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It is now mandatory for dirt bike and all-terrain vehicle owners to attend a dirt bike and all-terrain vehicle safety class before operating the vehicle, according to Marine Corps Order 5100.19F.

The safety classes for dirt bikes and ATVs are much like the existing Basic Rider Course for motorcycles, and have been in existence for some time now.

The big change with the recently released order is that now all owners of dirt bikes and ATVs must take the course. Previously, it was only a strongly suggested course if there was an on-base track for riders.

The Combat Center is now equipped with instructors to teach the courses.

“We now have seven dirt bike instructors and six ATV instructors,” said Bob Piirainen, manager Traffic Safety Program, Base Safety. “We’ve also put in the paperwork for a track to be built on base.”

The two off-road riders courses are an introduction in how the off-road vehicles work and how to safely operate them.

“We have guys who are experienced riders who still learn a lot from the class,” Piirainen said. “We want riders to learn to properly ride their off-road vehicles and be safe.”

The dirt bike and ATV courses are also available to dependents as well. Children at least the age of six can take the course.

Off-road sports are gaining popularity in the West Coast for the Marine Corps, and there is now more opportunity for mishap, Piirainen said.

“We’ve had guys go to private off-road track and ride with professional riders,” Piirainen said. “We want to set up more opportunities like that and give off-roaders a place to ride. Another change the MCO 5100.19F instituted is a mandatory safety class for land utility vehicles. The safety office is working on starting that project soon.

Base Safety is still working on completing the requirements for being able to offer those classes a swell.

Dirt bike and ATV riders can contact Base Safety, building 1447 to sign up for the required classes and by calling 830-6154 or stopping by their offices.

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By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2012 – The Defense Department believes recent incidents in which members of the Afghan National Security Forces have attacked their coalition trainers are individual acts of grievance, a senior DOD spokesman said today.

“It’s often difficult to determine the exact motivation behind an attacker’s crime because they are, very often, killed in the act,” Navy Capt. John Kirby, deputy assistant secretary of defense for media operations, told reporters at the Pentagon.

Kirby said these types of attacks have only been tracked since 2007. Fifty-seven such attacks, he added, have occurred during this time.

“Based on the limited evidence that we have been able to collect, we believe that less than half, somewhere in the neighborhood of three to four out of every 10 [attacks] is inspired, or resourced, or planned or executed by the Taliban or Taliban sympathizers,” he said. “In other words, that it’s related to an infiltration attempt.”

Kirby said it may not even be a deliberate infiltration, but a “legitimate soldier or police officer [who] turned Taliban.”
Yet, the majority of attacks, he said, are acts of individual grievance.

“You know how seriously affairs of honor are to the Afghan people,” Kirby said. “We believe, again, that most of these [attacks] are acted out as an act of honor for most of them representing a grievance of some sort.”

The spokesman said Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, commander of International Security Assistance Forces in Afghanistan, believes the recent video of U.S. Marines urinating on the bodies of Taliban inspired at least one attack.

Regardless of the motivations, Kirby emphasized the attacks leave lasting impressions on the families of the service members who’ve been killed.

“We believe the majority of all of them are individual acts of grievance, but look, that doesn’t lessen the pain for family members who suffer from this,” he said. “It doesn’t lessen the importance of it whether it’s an act of infiltration or not.

“It’s an issue that we’re taking very, very seriously,” Kirby added. “But we don’t believe the majority of them are Taliban inspired, resource planned [or] executed.”

British Army Lt. Gen. Adrian Bradshaw, ISAF’s deputy commander, told Pentagon reporters during a May 9 video teleconference from Kabul that Afghanistan’s National Army and police force are working to “root out this problem with great determination.”

“We've had several hundred National Directorate of Security counterintelligence operatives now join the Afghan National Army on attachment,” Bradshaw told reporters. “They are embedded down to battalion level, and they are carrying out rigorous counterintelligence operations. The commanders are taking great note of where their people go on leave [and] whether their families have come under pressure.”

The British general said the vetting process for Afghan army and police recruits has been refined and there’s also “retrospective vetting of people in the force” with a “ruthless” approach to those members displaying signs of enemy complicity. “So a number of effective measures have been taken, and we continue to bear down on this problem very seriously indeed,” Bradshaw said.

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5/11/2012 By Lance Cpl. Erik S. Brooks Jr. , Marine Corps Bases Japan

CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan — Eighteen Marines were welcomed home here May 4 after a six and a half-month deployment in Afghanistan.

