thedrifter
06-20-09, 08:17 AM
‘Warlords’ adapt to a changing front
6/19/2009 By Lance Cpl. James W. Clark , II MEF
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — Marines of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division gathered around a makeshift terrain model in the fading light of June 16 to plan their next day’s mission.
Pieces of trash represented a cluster of buildings, strips of medical tape marked key roads, collections of sticks pieces of foliage scattered across the ground marked a tree line that might mask their approach to the target.
Company F of the battalion nicknamed “Warlords” had just a few short hours to plan and execute a tactical site exploitation exercise during which they intended to capture suspected insurgents and uncover weapons caches as part of training designed to prepare them for future deployments.
They went over every detail in-depth, but throughout the brief, the words “if everything goes according to plan,” were brought up again and again.
In the end, each Marine from the company commander to the most junior grunt knew their role in the coming mission, but understood that adaptation would be the key to success, both in training and in combat, said Sgt. Christopher C. Sessions, acting platoon sergeant for 3rd Platoon, Company F.
“Change is the norm. You have to be flexible with whatever operation you are doing – Murphy’s law is always in effect with the infantry and you need to have a contingency plan,” Sessions said as he gestured toward gathering rain clouds.
The Marines woke the next morning wet and tired after only a few hours of rest and set off on foot to W.P.T. Hill Field to board CH-53 Sea Stallion Helicopters that transported them to Landing Zone Dodo. En route they made dummy drops around the target area to disorient potential observers and make it difficult for an enemy force to get a read on what direction the Marines were coming from.
Within the first hour of the exercise there was a simulated casualty and the Marine was evacuated to the landing zone.
“If something changes or doesn’t go well for the Marines, we need to adapt and overcome,” said 1st Sgt. Christopher T. Adams, the first sergeant for Company F.
The training was designed to prepare the Marines for their deployment to Afghanistan, where they will patrol the countryside on foot, said Pfc. Kyle Hanes, a rifleman with 1st Platoon, Company F.
The Marines then patrolled through a tree line near the target area and stopped to assess their surroundings for threats before proceeding onward.
As the company neared the village, it received information on the whereabouts of it’s target from a scout sniper platoon positioned nearby. The Marines quickly moved to action, closed in on a building, secured it and set up an over-watch.
The Marines then interacted with role-players who posed as Afghan locals in order to gain information on the whereabouts of suspected insurgents or weapons caches.
“The role players benefit the Marines greatly. They need to know how to interact with locals and not alienate them,” Adams said. “We need to get Marines out of the mentality of shoot and kill, and train them to assess between friend and foe.”
The Marines discovered a weapons cache, detained two suspected insurgents and successfully extracted them from the village without incident.
Cordon and search training like this is essential to the success of future missions in Afghanistan, said 2nd Lt. Tyler E. Kurtz, platoon commander, 3rd Platoon with Company F.
“The NCO’s are the main driving factor that makes these missions successful,” he explained. “You need to incorporate many aspects of training and stair-step into it, starting with individual skills and moving to a larger scale.”
Mission accomplished, the Company F Marines returned to the landing zone, picked up packs they had staged earlier and set out once again on a foot patrol, heading to Landing Zone Osprey to await extraction.
As they stepped out, it began to rain and an already muggy day turned into the promise of a water-soaked night of restless sleep and another mission at dawn.
Ellie
6/19/2009 By Lance Cpl. James W. Clark , II MEF
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — Marines of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division gathered around a makeshift terrain model in the fading light of June 16 to plan their next day’s mission.
Pieces of trash represented a cluster of buildings, strips of medical tape marked key roads, collections of sticks pieces of foliage scattered across the ground marked a tree line that might mask their approach to the target.
Company F of the battalion nicknamed “Warlords” had just a few short hours to plan and execute a tactical site exploitation exercise during which they intended to capture suspected insurgents and uncover weapons caches as part of training designed to prepare them for future deployments.
They went over every detail in-depth, but throughout the brief, the words “if everything goes according to plan,” were brought up again and again.
In the end, each Marine from the company commander to the most junior grunt knew their role in the coming mission, but understood that adaptation would be the key to success, both in training and in combat, said Sgt. Christopher C. Sessions, acting platoon sergeant for 3rd Platoon, Company F.
“Change is the norm. You have to be flexible with whatever operation you are doing – Murphy’s law is always in effect with the infantry and you need to have a contingency plan,” Sessions said as he gestured toward gathering rain clouds.
The Marines woke the next morning wet and tired after only a few hours of rest and set off on foot to W.P.T. Hill Field to board CH-53 Sea Stallion Helicopters that transported them to Landing Zone Dodo. En route they made dummy drops around the target area to disorient potential observers and make it difficult for an enemy force to get a read on what direction the Marines were coming from.
Within the first hour of the exercise there was a simulated casualty and the Marine was evacuated to the landing zone.
“If something changes or doesn’t go well for the Marines, we need to adapt and overcome,” said 1st Sgt. Christopher T. Adams, the first sergeant for Company F.
The training was designed to prepare the Marines for their deployment to Afghanistan, where they will patrol the countryside on foot, said Pfc. Kyle Hanes, a rifleman with 1st Platoon, Company F.
The Marines then patrolled through a tree line near the target area and stopped to assess their surroundings for threats before proceeding onward.
As the company neared the village, it received information on the whereabouts of it’s target from a scout sniper platoon positioned nearby. The Marines quickly moved to action, closed in on a building, secured it and set up an over-watch.
The Marines then interacted with role-players who posed as Afghan locals in order to gain information on the whereabouts of suspected insurgents or weapons caches.
“The role players benefit the Marines greatly. They need to know how to interact with locals and not alienate them,” Adams said. “We need to get Marines out of the mentality of shoot and kill, and train them to assess between friend and foe.”
The Marines discovered a weapons cache, detained two suspected insurgents and successfully extracted them from the village without incident.
Cordon and search training like this is essential to the success of future missions in Afghanistan, said 2nd Lt. Tyler E. Kurtz, platoon commander, 3rd Platoon with Company F.
“The NCO’s are the main driving factor that makes these missions successful,” he explained. “You need to incorporate many aspects of training and stair-step into it, starting with individual skills and moving to a larger scale.”
Mission accomplished, the Company F Marines returned to the landing zone, picked up packs they had staged earlier and set out once again on a foot patrol, heading to Landing Zone Osprey to await extraction.
As they stepped out, it began to rain and an already muggy day turned into the promise of a water-soaked night of restless sleep and another mission at dawn.
Ellie