Photo By Jason Bortz | Marines from Headquarters Company, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, set up...... read more read more
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The people in the line of cars seemed to be growing impatient. The driver of one of the trucks had been honking his horn to declare his disapproval of having to wait.
Suddenly, the truck driver whipped his vehicle around the barrier and into the controlled area, where he detonated a mock Vehicle Borne improvised explosive device.
This was all part of a Vehicle Control Point and Entry Control Point exercise. The field training lasted a week at Camp Talega for Headquarters Company, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division.
"This type of training helps the Marines to be prepared for anything they might see when they deploy," said Sgt. Estraisand Dasilva a 27-year-old wire man with Headquarters Company, 5th Marines, from Brooklyn, New York.
Marines were expected to operate both a nighttime ECP and a daytime ECP for practical application purposes.
It is important for a Headquarters Company to be trained in how to respond to IEDs and how to operate VCP and ECP.
They never know when they might be pulled to stand post so it is always good to be prepared, said Cpl Stephen G. Otico, a 21-year-old intelligence specialist with Headquarters Company, 5th Marines Regiment.
"I was on a forward post both during the day and the night," said Otico. The hardest thing to overcome was remembering to stay vigilant even with limited visibility.
Dasilva has done pre-deployment training, prior to his deployment to Fallujah in 2005.
"The training is going well and when we are in country we will be prepared to complete our mission," Dasilva said.
"We do a lot of convoys and our mission over in Iraq will be to supply the other battalions in Regimental Combat Team 5," said Sgt. Iva Jones, a 28-year-old from Silsbee, Texas, who is a wire supervisor, Headquarters Company, 5th Marine Regiment.
This will put them at a high risk for IEDs and is why this training is so important, Jones said.
The training the Marines received covered setting up an entry Control Point and conducting vehicle searches and personnel searches. They also were taught classes on patrolling a known IED location and practiced reacting to an IED explosion.
The training they received was made as realistic as possible by civilian role players and loud pyrotechnics. Also, during the lane training Marines conducted a foot patrol and reacted to an IED exploding during that patrol.
The Marines are allowed to train in a safe environment where they still have to think among the noise and chaos, said Sgt David Rodriguez, a 25-year-old instructor with the Regimental Instructional Facility, Headquarters Company, 5th Marine Regiment.
"After the explosion goes, that is when most people freeze up," Rodriguez said.
The Marines were then expected to provide 360 degree security and coordinate a casualty evacuation. They then had to get the mock wounded Marine to the Landing Zone.
They are also taught how to report the incident and request for evacuation of any personnel or civilians who need it, said Rodriguez.
The training is the first of several the Marines with Headquarters Company, 5th Marine Regiment, will go through before they deploy sometime at the end of December or the beginning of January.
| Date Taken: | 09.26.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2007 16:13 |
| Story ID: | 12564 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 450 |
| Downloads: | 390 |
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