The EOD technicians with 3rd EOD Company, 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, were attached to 1st MLG (Forward) and assisted various units across Afghanistan.

“There are no words to describe the feeling of him coming back,” said Cassandra E. Crochet, wife of Sgt. Timmy J. Crochet Jr., an EOD technician with the company. “I can finally relax now that he is home.”

While attached to the battalion, the EOD technicians’ mission was to support the rifle companies any way possible, said Staff Sgt. Nate McCafferty, an EOD technician with 3rd EOD Co.

“During our deployment one of our missions was to render safe any improvised explosive devices and any other explosives that were found,” said McCafferty.

While deployed, the technicians disposed of more than 80 complete and 30 partially built IEDs, according to McCafferty.

“Our pre-deployment training really helped us while we were out there,” said Sgt. Caleb E. Farrier, an EOD technician with 3rd EOD Co. “Staying current on IED trends also proved to help us in all situations.”

In addition to clearing IEDs from the province, the technicians trained the rifle companies in counter-IED techniques.

“We taught the riflemen how to sweep for IEDs, as well as what to look for when on patrol,” said Farrier.

The technicians told the riflemen to watch out for certain areas where IEDs were prevalent. They taught classes about terrain features the insurgents often use to hide IEDs.

“The infantry personnel were very receptive to what we were teaching them,” said Farrier. “They really listened to everything we said and showed it whenever we were on patrol.”

The EOD technicians accompanied the riflemen on every patrol in case they came upon any IEDs.

“Some days, we would (not) come across IEDs,” said Farrier. “Other days, we would come across two or three.”

The technicians have to be ready to go out and dispose of an IED at any moment.

“It was a very stressful deployment at times, but I think we helped out a lot of people in the process,” said Farrier. “For every IED that we disposed of, someone else got to walk home that day. That is how I look at it. That is how I know it was all worth it.”

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5/14/2012 By Sgt. Paul Robbins Jr. , 31st MEU

CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa — Senior members of the Japanese Self Defense Forces met with leadership of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit here, May 14, to learn more about amphibious integration and expeditionary operations.

The entire 31st MEU command staff was joined by representatives from III Marine Expeditionary Force, including Lt. Gen. Kenneth J. Gleuck, Jr., commanding general of III MEF, to present information and field questions from senior leaders of the Japanese Ground, Maritime and Air Self Defense Forces.

"We were able to engage our Japanese partners in bilateral discussions of amphibious capabilities," said Lt. Col. Brian C. Hawkins, operations officer of the 31st MEU. "Our discussions emphasized what we call 'jointness,' particularly our integration with our naval counterparts."

The Japanese officers were provided an in-depth presentation on the structure, mission and capabilities of the 31st MEU, before a large panel of Marine officers fielded questions.

Representatives from the MEU's Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marines; Combat Logistics Battalion 31; and Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 265 (REIN) were on hand to answer questions about the MEU's unique capabilities.

"One of the keys to the MEU is our flexibility," explained Col. Andrew R. MacMannis, commanding officer of the 31st MEU. "We can come ashore many different ways, in to a variety of places, and be self sustaining for a short time to allow larger units to arrive."

The Japanese panel asked questions regarding 31st MEU structure and capabilities for more than two hours, attempting to broaden their understanding of the expeditionary unit concept.

"We wanted to learn about the amphibious operation concept of the U.S. Marine Corps," said Col. Kazutomo Idogawa, chief of the Policy and Programs Section, Ground Staff Office, Japanese Ground Self Defense Force. "We believe the 31st MEU is the strongest example of amphibious readiness in the III Marine Expeditionary Force."

Moving forward, the Japanese face a challenge of developing ways to employ their forces in a way that leverages their ground, air and naval forces capabilities together, according to Hawkins.

But the Japanese officers left the meeting with confidence in their ability to do so.

"The information provided by the Marines was very useful to us," said Idogawa. "We believe it is adaptable to the Japanese Self Defense Forces."

The 31st MEU serves as the United States' force in readiness for the Asia-Pacific region, and the only continuously forward deployed MEU.

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5/15/2012 By Sgt. Michele Watson , 1st Marine Logistics Group (FWD)

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan — They spend time away from their families and friends; they wear the same clothes every day; they work seven days a week with no holiday breaks.

Whether it is an infantryman operating in a remote area of Afghanistan who frequently engages the enemy or an administrative clerk who works in an office at Camp Leatherneck keeping track of personnel in their unit, service members who deploy to a combat zone are under a greater amount of stress than the average American.

