Courtesy Photo | Lance Cpl. Ashley M. Rockhold, driver with 4th Platoon, Military Police Company,...... read more read more
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CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Training is an ongoing evolution that Marines are constantly trying to perfect. It's like practicing for a big game. One Marine in particular with Military Police Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 17, 1st Marine Logistics Group, is doing just that, ensuring all is to 'par' for her upcoming deployment to Afghanistan.
Along with many other Marines in MP Co., Lance Cpl. Ashley M. Rockhold, 23, driver for 4th Platoon, Military Police Co., CLR-17, 1st MLG, has been participating in live-fire ranges, the Combat Hunter course, weapons classes, cultural development classes and getting some time to work with Military Working Dogs.
"I also have my explosive license, so I haul most of the ammunition for my unit as well as the MLG," said Rockhold. "I am pretty excited, I feel that a lot of responsibility has been put on me, but I look at it as a tool to help other Marines realize their potential."
Some of the missions that Military Police Co. could face in theater are security patrols, conducting route reconnaissance missions and conducting personal security detachment missions.
Route reconnaissance missions are one of the most important missions of a security element. So having all the right tools to complete the task at hand is vital to the unit's success — even if that tool is man's best friend.
"We can only do so much with metal detectors," said Rockhold, when talking about searching for improvised explosive devices. "The dogs can instantly pick out smells from explosives and see things that we might miss. It's a huge advantage in our capabilities in finding IEDs."
The added security of having K-9s sniff out danger could save the life of another Marine.
"The dogs provide an expanded capability in finding IEDs. We worked with the Specialized Search Dogs in our training and they proved to be a great asset to us," added 2nd Lt. Christopher A. Robinson, 28, from Asheville, N.C., platoon commander for 4th Platoon, Military Police Co. "We hope to have their capabilities with us as we deploy."
Similar to Military Working Dogs who are trained to sniff out danger and provide additional security, Rockhold has learned to stalk her enemies and look for specific signs of suspicious activity through the Combat Hunter Course.
The Combat Hunter course teaches Marines how to better observe, communicate and develop critical thinking skills. The Marines also learn how to analyze highly complex environments and act upon their findings.
Rockhold's training paired with the dogs' capabilities will give insurgents fewer places to hide.
The dogs have also participated in live-fire exercises with MP Co., so they can become familiar with the sounds and smells of combat.
"This training was very good for us to also become used to having the dogs with us and how to act around them," said Rockhold. "This was the first time we had the hands-on opportunity to actually work with the dogs."
Soon, Military Police Co. hopes to incorporate the dogs into their missions while on deployment. This would speed up the process of finding IEDs tremendously.
Both Rockhold and the Military Working Dogs, with all the training they have received together, can prove instrumental to the success of missions to come.
| Date Taken: | 10.13.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 10.13.2009 19:46 |
| Story ID: | 40065 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 323 |
| Downloads: | 258 |
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