Units such as Control Group 38, which is responsible for establishing communications and command and control capabilities for aviation elements in the field, must alter their operating concept to support these dispersed air units as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re detected and you can\u2019t move, you will die. If you move and you can\u2019t reestablish comms, you will fail,\u201d Kerg\u00a0told Breaking Defense in an interview last week before the competition. \u201cThis event tests Marines in making sure that they can, in fact, move and they can reestablish comms in a dynamic environment in which they will be operating against a pacing threat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others stressed the shift from years past to a much more dynamic and high-tempo operating environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe days where we have 60-plus days to establish communications with a team of 200, 300 Marines are probably gone, especially when taking into consideration the pacing threat,\u201d Capt. Ruben Pantoja, assistant operations officer for Communications Squadron 38, said in an interview.<\/p>\n
The pacing threat,\u00a0in Pentagon parlance, typically\u00a0refers to China.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not a unique problem set to Comms Squadron 38, I can venture to say that almost every unit participating in this competition faces similar circumstances or situations or problem sets that they\u2019re trying to get after and trying to get their Marines ready. That\u2019s where we really want to emphasize the importance of the small team having huge tactical and operational impacts across combat and commands or in support of command commands,\u201d Panoja added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pacing threat demands that we operate in small teams and that we maintain tempo \u2026 these Marines are expected to not only be technically proficient as it pertains to communications, but also be tactically proficient. And we test both. We test both the technical and the tactical and that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to get after,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Specifically, according to a fact sheet, Thunderstruck was designed for:<\/p>\n
- \n
- validating the Corps\u2019 ability to operate dispersed communications in forward environments supporting aviation command and control<\/li>\n
- testing Marines\u2019 ability to provide critical C2 infrastructure for distributed aviation operations and decision-making<\/li>\n
- showcasing\u00a0skill sets necessary for integration with joint and coalition partners in contested environments<\/li>\n
- providing\u00a0a new training model that combines physical endurance with technical problem-solving that reflect future battlefield requirements<\/li>\n
- reinforcing\u00a0the role of communications Marines as critical enablers of decision dominance.<\/mark><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Invitations went out to the commanders of each communications formation within the Corps and participation included personnel from 15 organizations across each Marine Expeditionary Force.<\/p>\n
\u201cStressing how expeditionary we need to be going into the future is one of the biggest things that I was able to take away from this,\u201d one of the participants stated the day of the event. \u201cWe\u2019re in an age where we moved around in huge units, huge boxes, but now that we\u2019re coming into four fire teams and operating on a smaller level with smaller gear that we have to pack around, it changes the game a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Realistic Battlefield Scenario<\/strong><\/p>\n
Planners for the Thunderstruck event, which took place at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, wanted to make the event as real as possible, stressing competitors in war-like conditions to perform physical and technical tasks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re training to standard as a team while carrying an assault load and their weapon and all the comms equipment they need to do that mission, while racing against other teams across miles of rugged terrain, which will simulate that physical duress that they will experience in war, as well as that competitive enemy induced pressure that they will also face in war,\u201d Kerg said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/9305548-e1757698892355-1024x576.jpg\")
U.S. Marines from across the Marine Corps\u2019 communications field take off at the start of the inaugural Thunderstruck Communications Competition hosted by Marine Wing Communications Squadron 38, Marine Air Control Group 38, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, Sept. 10, 2025. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Renee Gray)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Overall, the competition included a six-mile course participants had to ruck through to simulate the austere conditions Marines will likely face on the battlefield. Across that course, were a variety of stations in which the competitors\u00a0tested\u00a0their networking skills by establishing comms and performing a Marine task, such as disassembly and assembly of a weapon system.\u00a0Three\u00a0primary comms tasks included High Frequency voice transmission, Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite communications and data networking for information exchange.<\/p>\n
\u201cImagine the world wherein just a handful of Marines are inserted via some service connector or maybe via a CH-53 or an Osprey and they have to move that last tactical mile to the point where they\u2019re actually going to establish C2. They do that and they\u2019re supporting operations and then they\u2019re detected. And then munitions are falling around them or about to,\u201d Kerg said. \u201cThey get the word in and they got to break that stuff down and they have to move however many miles it is, to some other survival location where they can do it again and again and again. That\u2019s what the competition is simulating.\u201d<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s not just one method of communications.\u00a0Officials talk of PACE plans, or primary, alternate, contingency and emergency. Prior to any operation, there must be a redundant communications plan in case systems are jammed or simply don\u2019t work.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/9305546-e1757699211746-2048x1154-1-1024x577.jpg\")
U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. John Burkheimer, a transmission systems operator with 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, conducts a radio call during the inaugural Thunderstruck Communications Competition hosted by Marine Wing Communications Squadron 38, Marine Air Control Group 38, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, Sept. 10, 2025. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Renee Gray)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \u201cWhat most units probably don\u2019t practice in good execution with exercises, deployments, whatnot, is taking a PACE plan and flipping it on its head, knee capping it. We might have our primary and alternate setup. But rarely do we ever stress test our contingency and our emergency,\u201d Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kelson Epperson, space and propagation engineering officer for Communications Squadron 38, said in an interview. \u201cBeing able to demonstrate the entire range of capability that a small team could provide, I think, is huge and demonstrates that while, yes, we do have the fancy toys, the old ways work best sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hopes Of A Service-Wide Event<\/strong><\/p>\n
Creators of the competition from Comm Squadron 38\u00a0said they\u00a0hope the event continues to grow in successive years, beyond just its organization.<\/p>\n
While\u00a0they said\u00a0Marine Corps Air Station Miramar is an ideal location, given the terrain and proximity to other units, the hope is it could rotate to different regions with different geographic topographies such as the Jungle Warfare Training Center in Okinawa, Japan,\u00a0or elsewhere in California\u00a0at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in\u00a0Bridgeport or Twentynine Palms.<\/p>\n
They also plan to increase the challenges and complexity going forward, perhaps\u00a0adding\u00a0electronic warfare or jamming components or even offensive cyber operations to the mix for Marines\u2019 to face.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s going to happen next is after the event, we\u2019ll get feedback from all the competitors, we\u2019ll make recommendations and then we\u2019re going to pitch it to headquarters Marine Corps in terms of making this thing an annual service-endorsed, service-wide event that will be conducted year after year in any time, in place over the rest of the team,\u201d Kerg said.<\/p>\n
His closing message to the participants following the event: thank you for taking the risk of doing something for the first time \u201cthat will raise the bar, that will raise the expectations of what a Marine communicator should be. What a Marine communicator is. What we should all aspire to be.\u201d<\/p>\n