“We are all different, and we all handle stress differently,” said Master Sgt. Jackie Canaday, staff noncommissioned officer of 1st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward).

Canaday spoke to a group of Marines and sailors during Operational Stress Control and Readiness (OSCAR) training at Camp Leatherneck, May 10.

Combat Operational Stress disorder is a risk all service members face. To combat the threat, the Marine Corps works to build resiliency in Marines and sailors to keep them mission-ready. Through programs like OSCAR, Marines and sailors learn to identify problems with stress as early as possible. Additionally, the program helps to fight the notion that personnel who ask for help are “weak.”

“I am young; I am flawed, and I am susceptible to this,” said Canaday during his speech to the group. “These are the lessons I have learned and what I am trying to teach you.”

An EOD technician’s job requires them to risk their lives every day. After coming home in one piece from each deployment, Canaday said he compared himself to his fellow brothers who returned to the U.S. missing limbs, or to those who were killed in combat.

“I told myself that I don’t rate to have [Combat Operational Stress Disorder]; I don’t rate to have problems or feel depressed,” said Canaday.

He went on to explain what he felt like after a situation back home finally forced him to accept that he needed help. “I hit a wall, and I hit it hard,” said Canaday. “I don’t care who you are — a grunt, a cook, a guy that works on the flight line 20 hours a day — there is a wall and we’re all running toward it.”

The experiences faced in a combat zone can sometimes make it difficult for service members to relate to people back in the U.S. “The way you see things, the way you think about things, the way you react to things, is different,” said Canaday. “Being out here changes you.”

OSCAR training will remain a method to combat the effects of stress on Marines and sailors. As a brotherhood, troop welfare always comes first, and looking out for other Marines and Sailors is a top priority. Canaday went on to speak about the importance of getting past the wall of stress that builds up.

“It may not happen now, it may not happen tomorrow, it may not happen when you get back to the states, but that wall is coming,” said Canaday. “And on the other side of that wall is the rest of your life.”

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5/11/2012 By Sgt. Brandon L. Saunders , Marine Corps Bases Japan

PUCKAPUNYAL, Australia — Marines with III Marine Expeditionary Force combat shooting detachment began firing during the Australian Army Skills at Arms Meeting 2012 here May 7.

In its 25th iteration, the AASAM is a multilateral event allowing U.S. service members to exchange skills, tactics, techniques and procedures with members of the Australian Army and members of 14 other international militaries in friendly competition.

The U.S. Marine combat shooting detachment was assembled by Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Quantico, Va., and III MEF upon invitation by the Australian Army.

“We all have the opportunity to showcase different skill sets with various weapon systems with people from all over the world,” said Sgt. Nick A. Hill, member of the III MEF combat shooting detachment. “This is a big deal for all involved.”

U.S. participation in AASAM 12 demonstrates the United States’ continued commitment to partnership, presence and readiness with its Australian allies.

“This is the third year U.S. Marines have had the chance to participate in this event,” said Staff Sgt. Travis W. Hawthorne, member of the III MEF combat shooting detachment. “We hope to do well and leave a lasting impression, so we can keep this going.”

Upon arrival to the Puckapunyal Combined Arms Training Center, Victoria, Australia, Marines were afforded the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the multiple courses of fire involved in the various events of the competition. While on the range, Marines interacted with members of foreign militaries and learned about firing foreign weapon systems.

“It’s good working with the Marines because we come from similar cultures, but we’re from different parts of the world,” said Australian Army Lt. Natalie Canham, engineering officer and competitor.

Other participating nations include the United Kingdom, Canada, France, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, Republic of the Philippines, Japan, Brunei, Timor-Leste.
The competition is scheduled for May 7-17.

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5/11/2012 By Cpl. Timothy L. Solano , 2nd Marine Division

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — Saint Mary’s, Ga., native Cpl. Ronald Smith received one of the nation’s most prestigious combat awards, the Bronze Star medal with combat distinguishing device, during a ceremony May 4 in front of fellow Marines of 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, after an 11-mile battalion hike.

Smith, a mortarman with Bravo Company, received the prestigious award for his heroic acts displayed July 26, 2011, when he saved an Afghan National Army soldier’s life.

The then-lance corporal left from his patrol base on the summer day, loaded with mortar rounds and his service rifle, prepared for whatever his unit might encounter on patrol. He was the assistant mortar gunner charged with being the farthest rear security Marine alongside “Mario,” an Afghan National Army soldier who Smith had come to call a friend.

“He was one of the few Afghans who really interacted with us,” said Smith. “He helped us cook dinner, played music for us, taught us Pashto and tried to learn English from us.

