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    Guns blazing: 1/3 completes MOUT training

    Guns blazing: 1/3 completes MOUT training

    Photo By Sgt. Cedric Haller | Cpl. Jonathan T. Stark, from Coulterville, Illinois, gives a command over a radio Aug....... read more read more

    CENTRAL TRAINING AREA, OKINAWA, JAPAN

    08.27.2014

    Story by Lance Cpl. Cedric Haller 

    III Marine Expeditionary Force   

    OKINAWA, Japan — When it comes to combat proficiency, Marines are expected to be able to execute in any clime and every place. Marines with 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, demonstrated their ability to do just that during military operations on urbanized terrain training Aug. 27 in the Central Training Area on Okinawa, Japan.

    The Marines who participated in the training are assigned to the Combined Anti-Armor Team Platoon, Weapons Company, with the battalion, currently assigned to 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, under the unit deployment program.

    Marines from CAAT platoons frequently operate using vehicles and mounted weapons systems in MOUT environments. Most of the Marines in the CAAT platoon spend a majority of their time using machine guns or other heavy weapons, so getting to train like riflemen is something the Marines enjoyed, according to Cpl. Mario J. Montanez, a machine gunner with the platoon.

    “We were kicking in doors and got a feel for what it’s like to be a rifleman,” said Montanez, from Bayamon, Puerto Rico. “This is what all of us in infantry joined the Marine Corps to do.”

    MOUT is combat that takes place in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat is different from combat in an open area at both the operational and tactical level. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the presence of civilians and the complexity of the urban terrain.

    “When we were out here last week we did team MOUT training and room clearing, first and second level clearing, moving toward an objective, and raids,” said Staff Sgt. Enrique Mendoza, the CAAT platoon sergeant. “This week we decided to incorporate the Humvees. We integrated everything we did last week with what we are doing this week. We worked with platoon-sized elements in assaulting and completely clearing the combat town, utilizing the Humvees as the quick reaction force.”

    The opportunity to use simulated ammunition throughout the training area afforded the Marines in CAAT platoon the ability to conduct more realistic training.

    “Shooting simulated ammunition creates a different dimension to the training,” said Mendoza, from Chico, California. “By adding enemies that can actually shoot back, this causes the Marines to be more alert.”

    The Marines faced unique factors throughout the training such as unpredictable weather conditions, according to 1st Lt. Joseph M. Krawczyk, the CAAT platoon commander.

    “Okinawa is a new place and a different experience for us,” said Krawczyk, from Trenton, Michigan. “One of the biggest factors about training here is the extreme heat and humidity.”

    In addition adapting to the weather on Okinawa, the Marines also gained valuable skills essential to an infantryman’s job, according to Krawczyk.

    “The skillsets the Marines acquire from doing MOUT, being that we are a CAAT platoon, are very beneficial to their development as small-unit leaders,” said Krawczyk. “Every event is a chance to learn something new or improve on something.”

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 08.27.2014
    Date Posted: 09.10.2014 04:56
    Story ID: 141643
    Location: CENTRAL TRAINING AREA, OKINAWA, JP
    Hometown: BAYAMON, PR
    Hometown: CHICO, CA, US
    Hometown: COULTERVILLE, IL, US
    Hometown: LAKE IN THE HILLS, IL, US
    Hometown: OAKES, ND, US
    Hometown: TRENTON, MI, US

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