Photo By Melissa Buckley | Friends and family members of the Fort Leonard Wood Marine Corps Detachment try on the...... read more read more
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — Marines stationed at Fort Leonard Wood’s Marine Corps Detachment got the opportunity to demonstrate aspects of their jobs and equipment with their families and friends June 18 during the detachment’s spouse’s day.
The detachment invited friends and family from across the installation — along with detachment employees — to learn more about the Marine Corps’ military occupational schools taught at Fort Leonard Wood. These include the Engineer Equipment Instruction Company, Military Police Instruction Company, Motor Transportation Instruction Company and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Defense Instruction Company.
Marine Sgt. Maj. Eric Bauer, the detachment’s senior enlisted leader, greeted the attendees in the morning at Bldg. 1701 for a safety briefing before the group visited the MTIC’s off-road course at Training Area 234.
There, they had the chance to ride along with Marines in trucks — that are called medium tactical vehicle replacements — around a course designed to teach new Marines how to safely navigate vehicles off a roadway.
“The course is the final route we do with the students for the MTVR. It is a course through an old stone quarry in the woods,” said Marine Staff Sgt. Walter Cunningham, MTIC instructor. “It challenges the driver to go through all the processes of operating the vehicle. They have to manually up and down shift, lock out all of the drivelines — from 2-wheel drive to 6-wheel drive — and it tests their nerve and confidence. It forces students out of their comfort zone and makes them apply everything they have learned in the course.”
Cunningham said his favorite part of the day was getting to show his girlfriend, Natasha Wold, the off-road course.
“It was a lot of fun. I loved hearing her giggle and laugh around the course. She was happy to be there and that makes me happy,” Cunningham said. “We only get to do that course once per training cycle with the students. It is always a long and taxing day. Now, she will understand why I am so tired at the end of the day.”
Wold said that is one of the main reasons she took a day off work to participate in the activities.
“It was super cool to see how hard he works. When he gets home late and is tired, I want to have a better understanding of why,” Wold said.
Next, at the EEIC event, the group learned how engineers move earth with backhoes and loaders at Training Area 244.
Cunningham said he was impressed after watching Wold operate a piece of equipment.
“She really surprised me by how quickly she picked up using the backhoe,” Cunningham said. “She was digging holes in a minute or two.”
After a lunch at TA 244, consisting of MREs, or meals ready to eat, the group headed to the CBRNDIC’s event, where participants dressed in CBRN protective suits, called Mission Oriented Protective Posture, or MOPP gear, and tested their motor skills and mental acuity while wearing the suits.
The group’s last stop was to the MPIC’s Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer, where they ran through the same scenarios new Marines are taught. According to the Marine’s Training and Education Command website, the ISMT is an interactive audio and visual weapons simulator that provides basic and enhanced marksmanship training, weapons employment training and tactical decision making for a variety of small arms and crew-served weapons.
Tarah Oberbeck, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response victim advocate for the Marine Corps Detachment, said the ISMT was one of the hardest tasks for her, and that was exactly what she was hoping for.
“There were parts of it that were harder than I was anticipating,” Oberbeck said. “I think participating in (spouse's day) today will help me to be able to better relate to Marines’ experiences on base. I have a better understanding of what environments they are operating in and what kind of situations they are being placed in during different parts of their training.”
As a victim advocate, Oberbeck said it is an important part of her job to be able to empathize with the people for whom she is advocating.
“Today has been a glimpse into what their average day is like. I am leaving here today with a better perspective of the training the Marines do here on base. I am grateful for that,” Oberbeck said.
Cunningham called the day a success.
“I have been to a lot of different units over the years and not all of them have organized events like this. I am glad the detachment makes it a priority. We made great memories and had a lot of fun today,” Cunningham said. “It is all about supporting the community that supports us, the Marines.”
| Date Taken: | 06.18.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.21.2024 10:43 |
| Story ID: | 474487 |
| Location: | FORT LEONARD WOOD, MISSOURI, US |
| Web Views: | 79 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Fort Leonard Wood Marines show off equipment, duties with family, friends at spouse's day event, by Melissa Buckley, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