Nobody could say his name, so we all just called him Mario.”
A detachment of Afghan National Army soldiers had been working alongside the Marines of B Co. to eradicate the insurgency in an area called Trek Nawa when a firefight broke out, putting two rounds in Mario’s leg.

Toting his rifle and a pack filled with Composition B, a heat and pressure sensitive military grade explosive, Smith low-crawled under enemy fire through 50 meters of foot-high poppy to assess Mario’s injuries.

“Once he got hit, he was hobbling a little, but he was still up,” said Smith, as he recalled the Afghan soldier who he risked his life for. “When I realized he fell down, I went back and helped him over to a berm behind a pile of (harvested) poppy and started to treat him. I just remember thinking, ‘I hope to God we don’t start to take fire from the opposite direction.’”

Smith, who had been a mortarman for almost two years, responded to the casualty instinctively, as infantry Marines are trained to do.

“Once I crawled back to him after he got hit, everything was such a blur,” said Smith. “I just went into autopilot; my training kicked in, and I treated him with what I had and kept security until the (helicopter) got there.”

For his actions that day almost 10 months ago, Smith now stood opposite Lt. Col. Tyler Zagurski, a Mercer Island, Wash., native and commanding officer of 1st Bn., 9th Marines, to receive the prestigious award. Zagurski secured the medal below Smith’s ”U.S. MARINES” nametape and spoke on Smith’s behalf to the rest of the “Walking Dead,” as the unit is called.

“This award should show our junior Marines that their actions don’t go unnoticed,” he said. “(Then) Lance Corporal Smith faced a challenge that set a precedent for us as an institution that suggests that even a Marine as junior as a lance corporal can take bold, decisive action.”

The sweat-drenched Marines of the battalion took turns congratulating the newly awarded Marine. Afterward, the battalion was dismissed, leaving Smith to look back on his time in Afghanistan before enjoying the weekend with his friends.

“Ya know, I really believe that (1st Bn., 9th Marines,) has an angel,” said Smith. “Nobody in the battalion died on that tour, and that is because someone watched over us all.”

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5/12/2012 By Cpl. John Robbart III , 15th MEU

WARNER SPRINGS, Calif. — In the unfortunate event that an aircraft goes down, pilots can be rest assured the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit has trained a 24-man platoon to and get them.

The Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel Platoon underwent specialized training under the supervision of I Marine Expeditionary Force’s Special Operations Training Group. The Marines and sailors honed their skills by performing a simulated recovery, here, May 10.

“We are doing everything to make the training for these Marines and sailors as realistic as possible,” said Maj. Scott A. Huesing, assistant operations officer, 15th MEU. “This scenario involves the TRAP Platoon recovering a downed pilot,” added the 42-year-old native of Chicago.

With a UH-1Y and an AH-1Z in the air providing escorts, the platoon landed in a CH-53E Super Stallion in a nearby location and immediately set up a security perimeter. As the helicopter took off and joined his escorts in the air, the platoon began patrolling in search of the pilot, using a honing beacon to find her location to bring her back to safety.

Other role players were staged in the training area simulating a hostile force, firing at the Marines during their rescue efforts. The rest of the platoon provided security while Sgt. Scott W. Ghilcrist, the TRAP Platoon’s recovery team leader, climbed up a tree and lowered the pilot to safety.

“They had two safeties and created a pulley system to help ease me down,” said Cpl. Brittany L. Jones, one of the role players and a radio operator, Command Element, 15th MEU. “They got me to the helicopter pretty quickly, and they did an excellent job. I’m sure if they were called upon to execute this mission in real life, it would go as well as it did today,” added the 25-year-old native of Elizabethtown, N.C.

The TRAP Platoon carried the pilot on a stretcher back to their helicopter and returned to base.

“In real life, the pilot could be incapacitated,” said Maj. Ruben Gutierrez, officer-in-charge of amphibious raids, SOTG, I MEF. “We build these scenarios off of missions that have really happened, such as the TRAP 26th MEU recently performed.”

This particular scenario is one of many the platoon will undergo to help improve their specialized skill set.

“The 15th MEU is the middleweight force that can handle missions big or small,” said Huesing. “The TRAP Platoon is one of the many tools the MEU commander can use to leverage a situation.”

The TRAP training was conducted as part of the ground portion of Realistic Urban Training, which the unit is conducting in preparation for their deployment scheduled for this fall.

