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View Full Version : Drills help Marines in Kuwait avert boredom



thedrifter
02-26-03, 06:16 AM
February 24, 2003

By Ravi Nessman
Associated Press

IN THE KUWAITI DESERT — As helicopters touched down in clouds of swirling sand, squads of waiting Marines jumped up and ran to climb in the backs of the choppers and took off.
Sunday’s helicopter assault drill was one of many designed to keep their fast reaction combat force fit, trained and ready to go to war.

It also keeps boredom at bay in this desert camp.

“We try to keep their schedule pretty full. It helps a lot, makes the time go by faster and keeps their edge,” said Staff Sgt. Kerry Kreiman, 34, of Maple Grove, Minnesota.

The troops of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit arrived on ships off the coast of Kuwait Feb. 12, more than a month after they left their base at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

The 2,100-Marine crack unit is built as a fast reaction combat force, with helicopters, amphibious landing craft, jets, tanks and light assault vehicles. They are trained to land swiftly on an enemy beach or run from the backs of helicopters into enemy territory.

Since arriving, they have run a variety of drills nearly every day, starting as early as 6 a.m. and ending sometimes at 10 p.m.

Many also run two laps around a 2.7-mile (4-kilometer) track inside their camp’s sand walls and perform calisthenics with their assault rifles.

They have held live-fire exercises and practiced their aim on shooting ranges. They have run mock assaults, where they had to breach walls, fortifications and mine fields.

They built a city-set out of tape and wood — just the silhouettes of buildings really — and practiced urban fighting.

“We knew we would have to keep their minds occupied from 1,001 things that our going through their heads,” said Capt. Mike McCready, 28, of Edem, Wisc. “Going out and doing drills like this gives them something to look forward to.”

The drill Sunday was intended to prepare them for a possible airborne assault and to iron out any last-minute wrinkles.

Dozens of Marines lying on the ground with their rifles aimed out into the desert formed a huge protective circle for the ersatz landing pad for the eight CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters.

When the helicopters landed in a cloud of sand, other Marines ran through a wave of hot exhaust, jumped into the backs of the craft and squeezed into cramped seats.

The helicopters took off, one after the other, flew for about five minutes and landed. Marines in two of the helicopters ran off and jumped into the sand, forming a defensive semicircle with rifles at the ready as the other Marines ran off their copters.

Though these Marines have practiced these drills countless times during their training, they are more real in the sun, sand and dirt of the Kuwait desert, said Lance Cpl. Ryan Gibson, 19, of Sonora, Calif. And they have a far greater urgency as tensions between the United States and Iraq continue to build.

“We have the sense that this is for real. This time it’s not just training,” he said.




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Copyright 2003 The Associated Press