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CAMP DWYER, Helmand province, Afghanistan – Regimental Combat Team 5 hosted a non commissioned officer symposium here, Nov 27-29.
The symposium focused on the backbone of the Corps – corporals and sergeants.
This gathering of select small unit leaders currently operating in Marjah, Nawa, Garmsir and Khan-Neshin served as an ideal opportunity to draw on their knowledge and experience through discussions of effective tactics, techniques and procedures in their respective districts. Non commissioned officers from 1st and 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 25 Marine Regiment, and the RCT-5 Personal Security Detachment participated in the symposium.
With the ever changing environment in the modern counterinsurgency fight, these young leaders are consistently called upon by their superiors to make mission critical, time sensitive decisions on the frontlines.
“The guys in this room today are the future of our Marine Corps, and that comes with a lot of responsibility,” said Sgt. Maj. Ernest Hoopii, RCT-5 sergeant major, during his opening remarks to kick off the symposium. “You are working between the troops and the leaders; you take the information from the leaders and apply it to the troops. You guys are walking the walk everyday.”
Colonel Roger Turner, RCT-5 commanding officer, echoed the importance of having solid NCOs.
“I firmly believe that the NCOs out here in our battle space are really where the rubber meets the road,” said Turner. “They are the ones who are out there carrying the heavy pack on behalf of the Marine Corps and the regiment.”
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Wesley Turner, the RCT-5 gunner, organized the symposium. With the assistance of seven other instructors, all experts in their fields, the gunner insured the event was both an educational and collaborative experience for the small unit leaders in attendance.
The NCOs completed a series of classes, a mix of lectures and practical application periods that included intelligence briefs, patrolling techniques, procedures for partnering with Afghan forces and practical application exercises at the counter improvised explosive device training lanes here.
“I thought it was pretty awesome that we got to come together and share all of our experiences so we could learn from each other. We got to see how our peers handle IEDs, and they got to see how we do it. The same goes for learning how each battalion trains the AUP (Afghan Uniformed Police) and ANA (Afghan National Army), all the way down to smaller details like how they handle their IED detection dogs,” said Cpl. Joshua William Morris, a vehicle commander with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment and a native of Norman, Okla.
Formal classes during the symposium offered a wealth of information on a several relevant topics, but the knowledge exchanged through open discussions among peers seemed to be even more valuable.
“The most important part of this whole thing for me was the chance for us just to share our knowledge,” Morris said. “I know each person here walked away with something different to take back to their units and share with the junior Marines.”
Gunner Turner said he knows the importance of this type of training for young Marine leaders. He has no intention of letting the program fall by the wayside.
“The next symposium will be in the spring,” he said. “It will be regular as long as I am here.”
Editor’s note: Regimental Combat Team 5 is assigned to 2nd Marine Division (Forward), which heads Task Force Leatherneck. The task force serves as the ground combat element of Regional Command (Southwest) and works 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: | 11.29.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 12.02.2011 02:50 |
| Story ID: | 80803 |
| Location: | CAMP DWYER, AF |
| Web Views: | 221 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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