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5/13/2012 By By Cpl. Lisa M. Tourtelot , 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (FWD)

SOUTHERN HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan — The Marines and Sailors of Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, live minimally - to say the least - at their tiny outpost in southwestern Afghanistan.

With only a dirt square outside their compound for a helicopter pad, swirling dust clouds made by helicopters landing and taking off, known as “brownouts,” make the delivery of necessary supplies, as well as troop movements in and out of the compound, dangerous for both the aircrews and ground personnel.

That is where the Marines and Sailors of Marine Wing Support Squadron 273 come in. The MWSS-273 “Sweathogs” traveled to the desolate post on May 4th, to construct a safer helicopter landing zone (HLZ) with approximately 15,000 cubic meters of gravel and rock, a handful of combat engineers and only about twelve hours to complete the project.

“By having a constructed [landing zone], the gravel will mitigate a lot of the dust problems and will enable us to get into and out of the LZ quicker and safer,” said Capt. Steven Kosnik, the Echo Company commander, with 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, and La Porte, Ind., native.

Kosnik explained that the company relies heavily on air support, in the forms of close-air-support for missions, troop insertions and extractions and supply deliveries. “It’s a lot easier to get out here [by helicopter] than by convoy,” said Sgt. Joshua Wentzel, a heavy equipment operator with MWSS-273 and Grove City, Ohio, native. Wentzel spent the day directing the drivers of two Tractor, Rubber-tired, Articulated Steering, Multipurpose vehicles (TRAMs) as they laid out thousands of pounds of rock needed to form the new HLZ.

In soaring temperatures, the engineers worked diligently and efficiently to lay out the rock, while ensuring the landing pad remained level and sloped appropriately, explained Lance Cpl. Jordan Deraitus, a technical engineer specialist with MWSS-273 and Cornell, Wisc., native.

The brownouts that make helicopter landings and takeoffs dangerous also plagued the TRAM drivers, added Wentzel, making the work ever more difficult.

In approximately six hours - half the original time estimate - the Sweathogs finished their work and prepared to return to Camp Leatherneck. They transformed a patch of dirt into a neat square of gravel ready to safely receive and launch helicopters.

“From an aviation perspective, what you do on the LZ’s is a big deal,” said Brig. Gen. Gregg A. Sturdevant, the Commanding General of 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward), in an address to the convoy members. “It allows us to get the Marines, Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen, the Afghans and the [special operations personnel] in and out safely.” After the mission was complete, the Sweathogs returned to Camp Leatherneck and left the outpost personnel with a new tool to increase their combat effectiveness.

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5/10/2012 By Pfc. Victoria Fairchild, Combat Correspondent , Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow
BARSTOW, Calif.

"On Military Spouse Appreciation Day, we have an opportunity to not only honor the husbands and wives of our service members, but also thank them by actively expressing our gratitude in both word and deed," said First Lady Michelle Obama, May 5, 2011 from the Presidential Proclamation.

Military spouses are recognized each year for their hard work and dedication to the armed forces, which is why Military Spouse Appreciation Day was created.

Military Spouse Appreciation Day began on May 23, 1984, after President Ronald Reagan made a proclamation to recognize the hard work done by military spouses every day. Typically held on the Friday before Mother’s Day, the eventful day is celebrated throughout the United States and on military installations worldwide.

“Being a spouse isn’t always easy,” said Nichole Marks, chairwoman of volunteers aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow and wife of Sgt. Jacey Marks. “He handles a lot of things at work and I do my part at home to take care of the kids while also working at the base thrift store,” she said.
Military spouses have been known for their strength through deployments with the help of friends and special programs offered aboard all military installations. While their significant other is overseas protecting our freedom, spouses keep things stable and running smoothly on the home front.

“My husband has been in for a total of 17 years and I find such pride in what he does for us,” said Melanie Morales, a Marine Corps family team building administrative assistant. Her husband is a sergeant first class now with the National Guard at Fort Irwin. “Not everyone is cut out for the job they do, but being a part of it is important.”

Morales has been through two major deployments with her husband, the first being to Bosnia for seven months. During this time, the family was stationed in Baumholder, Germany. The second deployment was to Afghanistan for 14 months. Having various means of communication made the distance and time apart from each other a little easier.

“Technology has definitely changed since his first deployment,” said Morales. “We used to only have a few phone calls and letters, but since then we were able to Skype and have phone calls more frequently. I felt better being able to hear him more often.” Some spouses don’t particularly enjoy the moving aspect of being in the military, but Morales said she enjoys it and knows it’s not for everyone.

