thedrifter
05-13-06, 03:42 PM
The Translator
By Jutta Biggerstaff / Hi-Desert Star Friday, May 12, 2006 11:20 PM PDT
“The experience is so intense.”
Peter Banachi shook his head as he tried to describe his involvement with the Mojave Viper program being conducted on the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms. The training is for Marines from all over the country who will eventually deploy to Iraq. The month-long course teaches urban combat and cultural awareness.
Banachi, from Yucca Valley, is one of about 500 people who have contracted to help train these Marines by pretending to be Iraqis.
The mock Iraqis live and work in a replicated Iraqi village complete with houses, businesses and mosques. Also complete with limited water and electricity.
The group consists of former and current law enforcers, former military members and actors. About 80 are women and almost 100 are Iraqi-Americans.
Banachi said some of the actors got more than they bargained for.
“When they got here they were walking around with 8-by-10 head shots and asking where to plug in their hair dryers,” he said, laughing.
But during the mission, no such amenity will be available. It's a total immersion in Iraqi culture; the exercise is intended to imitate Iraqi life as closely as possible. The last four days of the 10-day mission the participants will live and breathe, eat and sleep like Iraqi villagers.
As a supervisor, Banachi will be expected to work the entire 10 days of each mission. For the first exercise he wound up spending 18 days in a row in the village and tent city on base. He lost 11 pounds.
The first mission was so long because it was their first time, he said. He expects the second exercise to run more smoothly.
The actors and extras are recruited by Force Preparedness Training Services, an organization that provides live training simulation services to the U.S. government.
According to the FPTS Web site, realistic training simulations are more effective and produce better soldiers. Its mission is to help train Marines in conditions that are as realistic as possible.
Realism is important, Banachi said, so when the Marines get to Iraq they will have some idea of what to expect and how to react in certain situations. The group practices all kinds of scenarios, including insurgent attacks, house searches, hostage situations and convoys. Emphasis is placed on recognition of improvised explosive devices.
The training is intended to help the troops make the best decisions possible.
“These kids are 19, 20 years old,” Banachi said. “They're supposed to have the wisdom of Solomon? They need to make the best choices possible because they have to live with those choices afterward.”
Banachi said the battle conditions during the mission were “moments of brilliance mixed with absolute chaos.” Like in a real battle, with adrenaline surging, troops are forced to make instant decisions, to determine if an Iraqi is a threat or if a target is an enemy or a friend.
Another reason realistic training is important is the unique type of military operation the Marines are going into. The situation in Iraq is difficult, Banachi said; the military is fighting what Marines call “a three-block war.” Banachi said that, essentially, the troops are fulfilling three roles in Iraq: humanitarian, peacekeeping and military.
“In the humanitarian role they might deliver water to an orphanage; in a peace-keeping role they may arbitrate between family tribes; and, in a military role they may have to deal with a sniper situation,” he said.
MCAGCC Gunnery Sgt. Chris W. Cox echoed the three-block war concept, but stopped short of describing Marines as peacekeepers.
“We're usually not employed as peacekeepers,” he said. “Marines are a hard-hitting, fast-moving, short-term force.”
But Cox agreed that the training Marines get in Twentynine Palms is invaluable.
“Mojave Viper training is unique to the Corps, and every Marine going to a desert environment stops here first,” he said. “They learn what to expect in Iraq, from the harsh desert climate to the language and culture of the country. That's where the role-players come in.”
Banachi seems the perfect candidate for a role-playing position in the Mojave Viper program. He spent 30 years in the Marines, including working as a weapons instructor for the Federal Bureau of Investigations and working for three years in Moscow.
He speaks three dialects of Arabic, and that, combined with his military and government experience, makes him a valuable asset to the force preparedness training program.
One problem Banachi sees with the program, and one that will probably increase as summer arrives, is the attrition rate.
“They're dropping like flies,” he said. His solution would be to use more locals since they already live here and are used to the desert.
Banachi said he signed on for the intense 10-month mission that will involve little sleep and bad food because he felt compelled to give something back to his country.
“If I can help bring a kid home to his parents or fiancee, it's worth it.”
