Photo By Cpl. Damarko Bones | A Marine with 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion yells out orders to his squad during a...... read more read more
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CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - The Marine Corps’ best combat engineer squads competed in the first installment of the SAPPER Squad Competition at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, June 20-24.
The competition was a series of skill-based challenges that all combat engineers must be able to perform in the most proficient manner.
“We want technically and tactically proficient squads that are prepared to go and enable the success of an infantry company,” said Lt. Col. Gary McCullar, commanding officer for 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion. “This competition was the first time that squads from all four Marine divisions got together to work and compete against each other.”
Over the course of the week-long competition, Marines from the 1st, 2nd and 4th Combat Engineer Battalions along with the 3rd Combat Assault Battalion competed in realistic combat scenario operations to determine the best combat engineer squad in the Marine Corps.
The competition hosted events such as the assault demo range, where the squads demonstrated door breaching using detonation cord, to the Night Infiltration Course that required the teams to communicate to complete the mission under total darkness and harsh conditions. The SAPPER squads, which were led by their individual squad leaders, displayed elite execution in the first completion of its kind.
“All of the events we did were our core [mission essential tasks] for what you’d expect from an engineer squad supporting an infantry company,” said McCullar. “These events were extremely grueling, very hard pressed but the Marines of each unit did exceptionally well in rising to the occasion.”
The Combat Engineer Battalions plan to hold the 2017 competition on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, during the spring, hoping to make the event annual.
“This is something that we want to keep doing,” said McCullar. “It breeds camaraderie, it breeds competition and when you breed competition it increases the level of proficiency and effectiveness of an organization; we want to make the engineering community better.”
| Date Taken: | 06.20.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.11.2016 21:03 |
| Story ID: | 203662 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 136 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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