Photo By Sgt. Charles Santamaria | Lance Cpl. Bryan League, team leader, 2nd Battalion 4th Marines, 5th Marine Regiment,...... read more read more
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TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. - Marines set up their defensive positions as they prepare to ascend the rock face before them. Fixed rope lanes line the sides with an assault climber watching over the Marines climbing. With their rifle and combat load, each Marine traverses the steep climb, securing themselves to the rope lane. At the elevation of approximately 9,000 feet above sea level, Marines of all climbing skill levels reached the top, ready for the next obstacle of the exercise.
Marines with G Co., 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 5th Marine Regiment, participated in a cliff-assault exercise at Sardine Rock, Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, as part of Mountain Exercise 3-14, June 16, 2014.
The event challenged the company by putting the Marines out of their comfort zones and having them rely on assault climbers in their unit to organize the best avenues of approach to overcome the climb.
“Having assault climbers in the unit allows for more dynamic alternatives when approaching an obstacle like this in a combat zone,” said Cpl. Logan Kennedy, assault climber, 2/4. “Having the ability to go straight over a cliff face or mountain instead of travel around it gets the Marines to the objective quicker.”
The unit had their assault climber qualified Marines secure rope lanes for the company to use for the obstacle. The effectiveness of their climbers was also evaluated by mountain warfare instructors to sharpen their skills and add to their strategy and approach. The assault climbers encouraged trust in the equipment to combat fear of heights for the Marines.
“I personally have a fear of heights, but I can climb at these altitudes because I know these ropes will keep me safe,” said Kennedy. “Looking at another Marine who may have never climbed before and telling them a rope will save them from falling off a cliff is not easy. So having climbers reassuring their safety helps some Marines overcome that fear.”
The assault climbers are trained by mountain warfare instructors and evaluated when training at MCMWTC. The climbers are trained within individual units as force multipliers to train Marines within their battalions.
“Every assault climber or mountain leader that comes for training learns every knot,” said Staff Sgt. Jeff Austin, mountain leader, MCMWTC. “The course goes into detail of repelling, rope bridges and other tactical methods for traveling through mountainous terrain. Throughout their respective courses, Marines will practice knots and tactics for hours, creating a muscle memory for situations where they may have to set up these rope lanes or knots in complete darkness.”
The rope lane, which is used by Marines as a safety line when climbing, was clipped to several loops on the rock face and held at the top by an anchor. The anchor is a knot which clips to three loops securing the rope lane. The rope is also laid out in a Zig-Zag route, ensuring Marines slowly go up in elevation as opposed to abrupt increases, according to Kennedy.
Co. G conquered Sardine Rock and moved into the assault phase of their movement. Units that train aboard MCMWTC leave better equipped to handle mountainous terrain and carry the skills to better prepare Marines in their units.
“As assault climbers we teach the Marines the basics of these techniques,” Kennedy said. “The best thing we can teach to Marines is to have trust in the gear they are using. Once they have confidence in what they’re using, overcoming a mountain face will be easier.”
| Date Taken: | 06.16.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 06.27.2014 04:48 |
| Story ID: | 134630 |
| Location: | TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 102 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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