A Marine Battalion's 'Lessons Learned' [Archive] - Marine Corps

thedrifter

06-04-03, 12:33 PM

Marines are now experts at checking vehicles. Know how to search a vehicle and people day and night.

Get the chaplain to your pos even if you have to fight your way to him. We did Easter service after stand-to at 0300Z.

Ensure you brief any attachments on everything that is going on. Nothing is too small to forget. Assign them holes. No one has too much rank to dig.

Plan for where you put your heads. It's a big deal with over 200 Marines in a matter of hours.

Talk to any units in the area. Ask questions. You will learn so much from them. Talk to the Army. They do good things also. A can of dip, cigar, pack of smokes and a hand shake go along way. A cup of coffee helps. Make a cup if you can and give half to a young Marine at stand to and he will remember it.

Watch your Marines' eyes. They tell you everything. Look at your NCO's eyes and you know what is going on.

Buy a short-wave radio and get the news. Write it down under a poncho at 0200. Get the baseball scores out to the Marines and you are a hero. Have all the e-mail addresses of your Marines' wives. Get to any HHQ and send a blanket e-mail to all of them.

It's OK to allow the Marines to take their blouse off if it is hot. Their skin gets tough really fast. If it's really hot they can go around without blousing their boots. (Don't worry SgtMaj, they won't do it in the rear).

Promote your Marines on time if you can. We promoted a Marine in 81s to Merit SSgt in the field a few hours after a fire fight. Can't begin to put a price on that.

If nothing is going on, make the junior Marines sleep and you watch the radios for a few hours.

Every Marine is a driver and should have a license. In Weapons Company, that needs to be every Marine from the CO down.

Know what a "short count" is and demand you use them.

Ensure your Marines write letters on anything they can get their hands on. MRE boxes work great. I put an ammo can on my vehicle for outgoing mail. Get the mail out. There is always a way. Pass if off to other units if you have to. Find a helo and give him your mail. Give him a can of dip to do it for you.

Know how to do a range card on a piece of MRE box. Use the GVS-5. We got a distance to everything. Get the word out.

If you stop to fix a vehicle close to a town, get the distance to a few points and get the word out.

You will hear Marines making adjustments on their sights. Only hits count. Know how to estimate range day and night.

Sir, sorry for going on and on but there is so much more.

Sempers,

Roger