thedrifter
03-24-07, 08:00 AM
Anti-armor team sets up checkpoints
Cpl. Rick Nelson
MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, Hawaii(Mar. 23, 2007) -- TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. — Whether on patrol or at the forward operating base in Iraq, Marines are often in harm’s way from indirect fire, small-arms fire, and improvised explosive devices. When conducting vehicle checkpoints, these enemy tactics are things service members should look for.
Marines assigned to Combined Anti-Armor Team 1, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, began their final exercise of their Mojave Viper training by setting up a VCP in the middle of the fictitious villages of Khalidiyah and Wadi al Sahara at the Urban Warfare Training Facility.
“Our main objective was to set up a VCP on Texas Road,” said Sgt. Jorge G. Salzar, section leader, Section 2, CAAT-1, Weapons Company. “We had one lane of the road blocked off for civilian automobiles to be searched and the other lane for military, Iraqi police and Iraqi army vehicles. At the other end of the road was a mirror image VCP with Marines checking vehicles from that end.”
Salzar, a native of Laredo, Texas, said Marines at the checkpoints were looking for suspicious people with IED-making materials, cell phones, passive infrared, weapons, high-volume targets, and vehicles matching the “be-on-the-look-out-for” list.
“At the checkpoints, we use the acronym NIDD,” said the 30-year-old. “NIDD means we notify the vehicle with a sign of the checkpoint before it pulls in. After that, we impede the vehicle with some kind of blockade,” he explained.
“If the vehicle continues to drive through without stopping, we then disable the vehicle with a designated marksman who will fire a well-aimed shot to the engine, tires or the vehicle.”
If the vehicle continues to drive through once it has been disabled, as a last resort, the unit will then destroy the vehicle using heavy machine-gun fire.
“Our biggest threat is vehicle-born IED’s, which is why we use NIDD,” said Cpl. Jason A. Rowell, squad leader.
Rowell, who deployed with 1/3 to Iraq in 2004, said doing the checkpoint training will help them identify their mistakes and fix them before they deploy.
“The best part about this training is having the instructor controllers or “coyotes” out here monitoring us and telling us what is done right and wrong and what we need to change before we get into (Iraq),” said the native of Byron, Ill. “This is the best training a Marine can have because the role players make it seem very lifelike.”
While deployed to Iraq, Marines assigned to CAAT-1 will provide VCPs, mounted and dismounted convoys, and support other units, said Rowell.
“When I went to Iraq with 1/3 in 2004, I didn’t know nearly as much as the junior Marines do now,” admitted the 22-year-old. “In my opinion 1/3 has done a great job training us, and there’s not a doubt in my mind that CAAT-1 is 100 percent ready for our deployment.”
Ellie
Cpl. Rick Nelson
MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, Hawaii(Mar. 23, 2007) -- TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. — Whether on patrol or at the forward operating base in Iraq, Marines are often in harm’s way from indirect fire, small-arms fire, and improvised explosive devices. When conducting vehicle checkpoints, these enemy tactics are things service members should look for.
Marines assigned to Combined Anti-Armor Team 1, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, began their final exercise of their Mojave Viper training by setting up a VCP in the middle of the fictitious villages of Khalidiyah and Wadi al Sahara at the Urban Warfare Training Facility.
“Our main objective was to set up a VCP on Texas Road,” said Sgt. Jorge G. Salzar, section leader, Section 2, CAAT-1, Weapons Company. “We had one lane of the road blocked off for civilian automobiles to be searched and the other lane for military, Iraqi police and Iraqi army vehicles. At the other end of the road was a mirror image VCP with Marines checking vehicles from that end.”
Salzar, a native of Laredo, Texas, said Marines at the checkpoints were looking for suspicious people with IED-making materials, cell phones, passive infrared, weapons, high-volume targets, and vehicles matching the “be-on-the-look-out-for” list.
“At the checkpoints, we use the acronym NIDD,” said the 30-year-old. “NIDD means we notify the vehicle with a sign of the checkpoint before it pulls in. After that, we impede the vehicle with some kind of blockade,” he explained.
“If the vehicle continues to drive through without stopping, we then disable the vehicle with a designated marksman who will fire a well-aimed shot to the engine, tires or the vehicle.”
If the vehicle continues to drive through once it has been disabled, as a last resort, the unit will then destroy the vehicle using heavy machine-gun fire.
“Our biggest threat is vehicle-born IED’s, which is why we use NIDD,” said Cpl. Jason A. Rowell, squad leader.
Rowell, who deployed with 1/3 to Iraq in 2004, said doing the checkpoint training will help them identify their mistakes and fix them before they deploy.
“The best part about this training is having the instructor controllers or “coyotes” out here monitoring us and telling us what is done right and wrong and what we need to change before we get into (Iraq),” said the native of Byron, Ill. “This is the best training a Marine can have because the role players make it seem very lifelike.”
While deployed to Iraq, Marines assigned to CAAT-1 will provide VCPs, mounted and dismounted convoys, and support other units, said Rowell.
“When I went to Iraq with 1/3 in 2004, I didn’t know nearly as much as the junior Marines do now,” admitted the 22-year-old. “In my opinion 1/3 has done a great job training us, and there’s not a doubt in my mind that CAAT-1 is 100 percent ready for our deployment.”
Ellie