thedrifter
10-25-05, 02:42 PM
October 31, 2005
Foreign troops learn combat skills from new unit
By C. Mark Brinkley
Times staff writer
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — Say hello to the FMTU.
The Corps’ first special-operations force dedicated to teaching basic military combat skills to foreign military units unfurled its colors during a ceremony here Oct. 11, a finishing touch for a plan months in the creating.
“Apparently, now we are official,” said Col. Peter Petronzio, 43, commanding officer for the Foreign Military Training Unit, to the Marines on hand for the event. “All those 12- and 15-hour weekends you’ve been working were unofficial. Now, we can get to work.”
The unit, a division of the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (Anti-Terrorism), will provide tailored training and adviser support for foreign military units, at the direction of U.S. Special Operations Command and regional combatant commanders. The unit was created as part of a larger plan to contribute Marines to Special Operations Command missions around the world.
The group’s main objective will be to train other militaries, making it harder for terrorists and rebellious factions to set up shop.
“What we want to do is try to get ahead of the power curve,” Petronzio said. “The sooner we go there with a small group of Marines, the less likely we’ll have to go there with a large group of Marines.”
Petronzio expects to have three 11-man training teams ready to deploy by January. Ultimately, the FMTU will have two dozen training teams, composed of more than 400 Marines and 25 to 30 hospital corpsmen.
The teams will be built around a core of mainly noncommissioned officers and staff NCOs. Most of the Marines will come from basic infantry backgrounds, Petronzio said.
“A team like that can train probably up to a battalion-sized group in squad-level tactics,” he said.
The creation of the FMTU expands on the Corps’ involvement in international military assistance missions. Already, the Corps operates the Security Cooperation Education and Training Center in Quantico, Va., which conducts military-building programs with as many as 80 countries.
Making connections
Last year, the center sent roughly 500 Marines to countries that were trying to train their fledgling armies, ranging from the former Soviet republic of Georgia to Niger in Africa.
Such missions are intended not only as a way to engage with nations with whom the United States is already allied, but also to make new connections — reaching out to smaller, needier countries as they attempt to establish more control within their borders. The programs the Quantico center oversees help the Corps build relationships, gather both formal and informal intelligence and strengthen alliances with dozens of countries.
About 25 Marines traveled to Chad and Niger last year for two six-week training stints. A more comprehensive program based in Georgia employed Army and Marine units that conducted training there for almost two years.
Such experiences will only help the unit be successful, unit officials said.
“It’s new. Nothing like this has ever been created before,” said Col. Glen R. Sachtleben, 4th MEB commander.
“But it’s a mission Marines have been doing for many years.”
C. Mark Brinkley is the Jacksonville, N.C., bureau chief for Marine Corps Times. He can be reached at (910) 455-8354, or via e-mail at cmark@marinecorpstimes.com.
Ellie
Foreign troops learn combat skills from new unit
By C. Mark Brinkley
Times staff writer
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — Say hello to the FMTU.
The Corps’ first special-operations force dedicated to teaching basic military combat skills to foreign military units unfurled its colors during a ceremony here Oct. 11, a finishing touch for a plan months in the creating.
“Apparently, now we are official,” said Col. Peter Petronzio, 43, commanding officer for the Foreign Military Training Unit, to the Marines on hand for the event. “All those 12- and 15-hour weekends you’ve been working were unofficial. Now, we can get to work.”
The unit, a division of the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (Anti-Terrorism), will provide tailored training and adviser support for foreign military units, at the direction of U.S. Special Operations Command and regional combatant commanders. The unit was created as part of a larger plan to contribute Marines to Special Operations Command missions around the world.
The group’s main objective will be to train other militaries, making it harder for terrorists and rebellious factions to set up shop.
“What we want to do is try to get ahead of the power curve,” Petronzio said. “The sooner we go there with a small group of Marines, the less likely we’ll have to go there with a large group of Marines.”
Petronzio expects to have three 11-man training teams ready to deploy by January. Ultimately, the FMTU will have two dozen training teams, composed of more than 400 Marines and 25 to 30 hospital corpsmen.
The teams will be built around a core of mainly noncommissioned officers and staff NCOs. Most of the Marines will come from basic infantry backgrounds, Petronzio said.
“A team like that can train probably up to a battalion-sized group in squad-level tactics,” he said.
The creation of the FMTU expands on the Corps’ involvement in international military assistance missions. Already, the Corps operates the Security Cooperation Education and Training Center in Quantico, Va., which conducts military-building programs with as many as 80 countries.
Making connections
Last year, the center sent roughly 500 Marines to countries that were trying to train their fledgling armies, ranging from the former Soviet republic of Georgia to Niger in Africa.
Such missions are intended not only as a way to engage with nations with whom the United States is already allied, but also to make new connections — reaching out to smaller, needier countries as they attempt to establish more control within their borders. The programs the Quantico center oversees help the Corps build relationships, gather both formal and informal intelligence and strengthen alliances with dozens of countries.
About 25 Marines traveled to Chad and Niger last year for two six-week training stints. A more comprehensive program based in Georgia employed Army and Marine units that conducted training there for almost two years.
Such experiences will only help the unit be successful, unit officials said.
“It’s new. Nothing like this has ever been created before,” said Col. Glen R. Sachtleben, 4th MEB commander.
“But it’s a mission Marines have been doing for many years.”
C. Mark Brinkley is the Jacksonville, N.C., bureau chief for Marine Corps Times. He can be reached at (910) 455-8354, or via e-mail at cmark@marinecorpstimes.com.
Ellie