“Spouses do a lot for the service members,” said Sgt. Marks. “I know that while I’m gone on deployments, I can trust that everything will be fine back home. I know that my kids are being taken care of and that my wife is handling everything in the best way possible.”

One of the challenges military spouses sometimes face, is being kept apprised of military events and news, but not for his wife, explained Marks.

“She keeps me informed on a lot of stuff that’s going on around the base,” said Marks. “If I’m busy all day at work, I know that she’ll still keep me updated on what I need to know. I’m sure not a lot of the Marines actually realize what spouses do for them as a whole. My wife keeps me grounded, helps with my uniforms, keeps my hair looking good, and cooks while I’m out.”

After 28 years of Military Spouse Appreciation Day, military spouses have become involved in many support groups; one very popular group is Operation Homefront. Operation Homefront has many events throughout the country’s military installations that focus on the needs of military families with a deployed loved one. Another accomplished group of military spouses and parents is the Blue Star Mothers of America group. This group supports troops overseas by sending care packages and other needed supplies.

“I’ve gone on four deployments,” said Marks. “One of the main things that got me through is receiving letters and phone calls. It makes you realize it’s the little stuff that helps you get through everything. I know she’s taking care of the family back home; she’s strong.”

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5/9/2012 By Cpl. John Robbart III , 15th MEU



NAVAL AIR STATION EL CENTRO, Calif. — More than 400 Marines and sailors with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit began conducting the ground portion of Realistic Urban Training, here, May 7.

The training aims to integrate the Command Element, and its Maritime Raid Force, with the Aviation Combat Element. It will be conducted in unfamiliar areas to better train the Marines in taking urban environments into consideration when conducting missions.


“Realistic urban training allows the Marines and sailors of the 15th MEU to exercise vital skill sets that better prepare them for what they face while forward deployed,” said Col. Scott D. Campbell, commanding officer, 15th MEU. “Bringing together the entire Marine Air Ground Task Force in an exercise such as this one allows us to train our Maritime Raid Force, conduct shore-based command and control and provide our ACE with quality, realistic training,” added Campbell.


The exercise will present unique challenges to prepare all elements of the MAGTF.


“This training is really important because the more practice we get, the more effective we will be,” said Lance Cpl. Jacob K. Uhler, machine gunner, Security Element, Maritime Raid Force, 15th MEU. “We need to be a prepared for a variety of missions, and this is preparing us for a portion of the missions that could be conducted on land,” added the 19-year-old native of Loomis, Calif.

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5/9/2012 By Cpl. John Robbart , 15th MEU



IMPERIAL VALLEY, Calif. — Precision-like shooting has become more than a goal for the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Maritime Raid Force, it’s a requirement. To meet this standard, they proved their skill to Special Operations Training Group during a live-fire qualification, May 8. The qualification involved shooting on the move from up to 50 yards away and, for those armed with a pistol, it included a weapons transition while closing in on a target.

Completing this course is the first step Marines took before beginning more in-depth exercises as the ground portion of Realistic Urban Training moves forward.


“The live-fire marksmanship is a way for Marines to improve their firing skills, confidence and ability to engage their targets effectively,” said 2nd Lt. Mitchell X. Rhyner, platoon commander, Security Element, MRF, 15th MEU. “Our goal for the Marines is surgical shooting,” added the 24-year-old native of State College, Penn.


Rhyner defined surgical shooting as hitting exactly where you want to hit on a target, and the precise standard he sets for his Marines is no easy feat. These elite warriors are required to have 80 percent of their shots land in the designated portions of the target in order to qualify.


“We make every effort possible to minimize collateral damage while accomplishing our mission,” said Sgt. Kyle M. Savoy, force reconnaissance Marine, Assault Element, MRF, 15th MEU. “Shooting in the designated areas is demanded of us because when we are called upon to apply our training, not being proficient could result in the wrong people getting hit,” added the 26-year-old native of Los Angeles.


At the end of the day, brilliance in the basics was what was evaluated in the Marines.


“This was a great opportunity for me to apply the basics and perfect them,” said Lance Cpl. Tyler D. Coleman, machine gunner, Security Element, MRF, 15th MEU. “It’s important to remember to control your breathing to achieve an accurate shot,” added the 19-year-old native of Oxnard, Calif.
The 15th MEU is comprised of approximately 2,300 Marines and sailors and are conducting this training to prepare for their deployment scheduled for this fall.

