thedrifter
11-17-05, 07:53 AM
‘Darkside’ treads through Combat Center
MCAGCC
Story by Pfc. Michael S. Cifuentes
Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif. (Nov. 4, 2005) -- At dawn, the sun appeared over the eastern ridgeline of the Combat Center, illuminating the faces and surfaces of what laid in the Marines way. The battalion, known as the “Darkside,” not only carries their Marine Corps issued gear, but the experience of three combat deployments to Iraq —a weight that is immeasurable.
Weapons Company of the “Darkside,” 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, journeyed through the ridgeline that boarders the Combat Center’s Mainside and the training area, in an eight-mile hump - a fast paced hike hauling all essential field gear and equipment.
The hump began at the first glimpse of sunlight from behind the hills that lie on the northeastern part of Mainside. The company set forward lugging their packs filled with gear and equipment, their M-16A4 service rifles and the company’s machine guns and anti-armor weapons.
Aside from the weight of their packs and rifles, the Marines took turns carrying the 35-pound M-29A1 mortar tubes, 29-pound M-29A1 mortar base plates, 58-pound M-2 .50 caliber machine gun receivers, 25-pound M-2 .50 caliber machine gun barrels, and 44-pound M-2 .50 caliber machine gun tripods.
Adding to the wearisome load the Marines carried was the more than three-mph pace and array of steep hills. Marines spoke aloud words of encouragement during the two-column formation hump to keep the minds of those who were overwhelmed in focus. Marines lent their hands in helping ways to the Marines in front of them who needed a push on their packs to press forward.
“It’s a physical workout but it’s mostly mental,” said Lance Cpl. Jason R. Gibbs, mortarman with Weapons Company. “Yes, Marines are tough, but we have to rely on all our gear and all our teammates around us. When you’re on a patrol in a battlefield, your patrol pack doesn’t weigh that much. But you have to have the mindset if your convoy goes down you’re carrying everything with you. You need to be ready to do that at any time.”
Aside from the weight the infantrymen stacked on their backs, they also brought along the experience the battalion has acquired from three deployments to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Like some of the Marines in the battalion, Gibbs contributed his part of the fight with Weapons Company during the three deployments.
The Winchendon, Mass., native joined the unit August 2003. His most memorable experience with the company was during their last deployment from January to August.
“We were tasked in Fallujah,” said Gibbs about 3/4's deployment to OIF 3. “Weapons Company was spread out about the city in support of the battalion. The two combined anti-armor teams were tasked with main entry control points into the city. They manned them, controlled them and conducted vehicle personnel checks.”
“We found a large amount of weapons caches in the city,” continued Gibbs. “Enemy forces tried to attack us many times but they couldn’t match us. India Company found one of the largest weapons cache to date with the support provided by Weapons Company. It took about two days to pull out about 20,000 pounds of ammunition and weapons.”
As the brilliant sun intensified, the Marines of the company began to feel the progressive pains of the hump. Some slowed their pace and others grabbed on to them to help maintain the formation’s speed.
“The most important thing to do to get through a strenuous hump is hydrate,” said Cpl. Lucas J. Mathews, section leader with Weapons Company. Marines’ faces were dripping with sweat and their utilities were soaked from their perspiring bodies.
“The purpose of making it strenuous is to build toughness,” added the Stockton, N.J., native and two-time OIF veteran. “Marines should be able to get through the mental part of humps. When Marines fall out of humps, it is because they’re either injured or wounded, or they can’t do it in their minds.”
Through the heat of the sun, the eroding sand beneath their boots and the significant inclines of the rocky hills, the company trekked through the elements leaving no one behind.
“It’s pretty motivating,” said Lance Cpl. Jason M. Reid, mortarman with Weapons Company. “I see the teamwork when Marines insist on carrying the [M-29A1] mortars and [M-2 .50 caliber machine gun]. We are not told to do so, we just do what needs to be done.”
Reid, a 20-year-old Littleton, Colo., native, joined Weapons Company after School of Infantry training in January. Ten days after meeting his new unit, he deployed to Iraq in support of OIF.
“I was nervous when I first heard that I was deploying in a week or so after I got here,” said Reid. “But I learned who the Marines were very quickly and I felt comfortable. I knew I would deploy, it just needed to be done sooner than I expected.”
As the endpoint of the hump drew near, Marines were more enthused about the miles they tread. The formation was tight and each infantryman maintained the pace.
“Being a [grunt] is a tough life,” said Gibbs. “You’re either training, getting ready to train, deployed, or getting ready to deploy. In this day in age, everything is going at a higher rate of speed. We have to use all good and useful information and train Marines with it in the shortest amount of time possible. We all are always looking for the next bit of information that will keep us alive and coming home. After we arrive home, we have to get ready for the next deployment. It’s always good coming home after a deployment but we all need to have that mindset for the next one.”