Ellie
By Jutta Biggerstaff / Hi-Desert Star Friday, May 12, 2006 11:20 PM PDT
“The experience is so intense.”
Peter Banachi shook his head as he tried to describe his involvement with the Mojave Viper program being conducted on the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms. The training is for Marines from all over the country who will eventually deploy to Iraq. The month-long course teaches urban combat and cultural awareness.
Banachi, from Yucca Valley, is one of about 500 people who have contracted to help train these Marines by pretending to be Iraqis.
The mock Iraqis live and work in a replicated Iraqi village complete with houses, businesses and mosques. Also complete with limited water and electricity.
The group consists of former and current law enforcers, former military members and actors. About 80 are women and almost 100 are Iraqi-Americans.
Banachi said some of the actors got more than they bargained for.
“When they got here they were walking around with 8-by-10 head shots and asking where to plug in their hair dryers,” he said, laughing.
But during the mission, no such amenity will be available. It's a total immersion in Iraqi culture; the exercise is intended to imitate Iraqi life as closely as possible. The last four days of the 10-day mission the participants will live and breathe, eat and sleep like Iraqi villagers.
As a supervisor, Banachi will be expected to work the entire 10 days of each mission. For the first exercise he wound up spending 18 days in a row in the village and tent city on base. He lost 11 pounds.
The first mission was so long because it was their first time, he said. He expects the second exercise to run more smoothly.
The actors and extras are recruited by Force Preparedness Training Services, an organization that provides live training simulation services to the U.S. government.
According to the FPTS Web site, realistic training simulations are more effective and produce better soldiers. Its mission is to help train Marines in conditions that are as realistic as possible.
Realism is important, Banachi said, so when the Marines get to Iraq they will have some idea of what to expect and how to react in certain situations. The group practices all kinds of scenarios, including insurgent attacks, house searches, hostage situations and convoys. Emphasis is placed on recognition of improvised explosive devices.
The training is intended to help the troops make the best decisions possible.
“These kids are 19, 20 years old,” Banachi said. “They're supposed to have the wisdom of Solomon? They need to make the best choices possible because they have to live with those choices afterward.”
Banachi said the battle conditions during the mission were “moments of brilliance mixed with absolute chaos.” Like in a real battle, with adrenaline surging, troops are forced to make instant decisions, to determine if an Iraqi is a threat or if a target is an enemy or a friend.
Another reason realistic training is important is the unique type of military operation the Marines are going into. The situation in Iraq is difficult, Banachi said; the military is fighting what Marines call “a three-block war.” Banachi said that, essentially, the troops are fulfilling three roles in Iraq: humanitarian, peacekeeping and military.
“In the humanitarian role they might deliver water to an orphanage; in a peace-keeping role they may arbitrate between family tribes; and, in a military role they may have to deal with a sniper situation,” he said.
MCAGCC Gunnery Sgt. Chris W. Cox echoed the three-block war concept, but stopped short of describing Marines as peacekeepers.
“We're usually not employed as peacekeepers,” he said. “Marines are a hard-hitting, fast-moving, short-term force.”
But Cox agreed that the training Marines get in Twentynine Palms is invaluable.
“Mojave Viper training is unique to the Corps, and every Marine going to a desert environment stops here first,” he said. “They learn what to expect in Iraq, from the harsh desert climate to the language and culture of the country. That's where the role-players come in.”
Banachi seems the perfect candidate for a role-playing position in the Mojave Viper program. He spent 30 years in the Marines, including working as a weapons instructor for the Federal Bureau of Investigations and working for three years in Moscow.
He speaks three dialects of Arabic, and that, combined with his military and government experience, makes him a valuable asset to the force preparedness training program.
One problem Banachi sees with the program, and one that will probably increase as summer arrives, is the attrition rate.
“They're dropping like flies,” he said. His solution would be to use more locals since they already live here and are used to the desert.
Banachi said he signed on for the intense 10-month mission that will involve little sleep and bad food because he felt compelled to give something back to his country.
“If I can help bring a kid home to his parents or fiancee, it's worth it.”
Ellie