Photo By Cpl. Robert Medina | Marines with 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company practice searching rooms at the...... read more read more
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Being able to coordinate close-air support to deliver ordinance on targets hundreds of meters away is not something every Marine unit can do. But for 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, training with foreign forces to accomplish this task was the day's mission.
1st ANGLICO conducted close air support training with 148 (Meiktila) Commando Forward Observation Battery, Royal Artillery, to strengthen old and new working relationships at Camp Pendleton, Sept. 4-19. A jump was also conducted with a detachment of 3rd ANGLICO.
The 148 (CFOB) is a commando-trained unit which is made up of specialist Naval Gunfire Forward Observers who fall under the 29th Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery.
Primarily made up of forward observers and field radio operators, ANGLICO Marines go out with ground elements, or jump from aircraft to their site, to set up forward observation posts. Once in place they can gather information to call in indirect fire or close-air support. ANGLICO units specialize in working with other military forces.
"We know we will be working with the Marines; building these relationships now is important to us in the future when we deploy," said Maj. Mark Dornan, battery commander of 148. "It is useful and important to do this cross-training so we can see some of the Marines techniques."
It is this cross-training that will make for successful missions when the time comes.
"We hope to take some of the better parts of the Marines' training and pass on some of our knowledge as well," said Dornan, a native of Dorchester, England.
Sgt. Joshua Elliot, fire chiefs' advisor from Chino, Calif., says his Marines are open to new learning techniques.
"Cross-training is a must for us, we are constantly learning. We are firm believers of being flexible because we work a lot with foreign forces," said Elliot.
The Commandos have just returned from a deployment to Afghanistan. Their experience in the area was very useful for teaching U.S. Marines what to expect. In return the Commandos get to experience working with new assets they have not yet worked with before.
"We all have returned from Afghanistan recently, but we haven't worked a lot with cobras before so this is good training for us," said Sgt. Wheeler Leighton, commanders' assistant of 148 (Meiktila) Battery, Royal Artillery. "The facilities here allow us to do things we would not have been able to do back home."
Dornan says the annual trip has been beneficial for his five fire-support teams he brought from the United Kingdom.
"Here, there are a lot more resources available such as bigger ranges and new simulation facilities," said Dornan. "It's really good for our guys to see what else is out there."
Along with the CAS training, the twenty Commandos earned their jump wings by jumping with Marines from 3rd ANGLICO during their visit. During this mission the Commandos had the unique opportunity to use U.S. Marine jump equipment.
"The quality of the training that we can get out here is of the highest standard," said Dornan. "This is one of our major exercises for the year, one that we take seriously and hold in high regard."
The Commandos were able to learn the Marine Corps exiting procedures and landing techniques. This was just another insertion method ANGLICO units and the Commandos can utilize to accomplish their mission.
Through exercises like this both military forces can learn from each other and share their own experiences they have had in previous deployments.
| Date Taken: | 09.18.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 10.08.2009 17:45 |
| Story ID: | 39856 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 908 |
| Downloads: | 318 |
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