Shaffer
11-09-05, 09:55 PM
More than 300 Marines and sailors with Marine Wing Support Squadron 374 completed their training and support mission Nov. 1 as part of the six-week Weapons and Tactics Instructor course aboard Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz.
WTI is a six-week exercise primarily designed to train instructors of 3rd Marine Air Wing squadrons and support squadrons.
After forward squadron elements established a camp area in mid- September, MWSS-374 Marines traveled to the Canyon Air Defense Complex, a remote training site near the air station that would be their center of operations as well as their home for the duration of the exercise.
The Marines conducted more than 47 training missions which contributed to more than 550 hours of direct training time aboard area installations. Training was also conducted at the Army’s Yuma Proving Grounds, whose vast desert expanses are reminiscent of both the Combat Center and the Middle East.
“Our primary goal here is not our own training, but to support the WTI class that is conducted here,” said Lt. Col. James B. Hanlon, commanding officer, MWSS-374 and former WTI instructor. “But just being geared to the operations that we are doing allows us to do the same type of missions and duties that we will perform in combat.”
“We are training our Marines just by supporting the class, but in addition to that, we view this as one of our major training exercises prior to deployment,” said Hanlon, referring to the squadron’s upcoming deployment to Iraq. “With that in mind, we have designed training exercises that we conduct with the extra time we may have, and we’ll use the ranges out in the field and other facilities available to us to train.”
One of the main missions of the squadron in both the WTI and a combat zone is the establishment and operation of forward arming and refueling points, or FARP.
“The basic concept of these sites is to allow aircraft to refuel and reload armaments so that they do not have to go back to the main airstrip,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Russell Johnson, officer-in-charge of Fuels Platoon, Airfield Company. “This way, the pilots can get right back into the fight to support the grunts without missing a beat.”
“We have done all of this at Twentynine Palms and in Iraq before, so this is nothing new for us, but each day they almost go to a different FARP site to support different aircraft just like we might do in combat by leapfrogging,” said Johnson. “So far, we have pumped more than 70,000 gallons of fuel and by the time the WTI is over it should be somewhere around 100,000 [gallons].”
Although the procedures may be routine for some of the Marines on the ground, they also identify the importance of the training and operations being conducted.
“It is in a way a repetitive thing, but there is also something new going on every day,” said Cpl. Victor Sanchez, Fuels, Airfield Company. “To prepare us for combat, it's good practice and we know what we need to do because it's things like this that we will be doing in Iraq. It allows us to develop that muscle memory and to get everything right before we actually go over.”
“It’s very much like the real thing because we are constantly moving around, and in Iraq, we'd be pushing forward all the time setting these sites up to allow our forces more mobility as they advance,” said Sanchez.
However, MWSS-374 did not corner its focus during their time in Yuma on merely refueling aircraft, but had a vast array of functions that all wing support squadrons must be capable of performing all at once. These include motor transport; communications; engineering; explosive ordnance disposal; field dining facilities; routine and emergency medical functions; individual and unit training; nuclear, biological and chemical defense; security and law enforcement; firefighting; and weather services.
Many of those elements of MWSS-374 participated in a myriad of training events while in Yuma such as land navigation, weapons handling and firing, convoy operations and IED identification and immediate action.
“We had some pretty aggressive goals going into this and I think we not only accomplished those but also achieved some other things that we were not expecting,” said Hanlon, whose experience as a UH-1 pilot offers him added perspective. “I really think this has exceeded our expectations. We set some very strict training goals that we wanted to accomplish while we’re here, and we have definitely exceeded those training goals.”
“Additionally, getting the Marines out of Twentynine Palms and out of their comfort zone by coming here and working this site has really had the squadron come together and start working as a team,” said Hanlon.
Hanlon said one of the main challenges of the exercise is the seamless integration of all of the squadron’s separate elements. With the WTI over, the squadron’s sights are now set on the upcoming Desert Talon exercise, which also takes place aboard MCAS Yuma.
“The WTI has given us a way to gauge where the squadron is in its training cycle and to evaluate and refine our goals and procedures prior to Desert Talon,” said Hanlon. “Then come December when we go through that it will give us a chance to polish and to fine-tune everything before we deploy.”
