Operation Steel Pike was the largest peacetime

amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...

landing exercise in history, conducted by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

and taking place on the coast of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in October to November 1964. The operation involved 84 naval ships and 28,000 Marines of the

2nd Marine Division The 2nd Marine Division (2nd MARDIV) is a division of the United States Marine Corps, which forms the ground combat element of the II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF). The division is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina ...

, and was commanded by Vice Admiral

John S. McCain, Jr. John Sidney "Jack" McCain Jr. (January 17, 1911 – March 22, 1981) was a United States Navy Admiral (United States), admiral who served in conflicts from the 1940s through the 1970s, including as the Commander, United States Pacific Command. Th ...

and Lieutenant general James P. Berkeley. The director of control group during for exercise was Brigadier general John C. Miller Jr. In the opening hour of the landing, two helicopters collided in mid-air, resulting in the deaths of nine Marines and causing injuries to 13 others. Another Marine was crushed to death by a tank while asleep in his sleeping bag. During the trip over the ships were divided into three convoys sailing under war time conditions with ASW escorts. There were many civilian ships contracted to the Navy to transport military personnel and cargo to the landing area. Once the ships were anchored in place the landings began. There were two or three days of landing men and equipment ashore, then one day of rest for the landing craft. After that, the task force started back loading men and equipment onto the ships. When it was finished, the ships departed for liberty to different ports: the USS Okinawa to La Pallice and La Rochelle, France, and to Plymouth, England. Additional notes by a Marine veteran of the operation: The units, including both ground and aviation conducted joint wargame exercises with NATO allies in Spain. During the deployment the Marines were visited by Commandant of the Marines Corps, General

Wallace M. Greene Wallace Martin Greene Jr. (December 27, 1907 – March 8, 2003) was a United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 23rd Commandant of the Marine Corps from January 1, 1964, to December 31, 1967. Greene served in China in the 19 ...

. The Gen RM Blatchford took Marines to liberty call in the canary Islands.

References

: Non-combat military operations involving the United States United States Marine Corps in the 20th century {{Navy-stub