thedrifter
10-26-05, 12:32 PM
Battle Skills Competition calls for teamwork
MCB Camp Butler
Story by Lance Cpl. Warren Peace
CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan (Oct. 25, 2005) -- Fifty-seven sailors on seven eight-man island-wide teams met here Oct. 17 for a five-day competition that evaluated their field capabilities under varying degrees of physical and mental stress.
The 13th Annual Navy Battle Skills Competition tested the knowledge, general field and first aid skills, physical fitness, teamwork and decision-making skills of sailors in support of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The competition consisted of seven events: a land navigation course; Zodiac boat race; obstacle course; combined arms skills course; written exam; M-9 pistol competition; and 12-mile force march.
The first competition was the land navigation course held in the Central Training Area. The teams were given four hours to find five predetermined checkpoints and return to the start point.
“It brought us close together,” said Seaman Roy “Biggin” Williams, a team member of the Wing Warriors and a corpsman with 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. “We realized the biggest part of working as a team is communication.”
The Zodiac boat race at Oura Wan Bay was the next event. Each team was required to assemble a combat rubber reconnaissance craft, also known as a Zodiac, and navigate it through a one-kilometer course. The teams were also required to capsize their boat and flip the boat back upright to compete the course.
“It was a good competition,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Chris D. Lunsford a team member of the Buttercup Assault and a hospital corpsman with III Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group. “We did have the luck of the draw — We set out during high tide and that helped us win second place in the race.”
The obstacle course was the next challenge for the teams.
“It was rough for some short girls,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Meghan B. Renna, a team member of the Battle Barbies and a hospital corpsman with U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa. “Our height prevented us from reaching some of the higher obstacles. We used teamwork to overcome our disadvantages.”
During the obstacle course the Battle Barbies, the all-female team from the U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa, displayed a unique technique for navigating the obstacle course. The team built a human bridge at a portion of the course where the relatively short team would have trouble reaching an obstacle.
“It was unbelievable — I have never seen anything like it,” said Master Chief Sherman E. Boss, the command master chief for 3rd Marine Logistics Group. “Members of (Buttercup Assault) gave them the idea and they executed it perfectly.”
The combined arms skills course followed. This was a timed event designed to test the team’s knowledge, practical ability and collaborative ability in the following skills: assembly and disassembly of the M-16A2 service rifle and M-9 pistol; patient assessment and treatment; PRC-119 single channel ground and airborne radio system assembly; and nuclear, biological and chemical gear handling.
“Wearing the (MCU-2/P) gas mask was the hardest part of the course,” said Seaman Nia N. Maye a team member of the Battle Barbies and a hospital corpsman with the U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa. “The fact that you are already pumped up and breathing heavy made wearing the gas mask tough.”
A written exam, designed to test each competitor’s military and professional knowledge of the Enlisted Fleet Marine Force Warfare Specialist Program, was held after the combined arms skills course.
The final event was a twelve-mile force march. This timed event tested the individual’s and team’s strength, endurance and physical fitness.
The scores from each event were tallied to determine the overall winning team.
The first place team with 630 points was 3rd MLG North with 3rd Medical Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group. 3rd MLG South with 3rd Marine Logistics Group, won second place with 590 points and Buttercup Assault with III MHG, won third place with 500 points.
Ellie
MCB Camp Butler
Story by Lance Cpl. Warren Peace
CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan (Oct. 25, 2005) -- Fifty-seven sailors on seven eight-man island-wide teams met here Oct. 17 for a five-day competition that evaluated their field capabilities under varying degrees of physical and mental stress.
The 13th Annual Navy Battle Skills Competition tested the knowledge, general field and first aid skills, physical fitness, teamwork and decision-making skills of sailors in support of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The competition consisted of seven events: a land navigation course; Zodiac boat race; obstacle course; combined arms skills course; written exam; M-9 pistol competition; and 12-mile force march.
The first competition was the land navigation course held in the Central Training Area. The teams were given four hours to find five predetermined checkpoints and return to the start point.
“It brought us close together,” said Seaman Roy “Biggin” Williams, a team member of the Wing Warriors and a corpsman with 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. “We realized the biggest part of working as a team is communication.”
The Zodiac boat race at Oura Wan Bay was the next event. Each team was required to assemble a combat rubber reconnaissance craft, also known as a Zodiac, and navigate it through a one-kilometer course. The teams were also required to capsize their boat and flip the boat back upright to compete the course.
“It was a good competition,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Chris D. Lunsford a team member of the Buttercup Assault and a hospital corpsman with III Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group. “We did have the luck of the draw — We set out during high tide and that helped us win second place in the race.”
The obstacle course was the next challenge for the teams.
“It was rough for some short girls,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Meghan B. Renna, a team member of the Battle Barbies and a hospital corpsman with U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa. “Our height prevented us from reaching some of the higher obstacles. We used teamwork to overcome our disadvantages.”
During the obstacle course the Battle Barbies, the all-female team from the U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa, displayed a unique technique for navigating the obstacle course. The team built a human bridge at a portion of the course where the relatively short team would have trouble reaching an obstacle.
“It was unbelievable — I have never seen anything like it,” said Master Chief Sherman E. Boss, the command master chief for 3rd Marine Logistics Group. “Members of (Buttercup Assault) gave them the idea and they executed it perfectly.”
The combined arms skills course followed. This was a timed event designed to test the team’s knowledge, practical ability and collaborative ability in the following skills: assembly and disassembly of the M-16A2 service rifle and M-9 pistol; patient assessment and treatment; PRC-119 single channel ground and airborne radio system assembly; and nuclear, biological and chemical gear handling.
“Wearing the (MCU-2/P) gas mask was the hardest part of the course,” said Seaman Nia N. Maye a team member of the Battle Barbies and a hospital corpsman with the U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa. “The fact that you are already pumped up and breathing heavy made wearing the gas mask tough.”
A written exam, designed to test each competitor’s military and professional knowledge of the Enlisted Fleet Marine Force Warfare Specialist Program, was held after the combined arms skills course.
The final event was a twelve-mile force march. This timed event tested the individual’s and team’s strength, endurance and physical fitness.
The scores from each event were tallied to determine the overall winning team.
The first place team with 630 points was 3rd MLG North with 3rd Medical Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group. 3rd MLG South with 3rd Marine Logistics Group, won second place with 590 points and Buttercup Assault with III MHG, won third place with 500 points.
Ellie