thedrifter
10-18-07, 07:55 AM
Marines get realistic training in Yuma's roads, skies
BY JAMES GILBERT, SUN STAFF WRITER
October 18, 2007 - 12:00AM
Marines will be using the roads and skies of Yuma for simulated training exercises again on Friday evening.
Marine Corps officials announced Tuesday that the operations, which are being conducted in the cities of Yuma, El Centro and Brawley, Calif., are part of the Corps' twice-yearly Weapons and Tactics Instructors (WTI) training course.
Col. Robert F. Hedelund, commander of Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1, the squadron that hosts the training, said the focus of the exercises will be a noncombatant evacuation operation.
"It permits us to do things that are much more realistic," Hedelund said of the training. "We have heard from Marines who have said the training they received here has been a great benefit to their success on the battlefield."
Maj. Isaac Lee said the course is designed to hone Marines' battlefield knowledge and includes integrated air and ground training.
Students, one from at least every Marine aviation unit, receive classroom instruction combined with a rigorous flight curriculum during the training, which lasts about six weeks.
Upon graduation, students are designated as weapons tactics instructors and return to their commands to serve as warfare instructors and planners.
Lee said the type of training the Marines are getting is designed to be consistent with the Corps' real-world mission of performing evacuation operations.
Thirty-two aircraft - including helicopters, jet fighters, an Osprey and a refueling aircraft - will be used in the exercise from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday. They will operate in flights of no more then three aircraft throughout the five-hour flight window.
"There will be no ordnance of any sort on any of the aircraft," Lee said. "It will all be simulated."
The exercise will also involve 62 security force Marines, 50 evacuation control center Marines, two Department of State Consular Affairs officers from Washington, D.C., and a convoy of Marine vehicles traveling through the city.
The landing site for the Yuma exercises will be McGraw Elementary School, 2345 S. Arizona Ave., and Trinity Christian Center, 4309 W. 16th St. in Yuma, as well as Pat Williams Park in Brawley.
The public is invited to watch the training exercises but is asked to remain at a safe distance.
YUMA WTI SCHEDULE FRIDAY
-3 p.m. - MAWTS-1 site commander will arrive at McGraw Elementary School and remain there for an entire exercise. The site commander will link up with Yuma police, fire, crash fire rescue and military police.
-3 to 3:45 p.m. - VIP flights, two waves.
-5 to 9 p.m. - Evacuation operations, several waves of helicopters
-7:30 p.m. - UH-1N Huey helicopter to land at Trinity Christian Church for a simulated downed aircraft exercise.
James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.
Ellie
BY JAMES GILBERT, SUN STAFF WRITER
October 18, 2007 - 12:00AM
Marines will be using the roads and skies of Yuma for simulated training exercises again on Friday evening.
Marine Corps officials announced Tuesday that the operations, which are being conducted in the cities of Yuma, El Centro and Brawley, Calif., are part of the Corps' twice-yearly Weapons and Tactics Instructors (WTI) training course.
Col. Robert F. Hedelund, commander of Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1, the squadron that hosts the training, said the focus of the exercises will be a noncombatant evacuation operation.
"It permits us to do things that are much more realistic," Hedelund said of the training. "We have heard from Marines who have said the training they received here has been a great benefit to their success on the battlefield."
Maj. Isaac Lee said the course is designed to hone Marines' battlefield knowledge and includes integrated air and ground training.
Students, one from at least every Marine aviation unit, receive classroom instruction combined with a rigorous flight curriculum during the training, which lasts about six weeks.
Upon graduation, students are designated as weapons tactics instructors and return to their commands to serve as warfare instructors and planners.
Lee said the type of training the Marines are getting is designed to be consistent with the Corps' real-world mission of performing evacuation operations.
Thirty-two aircraft - including helicopters, jet fighters, an Osprey and a refueling aircraft - will be used in the exercise from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday. They will operate in flights of no more then three aircraft throughout the five-hour flight window.
"There will be no ordnance of any sort on any of the aircraft," Lee said. "It will all be simulated."
The exercise will also involve 62 security force Marines, 50 evacuation control center Marines, two Department of State Consular Affairs officers from Washington, D.C., and a convoy of Marine vehicles traveling through the city.
The landing site for the Yuma exercises will be McGraw Elementary School, 2345 S. Arizona Ave., and Trinity Christian Center, 4309 W. 16th St. in Yuma, as well as Pat Williams Park in Brawley.
The public is invited to watch the training exercises but is asked to remain at a safe distance.
YUMA WTI SCHEDULE FRIDAY
-3 p.m. - MAWTS-1 site commander will arrive at McGraw Elementary School and remain there for an entire exercise. The site commander will link up with Yuma police, fire, crash fire rescue and military police.
-3 to 3:45 p.m. - VIP flights, two waves.
-5 to 9 p.m. - Evacuation operations, several waves of helicopters
-7:30 p.m. - UH-1N Huey helicopter to land at Trinity Christian Church for a simulated downed aircraft exercise.
James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.
Ellie