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5/9/2012 By By Cpl. Isaac Lamberth , 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (FWD)



HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan — Improvised explosive devices have changed the way the Marine Corps engages hostile forces. The need has risen for supplies to reach the most remote parts of Afghanistan quickly, reliably and safely. Late last year, the Corps began experimenting with the K-MAX - an unmanned helicopter, able to transport large amounts of cargo and reduce the need for convoys.
With troops spread across a desolate country with few paved roads, steep mountains, rocky terrain and abrasive weather, the K-MAX has arrived to help deliver supplies across the harsh lands of Afghanistan.


Presently, convoys are exposed to many potential dangers, such as improvised explosive devices and ambushes. Both have claimed the lives of Marines in the past.


“The need (for an alternate transport solution) came about because the Marine Corps wanted to get trucks off the road,” said Maj. Kyle O’Connor, the detachment officer in charge for Cargo Resupply Unmanned Aircraft Systems (CRUAS), a component of Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1.


“They wanted to be able to deliver supplies from one locale to another without putting Marines in danger of IED’s,” he said. “The Marine Corps needed a fast, reliable platform with which to deliver to COPs (Combat Outposts).”
The K-MAX platform has a unique configuration. The two sets of rotors are mounted side-by-side and turn in opposite directions. Each rotor on the helicopter is mounted at a slight angle to the other so that the blades can spin simultaneously without colliding. This configuration allows for superior stability and power while eliminating the need for a tail rotor.


K-MAX has, thus far, fulfilled the Corps’ request of transporting large amounts of cargo over great distances in an expeditious manner.


O’Connor explained that in the month of March alone, the K-MAX ferried approximately 500,000 pounds of cargo and has transported more than 1.3 million pounds since its arrival five months ago. It has flown roughly 400 missions in theater.


O’Connor said the K-MAX has performed so well that the original six-month trial has been extended in theater.
“It’s such a new system for the DoD (Department of Defense) that there isn’t a whole lot of reliability data for it,” he said. “Since it’s done so well, the deployment extension is going to give us more time to continue to gather data on its performance and transport more cargo.”


The data collected will give Corps officials insight on whether to keep the K-MAX as a permanent addition to the Corps’ unmanned squadrons. “We’re flying to see if there are any issues and see if problems come up,” O’Connor said.

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5/9/2012 By Lance Cpl. Sarah Wolff , Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton



SAN MARCOS, Calif. — Muscles burn under the stress of holding his body close to the inverted wall. Sweat falls from his face before hitting the crash pad below as his eyes focused on the next handhold, marked with red tape, that he’d have to jump to reach. Shifting his weight, to gain momentum, the climber hurls himself up to the handhold. With outstretched fingers barely brushing the rough, chalk-covered surface. He feels his heartbeat in his throat as he plummets, like the sweat before him, eight and a half feet down to the crash pad; training complete.

Lance Cpl. Joshua Diaz, tower noncommissioned officer of Horno pistol range, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, pushes himself to reach new heights every weekend at his local rock climbing gym.


Diaz realized his love of rock climbing in his home town of Guanica, Puerto Rico, where he worked until his muscles gave out.


“I had climbed wall after wall until I got real close to the top of one and couldn’t grasp the holds because my arms were so tired,” said Diaz. “I had to just give up and come back down, because my fingers wouldn’t curl around the hand-holds.”


Diaz attended this rock gym in Puerto Rico twice before joining the United States Marine Corps. While in Infantry Training Battalion, Diaz found out where the local rock climbing gyms were and how to get there.


“I would take the train to San Marcos on our days off just to go rock climbing,” said Diaz. Diaz was expecting the smaller, all vertical rock climbing gym in Puerto Rico, unlike the variety of bouldering and angled walls at this gym which can leave climbers with a sense of vertigo as the wall nearly parallels the ground below.


“In the United States, the gyms are a lot cheaper, more spacious and have more options,” said Diaz. With more than 10 rock climbing gyms within an hour-long car ride of Diazs first duty station, he knew a lot of his time would be spent rock climbing.


“When I got here, I decided to buy my own gear because I knew it would be a weekend hobby,” said Diaz. This recreational activity quickly turned into an opportunity to challenge himself. “If I’ve completed something once, why stay on that level,” said Diaz. “If it’s easy, I’m not bettering myself.”


Climbers can determine the level of difficulty since the walls are man made and designed to vary in grip types. This is how Diaz challenges himself, by seeking out the high-skill level routes.


“When you look at the wall, they have different color tape patterns,” said Diaz. “Each color is a different level and the higher the level, the harder it is to finish the marked off route.”


Moving up in the rock climbing gym means knowing your body’s limits and how far you can push them.


