JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --
With Officer Candidates School ahead of him this summer, Midshipman 2nd Class Caedon Hampton of Groveland, Florida, said seeing Marine Corps logistics firsthand helped clarify the kind of officer he hopes to become.
Hampton, a platoon commander at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, visited Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island on Feb. 23 with six other Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps students to observe how prepositioning and maritime logistics enable global readiness.
“As an officer, you want to know as much as you can about the different jobs to be a better leader and mentor,” Hampton said. He is scheduled to earn his degree in business administration next year and commission as a second lieutenant.
The nearly three-hour road trip from Tallahassee offered freshmen through senior midshipmen a look inside the operational hub of Marine Corps prepositioning programs, where they observed how equipment is maintained, configured and staged to support warfighters worldwide.
The tour began in “Big Blue,” a sprawling warehouse housing tactical trucks, forklifts, generators and stacks of crated equipment prepared for global distribution. An overhead crane moved along ceiling rails as retired Marine Corps Maj. Thurman Bobbett, head of the maintenance branch at Blount Island Command, explained corrective and preventive maintenance procedures.
Each ship maintenance cycle typically spans 90 to 120 days to ensure equipment remains combat-ready.
At a 26-acre shipyard supporting Navy prepositioning operations, contractors explained maintenance of the Improved Navy Lighterage System, a modular ferry system that enables ship-to-shore cargo movement in austere environments without established port facilities.
“This also opens up our eyes to what we can do after the Marine Corps,” Hampton said, noting the military-led, civilian-operated workforce that sustains global readiness. He hopes to become a finance officer but is also exploring logistics and supply opportunities.
The group later boarded the USNS Dahl, a 950-foot maritime prepositioning ship capable of generating 65,000 horsepower. During several years forward, the vessel supported multinational exercises including Freedom Banner, Warrior Shield and the Korea Marine Exercise Program. The ship executed instream and pier-side operations, as well as deck landings.
The ship maintains a certified flight deck and supports large-scale cargo operations limited only by ramp and crane capacity, according to Deatra Thompson, a contracted captain who assumed command of USNS Dahl nearly three months ago in South Korea. She returned the vessel to Blount Island last week.
Marine Corps Maj. Courtney Arnold, officer instructor for FAMU’s 45 Naval ROTC students, including seven Marine-option midshipmen, said the four-year program includes coursework on maneuver warfare and maritime prepositioning concepts to prepare leaders for complex operational environments.
“We just learned about what it takes to form a Marine air-ground task force,” said Midshipman 4th Class Chance Anderson of Warner Robins, Georgia. “It’s a lot of moving parts — we talk about it in class, but seeing everything that goes into it makes it real.”
Before departing, four Marine sergeants demonstrated the installation’s obstacle course, reinforcing the physical standards and leadership expectations of future officers.
For the students, the visit connected classroom instruction with operational reality, underscoring how disciplined leadership, warrior ethos and forward-positioned equipment sustain Marine Corps readiness.