What life is like for Marines on an amphibious ship

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN — Before she deployed on the Kearsarge with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit in March 2022, Marine Sgt. Cristal Trejo was told by other Marines that life on an amphibious ship would be boring.

“It was not at all,” she told Marine Corps Times while aboard the amphibious assault ship Wasp. “There is actually a lot you can do. It’s just up to you what you want to do.”

As a distribution specialist, she had significant work responsibilities only rarely, when a new round of supplies got dropped onto the Kearsarge. But she kept herself busy, joining a group that held recreational events on the ship, taking damage control classes taught by sailors and reading.

She enjoyed “steel beach” — a barbeque party for sailors and Marines out on the flight deck with three-legged races, cornhole and grilling.

Above all, she loved getting to know the other Marines and sailors.

As the amphibious assault ship Wasp sailed toward New York Harbor on May 23 and May 24 ahead of New York Fleet Week, Trejo and other Marines from 2nd Marine Logistics Group’s 2nd Supply Battalion spoke with Marine Corps Times about what life was like at sea.

Some of them had never been on a ship before, and the dayslong voyage of the Wasp from Norfolk, Virginia, to New York hardly was comparable to a deployment around the world.

Even so, the Marines already were adapting to the tight quarters and swaying that are ever-present realities of life on a ship, and they already were finding ways to stay busy.

The more than 260 Marines from II Marine Expeditionary Force who sailed aboard the Wasp were part of a Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force dedicated to Fleet Week activities, rather than a Marine expeditionary unit, said Capt. Demond Glover. A Marine expeditionary unit is a group of approximately 2,200 Marines and sailors who travel the world on the Navy’s amphibious ships, lying in wait in case of crisis.

The dwindling number of amphibious ships has been a source of consternation for Corps leaders, who have fretted that it is holding the service back from responding quickly to regional issues, like an earthquake in Turkey and deadly turmoil in Sudan.

But the Wasp, at least, was in relatively fine form, having just completed a long maintenance phase.

Sleeping

Enlisted Marines on amphibious ships sleep with up to dozens of them in bunks in one room, or “berthing,” according to Sgt. Briana Kemp.

Given the limited space on the ship, the beds are packed tightly together.

“Living close together — that’s nothing new,” Kemp said.

It can get cold at night in the berthings, Trejo said, so pack a sweater. The night of May 23 called for a very thick sweater.

Even if the cold proves no deterrent to sleep, the announcements blaring over the loudspeaker in the wee hours of the morning could complicate one’s sleep cycle.

Kemp said she enjoyed having a two-hour conversation with another woman in her berthing whom she hadn’t met before. And the woman in the bunk above her mistook her for her identical twin sister, who used to be in the Marine Corps.

Eating

The food was more or less comparable to that on base, Marines told Marine Corps Times, especially in terms of the organization of the chow hall, or the mess hall, as it’s called on a ship.

There’s a row of options Marines can select by asking the mess hall worker to fill up their plates, plus a self-service salad bar with some additional snacks.

Sgt. Maj. Enrique Gato, who also deployed with the 22nd MEU, recalled that the chefs switched up the food for different days of the week, like Taco Tuesday, Burger Wednesday and Italian Thursday.

“Honestly, the food’s pretty good,” Chief Warrant Officer 2 Ryan Lee said of his time on the Wasp. “That was a surprise to me.”

In the Wasp’s wardroom, where commissioned officers and staff noncommissioned officers eat, one of the most popular breakfast items was the freshly cooked, customizable omelets. Two enlisted sailors emphatically confirmed to Marine Corps Times that the enlisted mess hall had no omelet station.

Trejo recommended that Marines preparing to go on a Marine expeditionary unit bring an electric kettle for late-night meals like ramen or oatmeal, because the line for the microwave in the mess hall can get long.

Working out

The Wasp’s gym looked like a regular on-land gym, except that the treadmills were packed right next to each other and a sign on the ceiling pipe read, “Please Do Not Drop Weights (Berthing Below).”

Asked how the gym aboard the ship compared to the one he uses at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Cpl. Isaac Gomez remarked, “Well, this one sways.”

But the swaying didn’t get in the way of his workout.

It was the night before he would arrive in New York for Fleet Week, and Gomez was warming up on a treadmill, preparing to do some sprints.

“Always gotta continue training, especially if we’re going to go out in New York,” he said. “We’ve gotta look our best. We’ve gotta lose a few pounds before showing the people what they like to see.”

On her deployment, Trejo helped host a competition for the strongest man and strongest woman aboard the Kearsarge. She wasn’t planning to participate until her Marines urged her to, she said.

“I think what motivated me is that if I didn’t participate, a female sailor was going to win,” she said. “And I was like, ‘I can’t do that. I can’t let a sailor win.’”

Deadlifting in her uniform and boots, Trejo beat out the competition by 10 pounds. In return, she got a gift card and free passes to cut the chow and commissary lines for a week.

Making friends, missing home

Despite the good-natured rivalry between Marines and sailors, Trejo said she became close with sailors while she was away with the 22nd MEU.

Gato, who was on the same float, said he noticed his Marines keeping to themselves when they first got to the Kearsarge but totally intermingling in with the sailors within weeks.

For the sergeant major, the best part of ship life was the simplicity.

“Once you get embarked and you get a routine going, it’s pretty much the same routine every day,” Gato said.

But life aboard a ship isn’t always easy.

Seasickness didn’t appear to be a problem for Marines during the Wasp’s fairly close-to-shore voyage in pleasant weather, but it can be when the ship hits big swells, Trejo said. Not for Trejo, though; for her, the rocking at night is soothing, like being in a cradle.

And on monthslong Marine expeditionary unit deployments where Marines have limited access to Wi-Fi and phone calls, it’s common for Marines to miss their friends and family, according to Gato.

“It’s hard not knowing what’s going on, what’s happening, if everybody’s OK,” Trejo said.

She said not everyone liked ship life — those working in the mess halls in particular had long, tiring shifts — but she sure did.

Gato’s advice for those preparing to deploy on a Marine expeditionary unit? “Don’t forget anything that’s on the gear list,” he said. Because you’re gonna need it.”

“And just have fun. Being on a MEU, on an amphibious deployment, is not something every Marine or sailor has the opportunity to do.”