Photo By Cpl. Colby Brown | Cpl. Douglas Nowak, embarker, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, native of Pound,...... read more read more
Subscribe
MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. — During the Mojave Desert’s winter season with temperatures of 30 to 50 degrees, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, arrived here, Feb. 19-21, to conduct the training exercise Enhanced Mojave Viper.
EMV is the closest equivalent to how the battalion will operate in Afghanistan and allows the Lava Dogs to rehearse counter insurgency operations while conducting clear, hold and build exercises. Clear, hold and build is the fundamental mission in Afghanistan and its main purpose is to clear a threat area, hold and secure the position, and build up the lines of operation of security, security force development, governance, economic development, and essential services in the surrounding area.
While the Lava Dogs conduct EMV, their evaluators, known as “Coyotes” who specialize in each exercise, will grade them and pinpoint any weaknesses the battalion has.
“It’s not exactly Afghanistan, but it does a great job of simulating the environment and gives us the opportunity to rehearse how we will fight the enemy and how we will engage the Afghan people and explain to them our mission of who we are, why we are there, teach them about democracy and that it makes the government accountable to its people and explain to them why they have a better future without the Taliban,” said Lt. Col. Sean Riordan, battalion commanding officer and native of Mount Clair, Va. “At the end of this exercise, we will have trained in harsh conditions, built deep bonds of trust and solidified our team Lava Dogs’ identity.”
Operations during EMV include multiple squad, platoon and company live-fire and maneuver ranges, military operations in urban terrain and combined arms exercises, which includes working with mechanized and air assets.
“My expectations for every Marine is to be more tactically and technically proficient in their [military occupational specialty’s] than before they came to EMV, which will enable them to be better prepared for our upcoming deployment to Afghanistan,” said Sgt. Maj. Dwight Jones, battalion sergeant major and Detroit native.
Training is scheduled to last 30 days and culminates with a battalion-sized live- fire and maneuver exercise.
“It’s an intense evaluation for all parts of the battalion and covers the entire spectrum of battalion operations,” said Gunnery Sgt. Steven Taylor, assistant battalion operations chief, of Buffalo, N.Y. “Mojave Viper is the last test for any Marine unit before they deploy.”
For some of the men in 1/3, this isn’t their first time here. 3rd Marine Regiment is the most deployed regiment in the Marine Corps and 1/3 has been a part of that with a back-to-back deployment schedule.
“We’re deploying in a few months so I’m excited for the training,” said Lance Cpl. Doug Miller, squad leader, 1st Platoon, Charlie Company, from Saratoga, N.Y. “I’m ready to get my new guys up to speed and ready for the deployment. EMV really counts for everything, it’s the most important field exercise we do before deploying and we have a lot of training assets available to us here. So this training is very important to us,” said the second-time EMV participant.
The Lava Dogs have been busy since September completing multiple training exercises. They have trained at the Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, Calif., and recently finished training at the Pohakuloa Training Area on the Island of Hawaii. Enhanced Mojave Viper will be their last major training exercise before deploying to Afghanistan in May.
| Date Taken: | 02.21.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 02.28.2011 15:44 |
| Story ID: | 66240 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 323 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 1/3 Lava Dogs bring Hawaiian spirit to Southern California, by Cpl Colby Brown, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
