More than 500 United States Army Reserve soldiers will practice loading and unloading cargo this week from a ship at the Port of Long Beach that is under simulated attack.
The training is part of Operation Mojave Falcon, which includes more than 9,000 soldiers spread throughout the country — the largest ever training exercise by the Army Reserve.
Long Beach’s activities, involving 562 soldiers, began Monday and will wrap up on June 9, according to the Army Reserve.
During the training, soldiers will face nine types of simulated threats, including drones, cyberattacks and direct attacks, said Army Reserve Maj. Gen. Dianne Del Rosso.
The goal is to “demonstrate our agility and commitment to national defense,” Del Rosso said.
Air attacks will be simulated by tennis balls dropped from above, said Army Reserve Brig. Gen. Manu Davis.
“This challenges our soldiers to think fast [and] act decisively under pressure,” Davis said.
The Port of Long Beach holds an “irreplaceable role in our national defense logistics,” Davis said.
In the past, the port has served as a battleship port during World War II, a Naval shipyard until 1997 and assisted with mobilization after Pearl Harbor, said Mayor Rex Richardson.
The United States Coast Guard will create security zones and notify civilian vessels when the exercise is taking place, said Coast Guard Capt. Stacey Crecy.
Mojave Falcon operations outside of Long Beach will focus on combat support, providing medical aid and conducting medical evacuations, transporting and distributing bulk fuel and water and delivering equipment and supplies coast to coast.
Other trainings throughout the U.S. began in late May, but the “center of gravity” for the trainings is in California, including at Fort Irwin in San Bernardino County and Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey County, Del Rosso said.
The Army Reserve operation represents a shift away from counterintelligence and toward preparedness for large-scale combat operations, according to a statement announcing the training.
They’re occurring in the wake of contentious comments Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth made Saturday at a conference in Singapore.
While addressing a high-level Asian defense summit, Hegseth said China was “credibly preparing” for an invasion of Taiwan.
“The threat China poses is real and it could be imminent,” Hegseth said, adding that President Donald Trump “does not seek war.”
Addressing Hegseth’s comments, China’s foreign ministry said that Taiwan is an “internal affair” and argued that the U.S. is overstepping its bounds by “stoking flames” in the South China Sea.
On May 28, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the State Department and Homeland Security will work to “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.”