Shaffer
02-26-07, 07:17 AM
While weathering daily temperatures hovering below the freezing point, Marines and sailors of Battalion Landing Team, 3rd Bn., 8th Marines, kept focus on their next mission, a rapidly approaching deployment with the 22d Marine Expeditionary Unit.
Having returned from Ramadi, Iraq, in October, the battalion is increasing the training tempo during a training evolution aboard Fort A.P. Hill, Va., and preparing the next generation of young Marines for the fight.
“A lot of the crewmen are pretty young, but they’ve come around at lightning speed,” said Sgt. Clarence Hopkins of the Light Armored Reconnaissance scouts in his charge.
Sgt. Aaron Huffman, the head of LAV crewmen, agreed that the various training missions have definitely helped to prepare the men.
“It’s been good to finally get some trigger time,” said the Olathe, Kan., native.
“We picked up a [TOW missile man], Cpl. Turnbow, who’s turned into the best SAW gunner you’ve ever seen,” said Hopkins, an Atlanta native. “We have a great bunch of guys right now, and we cross-train our guys constantly.”
“Even our radio operators are mechanics, and every person in the platoon carries a rifle,” said Huffman.
Bravo Battery, of 10th Marine Regiment, serves as the artillery arm of BLT 3/8. The battery is also filling in the ranks with many new faces.
“They’re getting it,” said Cpl. Kyle Freed, section chief of a 155mm Howitzer cannon dubbed “Brawny Man.”
The day of cannon firing only seemed to motivate the Marines in Freed’s charge. One of his newest Marines to the job, cannoneer crewman Pfc. Michael J. Rodriguez, of San Antonio, Texas, said it was his first day firing the cannon. He enjoyed his day as a “powder monkey” (the crewman responsible for tying bags of propellant) and looks forward to lighting up the night sky with illumination rounds.
Rodriguez’ fellow crewman, Lance Cpl. Matthew Bailey, said he is motivated by adrenaline rush when firing the cannon, and enjoys the fast pace of work behind the breach.
“My arms are sore, but they’ll be huge by the time we get out of here; I won’t even need to work out,” joked the lanky Akron, Ohio, native. “It’s hard work, but I get to pull the lanyard and fire the cannon. This is definitely the most fun you could have out here.”
Lance Cpl. Helman Fava, of Totowa, NJ, has been firing a much smaller cannon lately, an M40A3 .308 Caliber sniper rifle. He and his platoon of scout snipers, mostly Operation Iraqi Freedom combat veterans, have been perforating the green plastic flesh of humanoid targets on a freezing and windy shooting range lately.
“It’s always a challenge, every day,” said the former machine gunner. “But we just keep striving to do the best we can.”
Another OIF veteran, scout sniper Lance Cpl. Leonardo Alvarado, of Lompoc, Calif., adds that hitting up the range with a “souped-up Remington 700” is always a good day of training, and that he is looking forward to the next deployment.
“This time we’re bringing tanks, arty, LAVs -- this time we’re bringing everything,” said Alvarado. “This is going to be a good deployment.”
The infantry, artillery and mechanized sections practiced war-fighting tactics, shooting, and vehicular attack courses among many other tasks and will continue preparations over the upcoming months. To stay up to date with the training and future deployment of BLT 3/8, visit the MEU’s website at www.22meu.usmc.mil.
Having returned from Ramadi, Iraq, in October, the battalion is increasing the training tempo during a training evolution aboard Fort A.P. Hill, Va., and preparing the next generation of young Marines for the fight.
“A lot of the crewmen are pretty young, but they’ve come around at lightning speed,” said Sgt. Clarence Hopkins of the Light Armored Reconnaissance scouts in his charge.
Sgt. Aaron Huffman, the head of LAV crewmen, agreed that the various training missions have definitely helped to prepare the men.
“It’s been good to finally get some trigger time,” said the Olathe, Kan., native.
“We picked up a [TOW missile man], Cpl. Turnbow, who’s turned into the best SAW gunner you’ve ever seen,” said Hopkins, an Atlanta native. “We have a great bunch of guys right now, and we cross-train our guys constantly.”
“Even our radio operators are mechanics, and every person in the platoon carries a rifle,” said Huffman.
Bravo Battery, of 10th Marine Regiment, serves as the artillery arm of BLT 3/8. The battery is also filling in the ranks with many new faces.
“They’re getting it,” said Cpl. Kyle Freed, section chief of a 155mm Howitzer cannon dubbed “Brawny Man.”
The day of cannon firing only seemed to motivate the Marines in Freed’s charge. One of his newest Marines to the job, cannoneer crewman Pfc. Michael J. Rodriguez, of San Antonio, Texas, said it was his first day firing the cannon. He enjoyed his day as a “powder monkey” (the crewman responsible for tying bags of propellant) and looks forward to lighting up the night sky with illumination rounds.
Rodriguez’ fellow crewman, Lance Cpl. Matthew Bailey, said he is motivated by adrenaline rush when firing the cannon, and enjoys the fast pace of work behind the breach.
“My arms are sore, but they’ll be huge by the time we get out of here; I won’t even need to work out,” joked the lanky Akron, Ohio, native. “It’s hard work, but I get to pull the lanyard and fire the cannon. This is definitely the most fun you could have out here.”
Lance Cpl. Helman Fava, of Totowa, NJ, has been firing a much smaller cannon lately, an M40A3 .308 Caliber sniper rifle. He and his platoon of scout snipers, mostly Operation Iraqi Freedom combat veterans, have been perforating the green plastic flesh of humanoid targets on a freezing and windy shooting range lately.
“It’s always a challenge, every day,” said the former machine gunner. “But we just keep striving to do the best we can.”
Another OIF veteran, scout sniper Lance Cpl. Leonardo Alvarado, of Lompoc, Calif., adds that hitting up the range with a “souped-up Remington 700” is always a good day of training, and that he is looking forward to the next deployment.
“This time we’re bringing tanks, arty, LAVs -- this time we’re bringing everything,” said Alvarado. “This is going to be a good deployment.”
The infantry, artillery and mechanized sections practiced war-fighting tactics, shooting, and vehicular attack courses among many other tasks and will continue preparations over the upcoming months. To stay up to date with the training and future deployment of BLT 3/8, visit the MEU’s website at www.22meu.usmc.mil.