thedrifter
06-26-07, 01:28 PM
More than 65 years ago, the Empire of Japan launched an all-out assault on Pearl Harbor, killing more than 2,000 American service members. Wasting little time, Congress responded with a formal declaration of war on Dec. 8, 1941 – the sleeping giant was awoken.
While U.S. Army soldiers squared off against the Nazis in Europe, Marines spearheaded the war effort on the Pacific front. They were led by Navy Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, commander of the Pacific Fleet during World War II.
Using the Corps’ amphibious nature to his advantage, Nimitz employed a strategy known as “island hopping.” The idea was to capture key islands, one after another, until the main islands of Japan were within striking distance of B-52 bombers.
In today’s world, technological advances have drastically changed the way we fight. Airplanes can fly halfway around the world on a single tank of gas. But, as the saying goes, history is destined to repeat itself.
Marines and sailors with Regimental Combat Team 2 recently returned from a 72-hour island operation along the Euphrates River, just outside of Baghdadi, Iraq.
“Our objective was to disrupt any insurgent activity along the river,” said Capt. Ryan S. Murata, the commanding officer of 1st Platoon, Task Force Reconnaissance, RCT-2. “Many of these islands have yet to be touched by coalition forces. We set out to change that.”
Six islands, ranging from 200 m to 1 km in length, were specifically targeted for this mission.
“Intel has always pointed to the river’s islands as possible enemy strongholds,” said Murata, a San Antonio native. “This operation was simply a continuation of previous ones.”
Task Force Recon was joined by Marines from Bravo Company, 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, and sailors with Detachment 1, Riverine Squadron 1.
“Theoretically, we could’ve done it ourselves,” Murata said. “But the strain on personnel alone would’ve been tremendous. Bringing in these other units allowed us to focus on what we do best.”
Under the cover of darkness, Recon teams were inserted onto the island via the FC470 Combat Rubber Raiding Craft (Zodiac).
“It’s a rubber boat with a metal floorboard,” said Navy Lt. Keith R. Paquin, the assistant officer in charge of Det. 1, RIVRON 1, RCT-2. “Not very sexy, but it gets the job done.”
Though equipped with an optional 55-horsepower engine, the teams paddled downstream to avoid detection.
“We’ve worked with infantry Marines before,” said Paquin, a native of Wilson, Mich., “but getting to see how the Recon guys operate was awesome. Paddling 15 km downriver, at night, with no armor or crew served weapons – this was definitely the most clandestine mission we’ve done so far.”
A relatively new unit, RIVRON 1 officially stood up May 2006. It’s been more than 30 years since the last group of Riverines was disbanded, due to lack of necessity.
“Riverines have a long history.” Paquin said, “From the American Revolution to, most notably, the Vietnam War. We’ve learned from past experiences and applied it to today’s mission; helping to bring about the re-birth of the Riverine.”
According to Paquin, mission execution today isn’t all that different from how they did it on the water back then.
“During Vietnam, they’d send a five-man boat crew to seek out the enemy,” Paquin said. “Today, our mission has evolved into maritime interdiction operations. We do waterborne guard patrols for units operating near the river. It keeps the insurgents from using it as an avenue of escape. So far, it’s working really well.”
Once inserted, the Riverines drifted downstream to a predetermined extract point. Meanwhile, the Recon teams setup ambush positions, remaining on the island until first light.
“Ambush positions are commonly used to gain a tactical position of advantage on enemy forces while they’re unaware of your presence,” said Cpl. Daniel A. Elborne, an infantryman with 1st Platoon, TF Recon, RCT-2. “After an initial sweep of the island, we got into our positions and waited for any enemy movement.”
At dawn, the combat engineers hopped in the boats and headed toward the island. Recon provided security, while the engineers used their mine detectors to sweep for weapons caches.
A variety of various-sized ordnance was uncovered during the search. Some of the items include: (79) 155 mm artillery shells, 48 pounds of high explosive, 40 pounds of propellant, 15 artillery fuses, nine 57 mm mortars, three 130 mm shells, two 120 mm shells, and two 82 mm mortars.
“Was it everything we wanted – no,” explained Murata. “Catching someone in the act would’ve been ideal. But for disruption purposes – yes, it was effective.”
Though not everything he’d hoped it would be, Murata came to one solid conclusion following the operation.
