MARCH 17, 2025 – For two weeks in February, Naval Amphibious Force, Task Force (TF) 51/5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade lead a Command Post Exercise (CPX) as part of International Maritime Exercise (IMX) 2025, the Middle East’s largest international exercise, where service members from over 30 partner nations came together to collaborate in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The team quickly integrated to plan and conducted an exercise as a Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF), standing up an Integrated Operations Center- a watch floor to support decision making for a joint and coalition operation. The CPX focused on a hypothetical real-world situation involving a notional adversary targeting a friendly partner nation.
CJTF led coalition efforts to evacuate over 145,000 total designated personnel from the partner nation. Simulated injects across all U.S. Marine Corps warfighting functions—command and control, fires, force protection, information, intelligence, logistics, and maneuver—challenged and tested the team’s ability to troubleshoot the dynamic problem set.
The integrated team developed courses of action, balancing elements of simplicity and flexibility. They expertly executed a plan involving air and maritime surface assets to evacuate refugees to a safe location.
“The primary benefits of partner interoperability during the International Maritime Exercise are the unique opportunity to strengthen relationships and demonstrate proficiency in complex and dynamic exercise evolutions. Evolutions such as the Command Post Exercise require a high level of proficiency from all partners and are a testament to the high level of interoperability that NAVCENT and partner nations are capable of.” said U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Evan Phillips, Task Force 51/5 lead exercise planner
Teams broke out daily into smaller operational planning groups and crisis action teams with their counterparts to wargame scenarios, improvising based on new information. Prior to the execution of the CPX, TF 51/5 conducted an internal staff exercise, priming and refining their preparations for the battlespace.
“It’s a unique opportunity to work alongside other armed forces members,” said Italian Navy Master Chief Ernesto Rocchetti, Electronic Warfare Specialist and Senior Enlisted Leader representing the 9th Cybernetic Security Regiment, Tactical Intelligence Brigade. “This opportunity has allowed me to interact with people from different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds, gaining insight into their approaches to simulated operational challenges… It was eye-opening to have various speakers, like the professor from the Naval Warfighting School, enlighten me on operational concepts and learning about the Marine Corps Planning Process.”
Mid-exercise, the team calculated the daily throughputs of approximately 6,000 evacuated personnel on KC-130 Hercules aircraft, determining how many personnel could fit in an aircraft, and the wait times that designated personnel would need to wait at rally points and aerial ports of debarkation.
Medical personnel discussed appropriate actions to take regarding casualties. With the threat of the notional adversary growing in hostility and attacks, the CJTF coalition planned for a full-fledged conflict.
“This exercise allowed me to understand the planning process from another nation’s perspective,” said U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Thomas McGrath, an infantryman and battlewatch captain for the exercise. “Since nothing out here happens in a vacuum the interagency cooperation has opened my eyes on ways to efficiently work with our neighbors. We’re typically used to focusing on how the U.S. Marine Corps plans and operates so stepping outside of that box and learning how to coordinate and communicate with partnered forced nations, is eye opening.”
Post exercise, the team discussed after action points to improve the scenario and exercise itself. From improving the flow of the “request for information” tracker to other communication tools, the team revealed honest and transparent lessons learned, demonstrating the thoroughness and professionalism that the militaries approach every operation.
Hosted by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), IMX 25 is a multinational engagement involving global partners and allies. The team exchanged knowledge, perspectives, and experiences across a full spectrum of defensive maritime warfare. In its ninth iteration since 2012, IMX 25 is a naval training event linked with Exercise Cutlass Express, led by U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa.
Task Force 51/5 responds to crises and contingencies; coordinates, plans, and executes operations; conducts theater security cooperation; and advances emerging Naval concepts at sea, from the sea, and ashore in order to support U.S. Central Command, 5th Fleet, and U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command theater objectives.