such as selecting specific routes for snowshoe movement, enforcing track discipline, and utilizing Marine Corps Cold Weather Infantry Kits, so they could properly employ them during the culminating event.
U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Sair Aolasco, a combat engineer with CLB-6, described the training events as a mental battle. He stated, “You can’t give up mentally or else your body is going to give up right after, so as long as you stay strong in your mind, you can do anything.”
The troops participating were tested and pushed to their physical and mental limits, giving them a newfound confidence in their gear, themselves, and the Marines and Sailors to the left and right of them.
“It is never a bad day, it is just a bad moment,” said Aolasco, “I just keep telling myself that anytime I feel bad and am going through a challenging obstacle. I think about the hardest thing I have done up to this point, and remind myself, I did that, and it ended up being a good day. So, all I have to do is keep pushing.”
Throughout the execution of MTX 2-25, the units rigorously enforced the training to be conducted as a combat rehearsal across various specialties to maintain the concept of “train how you fight.”
This included live-fire ranges, testing resupply methods via a Tactical Resupply Vehicle 150 unmanned aircraft system, working hand and hand with the U.S. Army National Guard from Charlie Company, 2nd General Support Aviation Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment, refueling an Army UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopter and practicing simulated casualty evacuation drills, conditioning hikes and applying basic infantry skills in a cold weather environment.
Sailors with CLB-6 employed an Expeditionary Medical Evacuation Team, providing a unique training environment to innovate, collaborate and maintain operational readiness and proficiency in casualty evacuation.
The exercise also allowed key leaders to complete the Mountain Operations Staff Planning Course (MOSPC), a week-long comprehensive course that enhanced the leaders’ warfighting capacity by teaching mountain specific intelligence, maneuver, logistics, communications, aviation, medical, fires, small unmanned aerial system, and counter sUAS.
MOSPC gave planners the opportunity to study the challenges of conducting operations in an austere, mountainous environment and prepared Marines and Sailors to effectively fight in any clime and place.
Not only were the Marines and Sailors able to employ their newly enhanced technical skills during the culminating event, but they also rehearsed conducting crucial resupply missions to 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, while maintaining signature management.
The units ensured physical signature management was carried out throughout the field evaluation exercise, consisting of dispersed, well-camouflaged, and mobile battle positions. Maintaining signature management played a crucial role in avoiding simulated enemy observation during the force-on-force training, in order to protect their combat power, and ultimately led to mission success in the culminating event.
“We are so lucky to have this opportunity to rehearse because quite frankly in the future it can be overnight, we have to deploy, and without opportunities like this, without treating it like it is a combat rehearsal, we will not be prepared,” stated Sgt. Maj. Tristan L. Curren, senior enlisted leader, CLB-6, 2nd MLG. “This is our prep time, we took it seriously and will apply what we learned to our next exercise to be even better, more lethal, and more effective to supply future infantry battalions.”
Exercises like MTX 2-25 foster a learning environment that prepares units to operate in austere conditions and equips them with skills essential to ensure the success of future deployments around the world.
For more information about this iteration of MTX, please visit the below links:
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/957449/mtx-2-25-final-exercise
https://www.dvidshub.net/image/8897911/mtx-2-25-tactical-hike
https://www.dvidshub.net/search/?q=MTX+2-25&view=grid&filter[date]=20250201-20250404
Story by Sgt. Mary Torres
2nd Marine Logistics Group