DECEMBER 3, 2025 – In a testament to joint force readiness and integration, U.S. Marines with Marine Wing Support Squadron 372, Marine Air Control Group 38, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and U.S. Sailors with the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (NAWDC), joined forces during NAWDC 25.3 Oct. 27-31, 2025, across multiple training sites at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. The five-day exercise highlighted how combined naval and Marine aviation capabilities enhance the joint force’s ability to project power, sustain sorties, and expand operational reach in contested environments.
NAWDC 25.3 also featured participation from the U.S. Air Force and Coast Guard, underscoring the broader joint force collaboration.
“This exercise wasn’t just great for the carrier air wing and the naval aviation enterprise. It was great for the joint force,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Anthony Romagnoli, an Airwing Fallon coordinator with Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center and SEAWOLF MH-60S Weapons and Tactics Instructor.
The exercise included a range of aviation operations, such as aerial transportation, aerial refueling, anti-submarine warfare, contested logistics, combat search and rescue, and aerial-delivered ground refueling. These operations strengthened the joint team’s ability to execute Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) operations, refine disaggregated command and control (C2), and enhance rapid deployment and sustainment of aviation operations in expeditionary environments.
NAWDC 25.3 served as a proving ground for MWSS-372 to operationalize 3rd MAW’s hub-spoke-node concept, enabling airpower projection forward of traditional support bases. During the exercise, Marines established and displaced expeditionary FARP nodes to provide fuel and ordnance support to rotary-wing aircraft, extending their combat reach and supporting dynamic force employment objectives.
“The purpose of a FARP is to provide ordnance and fuel support forward of any other aviation ground support system, airport, or aircraft carrier,” said 1st Lt. Matthew Mullins, the executive officer of airfield operations company, MWSS-372. “It allows us to shorten the distance and time it takes for aircraft to refuel and return to the fight.”
Through FARP operations, MWSS-372 demonstrated how the Marine Corps sustains distributed aviation forces, a capability critical to enhancing the lethality, survivability, and sustainment of the Marine Corps and the joint force.
Throughout the event, MWSS-372 provided essential ground logistics while Navy personnel from the Naval Expeditionary Logistics Support Group and Aviation Operations Support Group observed and trained alongside them.
“Without the ground support of the Marines, we simply cannot conduct Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations,” said Lt. Cmdr. Michael Massel, a contested logistics subject matter expert with NAWDC. “That’s why we have Sailors here learning from the Marines so the Navy can build that capability and expand our reach.”
“Without the ground support of the Marines, we simply cannot conduct Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations. That’s why we have Sailors here learning from the Marines so the Navy can build that capability and expand our reach.” Lt. Cmdr. Michael Massel, a contested logistics subject matter expert with NAWDC
Exercises at the helicopter outlying landing field focused on maintaining agility and mobility for carrier-based aviation units, rehearsing the rapid teardown, transport, and reestablishment of FARP nodes to sustain sorties.
“We need to be able to break down quickly, load the aircraft, move to a new location, and get the fuel flowing to keep aircraft flying,” Romagnoli said. “Training like this builds our relationship because when we have to fight together, we already speak the same language.”
Throughout NAWDC 25.3, Marines employed the Tactical Aviation Ground Refueling System (TAGRS), a lightweight, portable pump system capable of distributing up to 6,000 gallons of fuel at roughly 300 gallons per minute. The TAGRS can be towed by small tactical vehicles, such as an Ultra Light Tactical Vehicle, and provides the agility needed to refuel aircraft in austere and forward environments.
“The TAGRS gives us the ability to conduct faster and more efficient refueling operations in the field,” Mullins said. “The mobility enables us to extend our reach and keep aircraft flying where fuel typically wouldn’t be available.”
This technology directly supports 3rd MAW’s mission to enhance dynamic force employment and maintain global force management–based readiness by ensuring Marines can rapidly sustain distributed aviation operations anywhere in the world.
“It is imperative for NAWDC to train with the Marines as much as possible,” Romagnoli said. “When we’re integrating during wartime, we want those lessons learned applied, not discovered.”
These complex, multi-service drills provided realistic scenarios to test interoperability, coordination, and rapid response capabilities.
The integration of MWSS-372’s FARP capabilities ensured sustained sortie generation for NAWDC operations and highlighted the Marine Corps’ crucial role in enabling naval aviation.
“Without us, pilots can’t fly, and if pilots can’t fly, we can’t win the fight,” Mullins said. “It’s teamwork: we give them fuel; they keep Marines safe on the ground.”
The exercise underscored the necessity of Navy-Marine Corps aviation integration long before the next real-world contingency, ensuring that both services are prepared to integrate seamlessly in high-stakes environments.
“This exercise proved what the blue-green team is capable of when we train and operate as one,” Mullins said. “Every gallon of fuel we pump and every aircraft we keep flying extends the reach of our naval and joint force across the battlespace.”
1stLt Madison Walls
3rd Marine Aircraft Wing