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Ready for anything

Photo By Cpl. Vanessa American Horse | Role players shake hands after a mock meeting with the town elder and police chief...... read more read more

MARINE CORPS TRAINING AREA BELLOWS, HAWAII, UNITED STATES

03.23.2012

Story by Cpl. Vanessa American Horse

Marine Corps Base Hawaii

MARINE CORPS TRAINING AREA BELLOWS, Hawaii — Realistic training has been the pride and joy of Marine Corps Training Area Bellows with the addition of the new Military Operations in Urban Terrain sites last year. Recently, the Marine Corps Base Hawaii Training Support Command invited all units to a two-week Immersive Infantry Training at MCTAB. Several units from MCB Hawaii, international civilians and the Army’s 496th Multi-Functional Training Brigade from Fort Shafter took advantage of the detailed endeavor.

The Engineer Platoon from Combat Assault Company, 3rd Marine Regiment, stayed at MCTAB overnight March 14 until the late evening of March 15 to conduct key leader engagement, improvised explosive device lane training and tactical questioning exercises with Theater Security Corporation. The platoon is typically immersed in training with infantry Marines, but this exercise gave them the chance to target their own strengths and weaknesses.

“The infantry immersion training at MCTAB, coupled with role players, added an element of realism and an interactive environment,” said 1st Lt. Chad R. Thomas, platoon commander, Engineer Platoon, CAC, 3rd Marines. “The over-arching theme was to put the non-commissioned officer leadership in a stressful environment to make decisions.”

The role players involved in the training were all U.S. citizens who could accurately portray Afghan citizens and speak Dari, Pashto, or both. They were hired as contractors from southern California to help with pragmatic training and were tasked to characterize shopkeepers, mullahs, elders, Afghanistan National Army soldiers, police chiefs and more.

According to Thomas, the intensive training sharpened squad-level planning and the execution of combat engineer and provisional rifle platoon missions.

“This training is important for everyone, but it’s necessary for the Marines who haven’t seen Afghanistan yet,” said Lance Cpl. Jamahl R. Freeman, combat engineer, Engineer Platoon. “The role players are really authentic from the way they look, act and deal with situations. Sometimes we forget customs and courtesies, so this has been a great refresher for some of us and a good way to work with our new Marines.”

Another aspect of the training was the incorporation of the new Instrumented–Tactical Engagement Simulation System that uses lasers to simulate live fire in combat.

“The I-TESS is replacing the [Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System] because it’s smart,” said Mike Davis, site manager, Range Training Instrumentation Support Services. “It has a GPS tracker and transmitter built in, so many of them can be tracked in an area at one time on a computer.”

The I-TESS vest verbally tells Marines wearing it where they’ve been hit by an opposing laser, the extent of the damage, and whether they are wounded or killed. It also comes equipped with grenades that emit lasers when detonated in simulated exercises.

“Since it tells you where someone’s been hit you can also practice triage and use an [Individual First Aid Kit],” said Cpl. Joseph M. McCauley, team leader, Engineer Platoon, CAC, 3rd Marines. “I like the gear, it’s lightweight. But there’s also the ability to use grenades and call in artillery strikes and that was different.”

The Engineer Platoon finished up their exercise with a detailed after action report with use of the more than 340 cameras on the MCTAB MOUNT sites. The Marines proved they were ready for anything from building bridges to counter-insurgency operations.

“This training really did replicate the Afghanistan environment as close as it could,” Thomas said. “I’m not sure where we’re headed for our next deployment, but wherever we go, we’ll be more prepared.”