Photo By Master Sgt. Scott McAdam | Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team Marines prepare to use a battering ram on a door...... read more read more
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CHESAPEAKE, Va. – The sound of boots instep and batons smacking against riot shields grows louder as security force Marines march forward to remove the intruders. When the weight of the two forces inevitably crash together, the uniform and orderly shouts from the Marines cut through the chaos of hate speech and thrown projectiles as the protestors smash against riot shields like waves against a rocky shore.
Farther and farther back the Marines push the chaos until it dissipates leaving the compound secured and strangely quite.
The simulation comes to an end, leaving the Marine instructors to evaluate their student’s performance and offer advice on how they can improve.
Through these scenarios, the Marines of Training Company, Marine Corps Force Regiment give a glimpse of what the Marines may have in store for them at some point after graduation.
Due to the growing unrest and violence toward America in recent weeks, a specialized group of Marines have peaked the interest of the American people.
They are the Fleet Antiterrorism Security Teams and they specialize in non-combatant evacuation operations, close quarters battle, military operations in urban terrain, convoy operations, shipboard operations, and specialized security operations.
“These are very limited security operations,” explained 1st Sgt. Jeff Durham, Training Company 1st Sgt., Marine Corps Security Force Regiment. “We just go in, secure the area for however long the mission calls for, then we pull right back out.”
Though Marines can request security force as a special duty choice, 95 percent of the hundreds of students who attend the Basic Security Guard course each year come directly from the School of Infantry and just over half of the graduates move into a FAST company. The rest become part of Marine Corps Security Force Regiment and guard key naval installations.
According to Sgt. Adam Triplett, a physical security and tactics instructor with Training Company, one of the most difficult parts of the courses taught here is applying the knowledge Marines learn in the classroom to the exercises and simulations.
“I love the live scenarios because you can essentially set up a real time scenario of something that could actually happen and then correct your deficiencies and run the scenario again,” explained the Jacksonville, Fla. native. “That practical application experience is invaluable.”
Though the Basic Security Guard Course is broken down into two phases: Combat Weapons and Physical Security and Tactics, the instructors focus on more than just syllabus-based curriculum.
According to Durham, the instructors put special emphasis on judgment and decision-making throughout all of the training evolutions.
“For Marines coming right out of the School of Infantry, all they know is an instructor will tell them where to be, when to be there and what to have,” explained Durham, a West Palm Beach, Fla. native. “The scenarios we are running here are ‘this is happening, what would you do’ and then we grade them on what they did and give them advice on how they can improve on the decisions they made.”
Though the majority of the new security force Marines will be 18 to 19-year-old privates and a few will be young NCOs, they all will be expected to shoulder an incredible responsibility.
“As a young sergeant squad leader or sergeant of the guard in a country where people are doing ‘different’ activities, I have to fully understand what the rules of engagement are and what the escalation of force continuums are in any given country,” explained Durham. “For the Marine Corps and the American people, these Marines bring a skill set that is needed worldwide to protect American assets and interests.”
| Date Taken: | 10.03.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 10.03.2012 10:35 |
| Story ID: | 95633 |
| Location: | CHESAPEAKE, VIRGINIA, US |
| Hometown: | JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, US |
| Hometown: | WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 364 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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