Photo By Cpl. Monty Burton | A convoy of vehicles transport aid supplies to a simulated disaster during a...... read more read more
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CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Marines are learning that a box of pre-packaged meals can go a long way when it comes to providing aid during a disaster.
To ensure the Camp Pendleton, Calif., based Marines of I Marine Expeditionary Force are ready to provide aid at a moments’ notice, the instructors with I MEF Special Operations Training Group keep the Marines trained with a Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief course. The three-stage course, which includes formal classroom instruction and various practical applications, provides Marines with the skills to successfully complete an HADR mission. The course then moves into the other two phases: humanitarian assistance and non-combatant evacuation operations.
Special Operations Training Group conducted the second phase, humanitarian assistance, of their course, June 25.
The SOTG instructors trained Marines from Combat Logistics Battalion -13 in preparation of their upcoming deployment with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
The training took on an urgent sense of realism as Marine Expeditionary Units from around the Marine Corps have provided disaster relief and aid to countries all over the globe. A recent example was when the Marines of the 24th MEU were called to Haiti after an earthquake ravaged the already poverty-stricken country.
During HADR training, the Marines moved supplies from a ship located off of the coast to the beach via Landing Craft Air Cushioned Vehicles, commonly referred to as hovercraft. The unit then went on to conduct simulated convoy operations and implement crowd control techniques. The instructors showed the Marines how to properly provide security and build an aid distribution point, which they used to safely channel a large crowd through.
The scenarios are designed to simulate a real life situation, said Sgt. Michael Liddle, an instructor with SOTG.
“Today was a simulated typhoon and mudslide in the Philippines,” Liddle said. “The Marines’ mission was to assess the situation and provide aid and security for those who need it.”
Liddle added that the training also showed the Marines the difference between a combat environment and a HADR mission.
“A lot of Marines are always in a combat mindset,” he said. “We want them to keep that trait, but at the same time, we need them to realize that they are not there as a show of force.”
Liddle said one major challenge for the Marines was determining how much force is needed to de-escalate some of the situations.
“There is definitely a fine line between being too friendly and being too hostile,” he said. “If the situation reaches a point of hostility, we teach the Marines how to use escalation of force.”
Cpl.l Kaitlin Nichols, a military policeman with CLB-13, 1st Marine Logistics Group, said the training will help her if she ever had to use it.
“When we first pulled up to the site, we didn’t set up security and the crowd rushed us. After the instructors talked to us, we definitely learned from our mistakes,” she said. “I learned a lot about crowd control and moving under pressure. The course is very realistic.”
To add realism to the course, the instructors used about 90 role players, many who were native to the Philippines and spoke the language, to simulate a desperate crowd in need of aid. Upon the Marines’ arrival, the role players rushed the Marines asking for assistance. At times, the situation neared the point of hostility.
“The role players were great,” Nichols said. “They really knew how to make the situation uncomfortable.”
Liddle, who distributed food, water and medical care to the local population during his deployment to Iraq, said the training is very similar to what a Marine could encounter in a real-life situation.
He said at the end of the evolution the instructors give the Marines evaluated responses on their performance.
“All of the instructors are infantry-based Marines, so we are evaluating how they are setting up security and following their [standard operating procedures], he said. “At the end of the course we like to give them tips from not only what we observed, but what we have learned from real situations.”
The Marines of SOTG ensure members of I MEF are well trained and prepared for any situation, whether it be fighting wars on foreign territory or providing aid to those in need. The HADR course keeps Marines prepared to provide aid to others at a moments’ notice.
| Date Taken: | 06.25.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.08.2010 14:55 |
| Story ID: | 52533 |
| Location: | CAMP PENDLETON, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 315 |
| Downloads: | 182 |
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