1st LE Bn. conducts training during MEFEX 15

Photo By Sgt. OWEN KIMBREL | Lance Cpl. Ramos Valencia, a military working dog handler with 1st Law Enforcement Battalion, pulls against his military working dog, Sedane, during the I Marine Expeditionary Force Exercise 2015 aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Feb. 17. The exercise allowed 1st LE Bn. to conduct patrols and work with their dogs.  

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, CA, UNITED STATES

02.17.2015

Story by Cpl. OWEN KIMBREL 

I Marine Expeditionary Force

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – With long days and continuous hours the Marines with 1st Law Enforcement Battalion conducted various training exercises around the clock during the I Marine Expeditionary Force Exercise 2015 aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Feb. 17.

Marines with 1st LE Bn. conducted the training to become more comfortable manning entry control points and successfully work with their military working dogs in the field.

MEFEX 15 is designed to allow I Marine Expeditionary Force command element staff and I Marine Headquarters Group to rehearse and execute the transporting, establishing, sustaining, disestablishing and retrograding the I MEF main command post.

“This training is important because it allows us to exercise our operating procedures and really gives us a chance to employ our dogs in a field environment,” said Lance Cpl. David Wadleigh, a military working dog handler with 1st LE Bn.

The Marines checked incoming and out-going vehicles from the MEFEX 15 compound the same as they would at an actual forward operating base. They kept track of vehicles and the number of persons occupying the vehicle. While military working dog handlers and their K9s patrolled the area, they also conducted aggression training and threat detection techniques.

“I think it’s great. This is something special and it’s great for me and my dog,” said Cpl. Ashley Hutchins, a military working dog handler with 1st LE Bn. “It really gives us a chance to bond and become more compatible as a team in the event of an emergency.”

1st LE Bn. will continue to conduct the training in order to remain operationally ready in the event of a real-life scenario.

• Date Taken: 02.17.2015
• Date Posted: 02.19.2015 17:26
• Story ID: 154896
• Location: MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, CA, US
• Hometown: SAN DIEGO, CA, US