Soldiers, Marines share information in rare mortuary affairs exercise

Courtesy Photo | Marine reservists assigned to the Personnel Retrieval and Processing Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 45, formate July 14 at the McLaney Drop Zone area of the Fort Lee range complex. More than 180 Marines and 150 Soldiers were on hand at the range to participate in a two-week joint mortuary affairs field exercise designed to share the operational procedures of each. According to officials, the exercise is the first joint training endeavor between the two services.  

VA, UNITED STATES

07.17.2014

Story by Terrance Bell  

Fort Gregg-Adams

FORT LEE, Va. - A first-of-its-kind mortuary affairs training event has neared the halfway point of its training agenda.

The exercise, a joint field training endeavor featuring mortuary affairs practitioners, got underway Monday at Fort Lee’s northern training ranges and is scheduled to conclude July 25.

More than 150 Soldiers from the 54th Quartermaster Company, 82nd Special Troops Battalion, and 180 Marine Reservists from the Personnel Retrieval and Processing Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 45, are participating in training with the intent to “share information and training methods,” said 2nd Lt. Brandon Gifford, 54th QM Co.

Military mortuary affairs personnel perform duties similar to a civilian mortician in preparing remains for burial. In addition, they are charged with the recovery and collection of remains among other duties.

Under the exercise’s format, the 54th QM Co. is responsible for teaching the Marines Army mortuary affairs operations during the first week of training while the PRPC will reciprocate the instruction in the final week.

Sgt. 1st Class Steven Lanning, acting first sergeant, 54th QM Co., said the exercise affords his Soldiers a rare training opportunity

“They get to see how the other branches of the service do the same job with their own unique spin,” he said.

The exercise will be a mix of classroom instruction, hands-on training and practical exercises, said Lanning. “We’re actually going to deploy a joint collection point with our Soldiers and their Marines to go out and participate in a recovery and processing scenario,” he added.

A collection point is an operation in which mortuary affairs Soldiers process remains in a theater of operations.

Both Soldiers and Marines receive mortuary affairs training at Fort Lee’s Quartermaster School, but there are differences in the way each conducts their mortuary affairs operations. The exercise, said Lanning, is a first step toward more training exercises in the future.

“We get this opportunity to basically set a foundation from here on out,” he said. “Joint training and joint cooperation is what we’re going to in the future and this is a great opportunity for everybody.”

Lee-based 54th QM Co. is one of two active duty mortuary affairs elements in the U.S. Army, the lead agency for mortuary affairs for the Department of Defense. Its active duty sister unit, the 111th QM Co., is also based at Fort Lee. Both have deployed hundreds of Soldiers to Southwest Asia on a rotational basis since 2006.

The PRPC is a Marine Corps Reserve unit based in Smyrna, Ga., and Washington, D.C.

• Date Taken: 07.17.2014
• Date Posted: 07.17.2014 10:54
• Story ID: 136362
• Location: VA, US