thedrifter
05-13-04, 10:45 PM
Mock riot tests Marines in urban setting
Submitted by: MCB Hawaii
Story Identification #: 2004510123610
Story by Lance Cpl. Megan L. Stiner
SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HI(May 7, 2004) -- Recently, a two-week class prepared 37 service members for their final test, and their time to prove what they had learned was at hand. They received instruction in all areas of nonlethal weapons tactics, and they were confident that they knew what to expect and how to react to any situation. But no matter how prepared a person might be, sometimes things can still get out of control.
Service members from the Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard, as well as several civilian contractors, combined forces to act as a nonlethal weapons platoon that was trying to control a hungry town of people during a mock riot in the setting of a third world country. The operation acted as the final field exercise in their journey to become nonlethal weapons instructors.
Marines from the 3rd Marine Regiment and a group of Marine volunteers acted as the aggressors for the riot. The exercise was set up at the Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) training area here. The mission of the aggressors was simple. They acted as a hungry group of people awaiting a late shipment of food.
After a short safety brief and the assignment of role players (such as a child, an old man and a woman with a baby,) the aggressors - equipped with eggs, water jugs and foam objects for throwing - awaited the arrival of the platoon, and ultimately the food truck.
At the same time, the platoon - fully equipped with shields, training batons and other nonlethal equipment - rounded the corner of the MOUT facility. Although the platoon was equipped with all the necessary gear to control a rioting mob, its ultimate goal was to keep peace within the city, and control the group until the food arrived.
As they entered the buildings where the townspeople were located, the role players took their turns testing the platoon's patience and peace-controlling methods.
Two children playing with a ball first tested the platoon. The kids proceeded to kick their ball into the formation of the platoon and asked the service members what they were doing. At times, the children reached for rifles or sat in the path of the moving platoon.
The obstacles became more dramatic as time went by. A mother set her child in the middle of the road, a couple fought and a bystander shot one of them directly in front of the formation. The more intensely the townspeople acted, the more stressed out the platoon became.
"We set them up for failure," said Sgt. James D. Johnson, chief martial arts/nonlethal weapons instructor at Regimental Schools. "We need to put them in that position to see how they would react as a group."
By the time the food truck finally arrived, the struggle between the rioters and nonlethal control platoon members had lasted for nearly two hours.
At the end of the exercise, the team was defeated in its mission to guard the food delivery building. During the two hours, the nonlethal weapons instructors carefully observed and critiqued their actions and provided constructive remarks.
One of the most difficult aspects of the training, from the perspective of the platoon, seemed to be communication. Although the platoon had practiced and worked with each other relentlessly, during the after-action review, instructors also unanimously agreed that maintaining a successful line of communication was one of its greatest challenges.
Instructors made the team aware of flaws involving bad coordination, inaccurate preparation and lack of attention during the exercise - the main reason for the platoon's defeat.
"They [platoon members] gave a lot of positive feedback, and we expected a lot of the mistakes to take place," said Johnson. "There are some things that you just can't train for without actually performing.
"Knowing that the students understood what they had tripped up on confirmed that the group achieved the necessary knowledge from what they were taught, and are ready for graduation," Johnson added.
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200451012419/$file/riotshieldlow.jpg
Marines from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, acted as aggressors in a mock riot, April 29. The riot was the final field exercise for students involved in a two-week course that ended with them graduating as nonlethal weapons instructors.
Photo by: Lance Cpl. Megan L. Stiner
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2004510125820/$file/riotreadylow.jpg
Marines from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, acted as aggressors in a mock riot, April 29. The riot was the final field exercise for students involved in a two-week course that ended with them graduating as nonlethal weapons instructors.
Photo by: Lance Cpl. Megan L. Stiner
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/73584F3495A7251485256E90005B33C3?opendocument
Ellie
Submitted by: MCB Hawaii
Story Identification #: 2004510123610
Story by Lance Cpl. Megan L. Stiner
SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HI(May 7, 2004) -- Recently, a two-week class prepared 37 service members for their final test, and their time to prove what they had learned was at hand. They received instruction in all areas of nonlethal weapons tactics, and they were confident that they knew what to expect and how to react to any situation. But no matter how prepared a person might be, sometimes things can still get out of control.
Service members from the Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard, as well as several civilian contractors, combined forces to act as a nonlethal weapons platoon that was trying to control a hungry town of people during a mock riot in the setting of a third world country. The operation acted as the final field exercise in their journey to become nonlethal weapons instructors.
Marines from the 3rd Marine Regiment and a group of Marine volunteers acted as the aggressors for the riot. The exercise was set up at the Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) training area here. The mission of the aggressors was simple. They acted as a hungry group of people awaiting a late shipment of food.
After a short safety brief and the assignment of role players (such as a child, an old man and a woman with a baby,) the aggressors - equipped with eggs, water jugs and foam objects for throwing - awaited the arrival of the platoon, and ultimately the food truck.
At the same time, the platoon - fully equipped with shields, training batons and other nonlethal equipment - rounded the corner of the MOUT facility. Although the platoon was equipped with all the necessary gear to control a rioting mob, its ultimate goal was to keep peace within the city, and control the group until the food arrived.
As they entered the buildings where the townspeople were located, the role players took their turns testing the platoon's patience and peace-controlling methods.
Two children playing with a ball first tested the platoon. The kids proceeded to kick their ball into the formation of the platoon and asked the service members what they were doing. At times, the children reached for rifles or sat in the path of the moving platoon.
The obstacles became more dramatic as time went by. A mother set her child in the middle of the road, a couple fought and a bystander shot one of them directly in front of the formation. The more intensely the townspeople acted, the more stressed out the platoon became.
"We set them up for failure," said Sgt. James D. Johnson, chief martial arts/nonlethal weapons instructor at Regimental Schools. "We need to put them in that position to see how they would react as a group."
By the time the food truck finally arrived, the struggle between the rioters and nonlethal control platoon members had lasted for nearly two hours.
At the end of the exercise, the team was defeated in its mission to guard the food delivery building. During the two hours, the nonlethal weapons instructors carefully observed and critiqued their actions and provided constructive remarks.
One of the most difficult aspects of the training, from the perspective of the platoon, seemed to be communication. Although the platoon had practiced and worked with each other relentlessly, during the after-action review, instructors also unanimously agreed that maintaining a successful line of communication was one of its greatest challenges.
Instructors made the team aware of flaws involving bad coordination, inaccurate preparation and lack of attention during the exercise - the main reason for the platoon's defeat.
"They [platoon members] gave a lot of positive feedback, and we expected a lot of the mistakes to take place," said Johnson. "There are some things that you just can't train for without actually performing.
"Knowing that the students understood what they had tripped up on confirmed that the group achieved the necessary knowledge from what they were taught, and are ready for graduation," Johnson added.
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200451012419/$file/riotshieldlow.jpg
Marines from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, acted as aggressors in a mock riot, April 29. The riot was the final field exercise for students involved in a two-week course that ended with them graduating as nonlethal weapons instructors.
Photo by: Lance Cpl. Megan L. Stiner
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2004510125820/$file/riotreadylow.jpg
Marines from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, acted as aggressors in a mock riot, April 29. The riot was the final field exercise for students involved in a two-week course that ended with them graduating as nonlethal weapons instructors.
Photo by: Lance Cpl. Megan L. Stiner
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/73584F3495A7251485256E90005B33C3?opendocument
Ellie