“You’re going to wear out your muscles if you stay in one place, taking your time to find your next move,” said Diaz. “Becoming accustomed to thinking quicker and responding quicker are things that come into play with every aspect of rock climbing.” The climbers partner who handles the rope that prevents him from free-falling, must also be quick to think and react to prevent serious injury.


“If I don’t trust a guy I’m not going to climb with him, because when I grab a rock that’s loose and it comes off the wall or twists, I’m going to fall off the wall that split second,” said Diaz.


By keeping the rope pulled tight and locking the carabiner at the first sight of trouble, the individual handling the rope continues to build trust with the climber.


Just as in combat, relying on the Marine to your left and your right can save your life. By conditioning yourself to make quick decisions concerning the safety of yourself and those around you, the quicker and easier it will be to make sound and timely decisions when it matters most.

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QUANTICO, Va. – When Marine Sgt. Jonathan Charles' unit arrived in Afghanistan, the American troops faced an entrenched enemy that picked a fight with the Marines almost every time they stepped off base.

"They couldn't get outside the wire more than 50 meters before it was a barrage of fire," said Charles, a scout sniper. The Marine battalion quickly dispersed well-camouflaged scout sniper teams throughout the Musa Qala area in southern Afghanistan, the former Taliban heartland. The teams would hide for days, holed up in crevices, among boulders or in mud-walled homes, and wait for unsuspecting militants to walk into a trap.

The result: Dozens of militants were killed by an enemy they never saw. Word of unseen killers began to spread among the "few who got away," Charles said. Within weeks, the tide had begun to turn and by the end of the unit's seven-month deployment in March 2011, the battalion's 33-man sniper platoon had 185 enemy kills.

"They quit altogether," Charles, 26, said of the Taliban. More important, with the enemy largely neutralized, the battalion could focus on building local security and developing Afghan security forces. This approach is the bedrock of counterinsurgency warfare, which is designed to allow the United States to remove most combat troops by the end of 2014.

Snipers have quietly emerged as one of the most effective but least understood weapons in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Advancements in technology and training have made them deadlier than in any previous generation.

Their ability to deliver accurate shots minimizes collateral damage — a key factor in counterinsurgency — and they are often more effective than much ballyhooed drones at secretly collecting intelligence.

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A precision weapon

U.S. commanders typically describe counterinsurgency as improving government and the economy and protecting the population. But killing hard-core elements of the insurgency helps persuade the population to join the winning side, military analysts say.

Snipers are ideally suited for that. "It's a lot easier to win hearts and minds when you're doing surgical operations (instead of) taking out entire villages," said LeRoy Brink, a civilian instructor at the Fort Benning school.

Snipers have another advantage. They wear on the enemy's psyche, producing an impact disproportionate to their size. "It takes the fight out of them," Marine Col. Tim Armstrong commander of the Weapons Training Battalion at Quantico, said of the impact on the enemy.

Snipers will play a prominent role as the military reshapes itself into a more agile force after Iraq and Afghanistan. In a new strategy unveiled in January, the Pentagon said it planned on building a smaller, more expeditionary military force and would expand America's capabilities to train indigenous forces over the next several years.

Snipers fit well into that concept, said Andrew Krepinevich president of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. "They've proven to … have had substantial payoff in terms of military effectiveness. They will continue to be valued."

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Psychological impact

In Iraq the value of snipers was clear from the beginning. When Marine officers were negotiating with insurgents holed up in Fallujah in 2004, the enemy's first request was that Marines withdraw snipers who ringed the city and were targeting insurgents.

Fallujah had become a symbol of insurgent resistance after four U.S. security contractors were killed in an ambush and the charred remains of two were strung from a bridge over the Euphrates.

"They weren't concerned with the tanks or the battalions in there," Armstrong said. "They wanted the snipers removed." Marine officers refused. Within days, the insurgents met the Marines' initial conditions.

"They're a small niche that can really wreak havoc on the enemy," said Clarke Lethin, a retired Marine officer who was on the staff of the unit that conducted the negotiations in Fallujah. "Our snipers were very effective when we were trying to bring terrorists to the table."

There's a personal element to snipers that is hard to quantify but has an impact on the enemy.

When an insurgent is killed by an unseen drone strike, "the enemy sort of absorbs that," dismissing it as superior American technology, Armstrong said. They have a different reaction to sniper kills. "When a sniper shoots them … it translates to, 'I just went to a fight man-on-man and I was bested by another man,' " Armstrong said. "That is the psychological impact of scout snipers on the battlefield."

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