Beach-storming drill returns Marines to roots

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Beach-storming drill returns Marines to roots
By JULIE WATSON
Associated Press Writer
Jun 4, 4:51 AM EDT

ABOARD THE USS BONHOMME RICHARD (AP) -- After three tours in the deserts of Iraq, Lt. Col. Joe Levreault says he felt a bit rusty when he climbed into the helicopter to do what he was trained to do best as a Marine pilot - fly troops from the ship to the shore, even under fire.

But he quickly got back into his groove and was more than ready to carry out his mission Friday when thousands of sailors and Marines will carry out the largest amphibious landing exercise on the West coast since the Sept. 11 terror attacks sent troops to wars in landlocked regions.

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"After so many years away, your skills always diminish and any time you can get back to the boat, it's good," said Levreault, 40, who has served for 18 years. "It's our bread and butter."

The exercise comes at a pivotal point for the Marines who are facing questions from Defense Secretary Robert Gates about whether major amphibious landings that made the Marine Corps so famous worldwide are becoming outdated in today's warfare.

Defense analysts accuse a cost-cutting Gates of trying to dismiss the value of beach landings and the needed equipment, like a $13.2 billion plan to buy large numbers of the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle starting in 2012. The amphibious vehicles, also known as EVFs, help get troops from ship to shore while under fire and mark a significant upgrade over the current technology available to the military.