Photo By Cpl. Clayton Vonderahe | MUSA QAL'EH, Helmand Province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan -- 2nd Lt. Travis...... read more read more
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MUSA QAL'EH, Helmand Province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan -- Sweat mixes with dirt as it crusts around the fatigued faces. The fine powder rises like mist each time a Marine gets thrown to the ground. Two Marines pair against each other in a flurry of technical maneuvers that threaten their victim’s joints, bones or consciousness. The fight isn’t over until one Marine suffers injury or admits he is defeated.
For most Marines, the training is done before deployment and implemented when they arrive in a combat zone. For Marines with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, there is always room for improvement, even in a combat zone.
Marines with the battalion have been training two hours a day, four days a week in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. The program is based on a martial arts belt system. The belts start at tan belt then progress to grey, green, brown, and black. Once black is achieved, further progress can be made by obtaining red tabs on the belt, signifying certain degrees of training.
Gunnery Sgt. Fabian Dagdag III, the guard chief for Forward Operating Base Musa Qal’eh, took it upon himself to ensure those who had extra time throughout the day would have the opportunity to advance themselves in the program.
“It is for the Marines,” said the New Jersey City, N.J., native. “Back in (Camp Lejeune, N.C.), they had been asking me if I could train them in MCMAP, but there was no downtime.”
The combat environment has consolidated the Marines into one area where they are away from their families and personal obligations that could have previously hindered their ability to further their martial arts training. The courses have been running for approximately a month and in that time several Marines and sailors have advanced one or more belt levels. On April 12, five Marines were promoted to a higher belt level and many still aspire to continue.
“Since the beginning of the work-up for the deployment, I have put in all of my grey belt hours, but was never able to test for my belt,” said Pfc. Justin Stark, a Pontotoc, Miss., native. “I didn’t get to test out until Gunnery Sgt. Dagdag started his MCMAP program.”
Stark is at every session he can attend, learning what he can and helping others with what he has already learned. After receiving his grey belt, he is currently working on achieving his green and aspires to progress to his black belt before the end of the deployment.
“I like it; the program involves a little bit of everything that is required to pick up the belt,” Stark said. “I enjoy the grappling afterwards as well.”
The course is tailored to everyone, helping those of all levels improve themselves. Lessons from the proper stance to take when fighting can progress to skilled moves that can threaten a person’s life or limb.
The program not only helps hone combat skills, but also prepares those who succeed in advancing through the belts to advance in their careers as well. The higher a belt a Marine is, the better they look when they compete against other Marines on meritorious promotion boards.
“One day (the battalion sergeant major) passed (information) that we will be doing meritorious promotions here in country,” said Dagdag, who is a black belt instructor. “A lot of Marines before were a tan belt or grey belt, and there’s a certain level they have to go to for them to get promoted meritoriously.”
With attendance as high as 20 Marines in each class, Dagdag has improved his Marines on a personal level, as well as helped to benefit the battalion.
The lessons end with practical application. At the end of each day, two Marines lock heads in a struggle for victory. There are no ties and no one to shed the blame on for losing. The winner emerges confident and proud, while the loser is left with bruises to reflect on. While these fights are contained in a secure, supervised environment, the ones they might face with an enemy outside their walls will be no-holds barred.
EDITORS NOTE: 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment is assigned to Regimental Combat Team 8, Task Force Leatherneck, in Southwest Afghanistan. The task force, headed by 2nd Marine Division (Forward), is the ground combat element for Regional Command Southwest and is working in partnership with the Afghan National Security Force and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to conduct counterinsurgency operations. The unit is dedicated to securing the Afghan people, defeating insurgent forces, and enabling ANSF assumption of security responsibilities within its area of operations in order to support the expansion of stability, development and legitimate governance.
| Date Taken: | 04.27.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 04.28.2011 10:23 |
| Story ID: | 69481 |
| Location: | MUSA QAL'EH, AF |
| Web Views: | 406 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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