The company completed their expedition before noon, less than five hours after their departure
Ellie
MCAGCC
Story by Pfc. Michael S. Cifuentes
Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif. (Nov. 4, 2005) -- At dawn, the sun appeared over the eastern ridgeline of the Combat Center, illuminating the faces and surfaces of what laid in the Marines way. The battalion, known as the “Darkside,” not only carries their Marine Corps issued gear, but the experience of three combat deployments to Iraq —a weight that is immeasurable.
Weapons Company of the “Darkside,” 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, journeyed through the ridgeline that boarders the Combat Center’s Mainside and the training area, in an eight-mile hump - a fast paced hike hauling all essential field gear and equipment.
The hump began at the first glimpse of sunlight from behind the hills that lie on the northeastern part of Mainside. The company set forward lugging their packs filled with gear and equipment, their M-16A4 service rifles and the company’s machine guns and anti-armor weapons.
Aside from the weight of their packs and rifles, the Marines took turns carrying the 35-pound M-29A1 mortar tubes, 29-pound M-29A1 mortar base plates, 58-pound M-2 .50 caliber machine gun receivers, 25-pound M-2 .50 caliber machine gun barrels, and 44-pound M-2 .50 caliber machine gun tripods.
Adding to the wearisome load the Marines carried was the more than three-mph pace and array of steep hills. Marines spoke aloud words of encouragement during the two-column formation hump to keep the minds of those who were overwhelmed in focus. Marines lent their hands in helping ways to the Marines in front of them who needed a push on their packs to press forward.
“It’s a physical workout but it’s mostly mental,” said Lance Cpl. Jason R. Gibbs, mortarman with Weapons Company. “Yes, Marines are tough, but we have to rely on all our gear and all our teammates around us. When you’re on a patrol in a battlefield, your patrol pack doesn’t weigh that much. But you have to have the mindset if your convoy goes down you’re carrying everything with you. You need to be ready to do that at any time.”
Aside from the weight the infantrymen stacked on their backs, they also brought along the experience the battalion has acquired from three deployments to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Like some of the Marines in the battalion, Gibbs contributed his part of the fight with Weapons Company during the three deployments.
The Winchendon, Mass., native joined the unit August 2003. His most memorable experience with the company was during their last deployment from January to August.
“We were tasked in Fallujah,” said Gibbs about 3/4's deployment to OIF 3. “Weapons Company was spread out about the city in support of the battalion. The two combined anti-armor teams were tasked with main entry control points into the city. They manned them, controlled them and conducted vehicle personnel checks.”
“We found a large amount of weapons caches in the city,” continued Gibbs. “Enemy forces tried to attack us many times but they couldn’t match us. India Company found one of the largest weapons cache to date with the support provided by Weapons Company. It took about two days to pull out about 20,000 pounds of ammunition and weapons.”
As the brilliant sun intensified, the Marines of the company began to feel the progressive pains of the hump. Some slowed their pace and others grabbed on to them to help maintain the formation’s speed.
“The most important thing to do to get through a strenuous hump is hydrate,” said Cpl. Lucas J. Mathews, section leader with Weapons Company. Marines’ faces were dripping with sweat and their utilities were soaked from their perspiring bodies.
“The purpose of making it strenuous is to build toughness,” added the Stockton, N.J., native and two-time OIF veteran. “Marines should be able to get through the mental part of humps. When Marines fall out of humps, it is because they’re either injured or wounded, or they can’t do it in their minds.”
Through the heat of the sun, the eroding sand beneath their boots and the significant inclines of the rocky hills, the company trekked through the elements leaving no one behind.
“It’s pretty motivating,” said Lance Cpl. Jason M. Reid, mortarman with Weapons Company. “I see the teamwork when Marines insist on carrying the [M-29A1] mortars and [M-2 .50 caliber machine gun]. We are not told to do so, we just do what needs to be done.”
Reid, a 20-year-old Littleton, Colo., native, joined Weapons Company after School of Infantry training in January. Ten days after meeting his new unit, he deployed to Iraq in support of OIF.
“I was nervous when I first heard that I was deploying in a week or so after I got here,” said Reid. “But I learned who the Marines were very quickly and I felt comfortable. I knew I would deploy, it just needed to be done sooner than I expected.”
As the endpoint of the hump drew near, Marines were more enthused about the miles they tread. The formation was tight and each infantryman maintained the pace.
“Being a [grunt] is a tough life,” said Gibbs. “You’re either training, getting ready to train, deployed, or getting ready to deploy. In this day in age, everything is going at a higher rate of speed. We have to use all good and useful information and train Marines with it in the shortest amount of time possible. We all are always looking for the next bit of information that will keep us alive and coming home. After we arrive home, we have to get ready for the next deployment. It’s always good coming home after a deployment but we all need to have that mindset for the next one.”
The company completed their expedition before noon, less than five hours after their departure
Ellie