PDA

View Full Version : Taking Down a Town



thedrifter
03-27-03, 09:14 AM
Taking Down a Town
Marine Corps News
March 24, 2003


CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- Marines cluster in groups of two and three filling magazines with rounds. Grenades are passed out and hung from gear along with green, red, and yellow smoke grenades. Splattered paint speckles flak jackets, canteen covers and even exposed skin - the relic of past battles.

The Marines of the 81mm. mortar platoon, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, make a final check on their gear. Loading paint rounds into their rifles, they give a solid 'Oorah' and march off to take their objective for the day - a hotel, housing a simulated enemy leader and his troops.

"Our mission in this scenario is to clear this building and capture the enemy leader inside," said Staff Sgt. George D. Brown, 81mm mortar platoon, 1st section leader. "Once we capture him, we've got to take him up to the roof for evacuation by helicopter."

The Marines of Weapons Co. trained for a week on the basics of fighting in an urban environment at the Military Operation in Urban Terrain facility.

"We've covered basic room clearing, moving in a town by fire-teams, squads, and platoons, setting up security inside a town and in buildings and urban infantry patrolling," said Brown, a Waverly, Tenn., native.

After the Marines learn the skills of fighting in an urban environment, they apply these skills by using simulated munitions - 9mm paint rounds that leave a mark on whatever they hit. These rounds are used as a training tool to help add realism to the training.

When paint rounds strike someone in the chest or head, that Marine is considered dead. If one hits the arms or legs, the Marine is still able to continue, but without the use of the struck area, said Lance Cpl. Raul A. Haro, ammunition bearer, 81mm platoon, 1st Bn., 6th Marines.

The use of these rounds add a sense of realism to the training, sometimes even a state of confusion.

"When we started clearing out the hotel, it got to be very confusing," said Haro. "In my fifteen-man section, we lost eight guys to enemy fire," added the San Diego native.

"After we got going and applied the skills we learned, it got a lot easier and ran a lot smoother," he said. "We still took casualties, but not as many."

Among the infantrymen of the 81mm mortar platoon, it is well known that the casualties taken while fighting in a city can be potentially heavy.

"Having had this training, I feel a lot safer now," said Haro. "We're more organized and know what to do and not to do."


Sempers,

Roger