Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1951-08-30
BY p. G. STROMBERG

AS a guest of the u. S. Navy
it was my privilege to witness al
the operations in connection with
an amphibious landing of our mil
itary forces. To tell a detailed
story would require a pamphlet
rather than a condensed news
paper article. But want our
readers to get from this account
a general idea of what this coun-
try is prepared to accomplish.
First of all this training is pri-
marily for the Annapolis midship-
men and the West Point cadets.
The operation is called "Camid"
Ia contraction of the words "ca-
diets" and "midshipmen"). Since
1916 students of our military aca-
denies have teamed up for two
weeks of unified training in am
phibious techniques with units of
the Amphibiou3 Force, U. S. At
lantic Fleet. All branches of the
armed forces-Army, Navy, Air
Force and Marine Corps-take
part.
This years CAMID operation
involved almost 10000 personnel
and utilized 81 ships ranging from
amphibious group command ships
and attack transports to destroy
ers and various types of landing
craft. Over 100 conventional and
jet planes were in the air in the
final full-scale assault landing on
August rs at Camp Pendleton.
About 1900 midshipmen and ca
diets were represented. This am
phibious training is the only time
during their four-year course at
the service schools that the future
Armed Forces officers (all jul
niors) have an opportunity to
work together as one unit.
The training program is divided
into two phases, ashore and afloat.
Vice Admiral Robert P. Briscoe,
Amphibious Force Commander,
has overall supervision of the
CAMID training. Rear Admiral
A. ]. Wellings, and his Amphibious
Training Command conduct the
"shore nhase assisted by tha
= n Ira ming Unit of Brigadier
H7n 'ral G. F. Good, Jr.
Subjects taught while ashore
inrlude atomic warfare in am
nhibious operation, communica-
tions. combat loading. amphibious
Intelligence, interpreting of We
h'c'es boat handling, boat wave
formation, Bleaching and retract-
ing of land craft, functions of the
shore party and organization of
joint amphibious forces.
For the afloat phase, the stu
dent officers are embarked in
ships Of the attack force command
ed by Rear Admiral H. E. Orem,
Commander Amphibious Group
FOUR.
While at sea the trainees par
ticipate in shipboard drills includ-
ing fire and rescue, debarkation
the ship-to-shore movement and g
rehearsal landing conducted at the
beaches of the Naval Amphibious
Base at Little Creek.
While the midshipmen holi
down the billets of junior Offices
on the ships, under the guidance
of seasoned naval officers, the ca
diets team up with a marine bat.
talon from the Second Marine Di
vision-of approximately 1900 mer
Ito form the Landing Force.
During the graduation" land.
ing at Camp Pendleton the assault
was preceded by a pre-H Houl
demolition of beach obstacles by
the "Frogmen" of the Underwa.
ter Demolition Teams (UDT). Ap,
proximately 200 members of AZ
infantry company participated il
an airborne drop. These para
troopers set up a roadblock to pre-
vent the enemy" from reinforcing
the beaches under attack.
An actual group of "Agressors'
from the Troop Training Unit put
up simulated resistance to the in.
vaders. No live explosives were
used during any phase of the
landing operations.
Guests We're invited to attend
the exercises of the final days
They were from all sections of the
country and included newspaper
men and representatives of large
manufacturing companies. We
were assigned to various ships OF
the command. 1t was my privilege
to be on the Taconic Flagship OF
the Amphibious Group Four, U. s
Atlantic Fleet, Admiral H. f. Or.
EN-, Commanding). The group OF
ships anchored several miles of
shore and on Thursday and Friday
we were shown the various type.
ships used and the manner q
launching the amphibious landinl
from the sea. On Saturday W,
were seated in a grandstand t,
witness the same operation iron
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