Photo By Gunnery Sgt. Anthony Kirby | Republic of Korea Marine Pfc. Deok Jin Hong provides security March 13 at Rodriguez...... read more read more
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RODRIGUEZ LIVE FIRE COMPLEX, South Korea - For weeks, Republic of Korea Marines with 1st Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, and U.S. Marines with 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, worked tirelessly in preparation for a final assessment.
When the moment arrived, the Marines from both forces were full of excited, nervous energy. This last major event tested everything they learned during the exercise to include convoy tactics, helicopter insertions, company-sized movements and battalion-sized defense scenarios.
U.S. and ROK Marines executed combined-arms, air-assault training March 11-14 at Rodriguez Live-Fire Complex in the Republic of Korea during Korean Marine Exchange Program 14-5. The training was the final event for this iteration of KMEP, which is a regularly scheduled combined training exercise between ROK and U.S. Marines.
“The battalion’s objective was to clear Rodriguez area of (enemy) operations, and deny the simulated enemy’s ability to target Pohang Port facilities with their long-range fire,” said U.S. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Kevin A. Fontenot, the assistant operations chief with 2nd Bn., 3rd Marines, currently assigned to 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, under the unit deployment program.
On the first day of the event, U.S. Marine scout snipers inserted into the target area via helicopters to gather intelligence about the objectives. The next day, Company F seized the first objective allowing for follow-on operations. By day three, the U.S. and ROK units had seized the second and third objectives.
After seizing the objectives, a battalion defense was established to repel potential counterattack by mock enemy forces. On the last day of the scenario, the battalion executed a rapid withdrawal of all forces.
“I feel that this exercise allowed us to see our ability to integrate a foreign allied unit into our battalion’s plan to take objectives,” said U.S. Marine 1st Lt. Moises A. Navas, the executive officer of Company G. “It’s pretty impressive to go from meeting these guys who have never done anything like this before to helping them independently operate in a battalion operation.”
KMEP is designed to promote stability on the Korean Peninsula, enhance the alliance between the two nations, and strengthen ROK-U.S. military capabilities.
The culminating event proved that in a situation where ROK and U.S. Marines would have to respond to a regional crisis, the forces would easily integrate and operate successfully to complete the mission, according to Navas.
| Date Taken: | 03.14.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 03.27.2014 07:18 |
| Story ID: | 122716 |
| Location: | RODRIGUEZ LIVE-FIRE COMPLEX, 26, KR |
| Hometown: | GAITHERSBURG, MD, US |
| Hometown: | PORT ORCHARD, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 393 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Republic of Korea, US Marines complete final test at KMEP 14-5, by GySgt Anthony Kirby, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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