Photo By Cpl. Mark Stroud | A secondary improvised explosive device detonates near a disabled Combat Logistics...... read more read more
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TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. - "Marines are competitive by nature and have a natural expectation to win every engagement scenario here at [Enhanced Mojave Viper],” said Capt. Donald L. Hotchkiss, commanding officer, Company A, Combat Logistics Battalion 4. “They soon find out that the training here is designed to make you lose, not because it is too difficult or unrealistic, but because it is more important to continue to improve."
"[The training] is about staying hungry and never allowing them to peak on performance," he added.
CLB-4 Marines were challenged to improve during an engagement scenario that played out during a supply convoy at Marine Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., Dec. 5 during Enhanced Mojave Viper.
EMV is the battalion’s final training exercise before deploying to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in early 2012.
Marines from the battalion, which falls under Combat Logistics Regiment 3, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, pushed into a mock city to deliver supplies and develop relationships with local community leaders. During the mission, they responded to insurgent activity including improvised explosive devices and small-arms fire.
“How the events unfolded depended on [the Marines’] actions … the training was [exercise force] driven,” said Cpl. Jesse B. Pelamati, instructor, Tactical Training Exercise Control Group, Marine Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif. “Whether they were hit by secondary IEDs depended on if they swept the area properly, and the actions of the locals depended on how the Marines interacted with them.”
The exercise took place at a training city at MAGCC and was complete with actors portraying local civilians and insurgents.
“[The training] is important because it teaches the Marines versatility, and it teaches them to think, which is especially important when dealing with civilians,” said 1st Lt. Margaret S. Adams, executive officer, Company A, CLB-4. “The civilians are our allies. Our interactions with them will help keep us alive.”
The Marines’ interactions with the civilians ranged from the convoy commander meeting with local leaders and dropping off supplies at a medical clinic to junior Marines interacting with civilians on the city streets, placing a premium on small-unit leadership.
“Small-unit leadership is huge because the [officers and staff non-commissioned officers] cannot be everywhere at once,” said Adams. “Every interaction, no matter how small, has a lasting impact, and the actions of lance corporals can win hearts and minds.”
The convoy was hit by a mock IED, which disabled one vehicle and wounded several Marines, moments after the Marines dropped off supplies to a local medical clinic. Marines responding to the explosion were hit by a secondary IED and small-arms fire.
Motor Transportation Marines are frequently required to make rapid transitions between fighting the enemy, providing logistical support to forward units, and interacting with civilians on the current battlefield, according to Adams.
“This training teaches the Marines to be able to [switch roles] rapidly, and that is a difficult thing to do and a very valuable skill set,” said Adams.
The Marines proceeded to suppress the incoming small-arms fire, collect the casualties, recover the disabled vehicle and push out of the kill-zone to a field south of the city, where they established a security perimeter and landing zone for medical-evacuation helicopters.
The training incorporated elements of all of the exercises that the Marines had worked though up to that point during EMV, according to Pelamati.
The building-blocks approach to training will continue when the Marines work through a similar scenario using live ammunition in the coming week, he added.
The Marines grow more confident with every training exercise as they approach the end of EMV and the end of their predeployment training.
“Each day of rehearsals and every event allows our Marines to improve on previous scenarios and gain a new level of confidence that not only provides results in this demanding training environment, but will also carry over to our deployment and allow them to directly contribute to the overall counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan,” said Capt. Donald L. Hotchkiss, commanding officer, Company A. “The Marines of Company A … have never been more confident and the connection developed over the past five months of rigorous training at Camp Fuji, Camp Mujuk and now [Twentynine Palms] will bond them together through their deployment, career and lives.”
| Date Taken: | 12.05.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 12.15.2011 01:01 |
| Story ID: | 81402 |
| Location: | MARINE AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 122 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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