WTI is a six-week exercise primarily designed to train instructors of 3rd Marine Air Wing squadrons and support squadrons.
After forward squadron elements established a camp area in mid- September, MWSS-374 Marines traveled to the Canyon Air Defense Complex, a remote training site near the air station that would be their center of operations as well as their home for the duration of the exercise.
The Marines conducted more than 47 training missions which contributed to more than 550 hours of direct training time aboard area installations. Training was also conducted at the Army’s Yuma Proving Grounds, whose vast desert expanses are reminiscent of both the Combat Center and the Middle East.
“Our primary goal here is not our own training, but to support the WTI class that is conducted here,” said Lt. Col. James B. Hanlon, commanding officer, MWSS-374 and former WTI instructor. “But just being geared to the operations that we are doing allows us to do the same type of missions and duties that we will perform in combat.”
“We are training our Marines just by supporting the class, but in addition to that, we view this as one of our major training exercises prior to deployment,” said Hanlon, referring to the squadron’s upcoming deployment to Iraq. “With that in mind, we have designed training exercises that we conduct with the extra time we may have, and we’ll use the ranges out in the field and other facilities available to us to train.”
One of the main missions of the squadron in both the WTI and a combat zone is the establishment and operation of forward arming and refueling points, or FARP.
“The basic concept of these sites is to allow aircraft to refuel and reload armaments so that they do not have to go back to the main airstrip,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Russell Johnson, officer-in-charge of Fuels Platoon, Airfield Company. “This way, the pilots can get right back into the fight to support the grunts without missing a beat.”
“We have done all of this at Twentynine Palms and in Iraq before, so this is nothing new for us, but each day they almost go to a different FARP site to support different aircraft just like we might do in combat by leapfrogging,” said Johnson. “So far, we have pumped more than 70,000 gallons of fuel and by the time the WTI is over it should be somewhere around 100,000 [gallons].”
Although the procedures may be routine for some of the Marines on the ground, they also identify the importance of the training and operations being conducted.
“It is in a way a repetitive thing, but there is also something new going on every day,” said Cpl. Victor Sanchez, Fuels, Airfield Company. “To prepare us for combat, it's good practice and we know what we need to do because it's things like this that we will be doing in Iraq. It allows us to develop that muscle memory and to get everything right before we actually go over.”
“It’s very much like the real thing because we are constantly moving around, and in Iraq, we'd be pushing forward all the time setting these sites up to allow our forces more mobility as they advance,” said Sanchez.
However, MWSS-374 did not corner its focus during their time in Yuma on merely refueling aircraft, but had a vast array of functions that all wing support squadrons must be capable of performing all at once. These include motor transport; communications; engineering; explosive ordnance disposal; field dining facilities; routine and emergency medical functions; individual and unit training; nuclear, biological and chemical defense; security and law enforcement; firefighting; and weather services.
Many of those elements of MWSS-374 participated in a myriad of training events while in Yuma such as land navigation, weapons handling and firing, convoy operations and IED identification and immediate action.
“We had some pretty aggressive goals going into this and I think we not only accomplished those but also achieved some other things that we were not expecting,” said Hanlon, whose experience as a UH-1 pilot offers him added perspective. “I really think this has exceeded our expectations. We set some very strict training goals that we wanted to accomplish while we’re here, and we have definitely exceeded those training goals.”
“Additionally, getting the Marines out of Twentynine Palms and out of their comfort zone by coming here and working this site has really had the squadron come together and start working as a team,” said Hanlon.
Hanlon said one of the main challenges of the exercise is the seamless integration of all of the squadron’s separate elements. With the WTI over, the squadron’s sights are now set on the upcoming Desert Talon exercise, which also takes place aboard MCAS Yuma.
“The WTI has given us a way to gauge where the squadron is in its training cycle and to evaluate and refine our goals and procedures prior to Desert Talon,” said Hanlon. “Then come December when we go through that it will give us a chance to polish and to fine-tune everything before we deploy.”