“The islands need a frequent presence to permanently deny a safe haven for the insurgency,” Murata said. “What we did was only a short term solution. It needs to continue.”
While U.S. Army soldiers squared off against the Nazis in Europe, Marines spearheaded the war effort on the Pacific front. They were led by Navy Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, commander of the Pacific Fleet during World War II.
Using the Corps’ amphibious nature to his advantage, Nimitz employed a strategy known as “island hopping.” The idea was to capture key islands, one after another, until the main islands of Japan were within striking distance of B-52 bombers.
In today’s world, technological advances have drastically changed the way we fight. Airplanes can fly halfway around the world on a single tank of gas. But, as the saying goes, history is destined to repeat itself.
Marines and sailors with Regimental Combat Team 2 recently returned from a 72-hour island operation along the Euphrates River, just outside of Baghdadi, Iraq.
“Our objective was to disrupt any insurgent activity along the river,” said Capt. Ryan S. Murata, the commanding officer of 1st Platoon, Task Force Reconnaissance, RCT-2. “Many of these islands have yet to be touched by coalition forces. We set out to change that.”
Six islands, ranging from 200 m to 1 km in length, were specifically targeted for this mission.
“Intel has always pointed to the river’s islands as possible enemy strongholds,” said Murata, a San Antonio native. “This operation was simply a continuation of previous ones.”
Task Force Recon was joined by Marines from Bravo Company, 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, and sailors with Detachment 1, Riverine Squadron 1.
“Theoretically, we could’ve done it ourselves,” Murata said. “But the strain on personnel alone would’ve been tremendous. Bringing in these other units allowed us to focus on what we do best.”
Under the cover of darkness, Recon teams were inserted onto the island via the FC470 Combat Rubber Raiding Craft (Zodiac).
“It’s a rubber boat with a metal floorboard,” said Navy Lt. Keith R. Paquin, the assistant officer in charge of Det. 1, RIVRON 1, RCT-2. “Not very sexy, but it gets the job done.”
Though equipped with an optional 55-horsepower engine, the teams paddled downstream to avoid detection.
“We’ve worked with infantry Marines before,” said Paquin, a native of Wilson, Mich., “but getting to see how the Recon guys operate was awesome. Paddling 15 km downriver, at night, with no armor or crew served weapons – this was definitely the most clandestine mission we’ve done so far.”
A relatively new unit, RIVRON 1 officially stood up May 2006. It’s been more than 30 years since the last group of Riverines was disbanded, due to lack of necessity.
“Riverines have a long history.” Paquin said, “From the American Revolution to, most notably, the Vietnam War. We’ve learned from past experiences and applied it to today’s mission; helping to bring about the re-birth of the Riverine.”
According to Paquin, mission execution today isn’t all that different from how they did it on the water back then.
“During Vietnam, they’d send a five-man boat crew to seek out the enemy,” Paquin said. “Today, our mission has evolved into maritime interdiction operations. We do waterborne guard patrols for units operating near the river. It keeps the insurgents from using it as an avenue of escape. So far, it’s working really well.”
Once inserted, the Riverines drifted downstream to a predetermined extract point. Meanwhile, the Recon teams setup ambush positions, remaining on the island until first light.
“Ambush positions are commonly used to gain a tactical position of advantage on enemy forces while they’re unaware of your presence,” said Cpl. Daniel A. Elborne, an infantryman with 1st Platoon, TF Recon, RCT-2. “After an initial sweep of the island, we got into our positions and waited for any enemy movement.”
At dawn, the combat engineers hopped in the boats and headed toward the island. Recon provided security, while the engineers used their mine detectors to sweep for weapons caches.
A variety of various-sized ordnance was uncovered during the search. Some of the items include: (79) 155 mm artillery shells, 48 pounds of high explosive, 40 pounds of propellant, 15 artillery fuses, nine 57 mm mortars, three 130 mm shells, two 120 mm shells, and two 82 mm mortars.
“Was it everything we wanted – no,” explained Murata. “Catching someone in the act would’ve been ideal. But for disruption purposes – yes, it was effective.”
Though not everything he’d hoped it would be, Murata came to one solid conclusion following the operation.
“The islands need a frequent presence to permanently deny a safe haven for the insurgency,” Murata said. “What we did was only a short term solution. It needs to continue.”