Photo By Cpl. Eric Arndt | Pamela Schmidle practices a Marine Corps Martial Arts Program technique with Katrina...... read more read more
Subscribe
By Lance Cpl. Daniel Todd
3rd Marine Expeditionary Force Public Affairs
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION FUTENMA, OKINAWA, Japan — When Pamela Schmidle woke in the morning March 12, she threw on a pair of her husband's cammies and prepared to play Marine for the day, a complete turnaround from her normal morning routine.
She arrived at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma at 8 a.m., ready to engage in a day of Marine Corps activities. She and other wives with 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and its subordinate units set off on a journey to better understand what their spouses do on a daily basis during the Marine Aircraft Group 36 Jane Wayne Day.
The ladies gathered on the Futenma flight line, where MAG-36 commanding officer Col. Ben Matthews welcomed them. They then split into five groups and kicked off the day of events and challenges intended to mimic military training.
"Today was about giving the spouses a little taste of what we do and making sure they know we keep them in mind when making decisions," Matthews said.
The groups rotated between seven stations located throughout Futenma.
They drove humvees; piloted aircraft in a flight simulator; learned some basic Marine Corps martial arts techniques; practiced firing weapons in the Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer; used night vision goggles in the Night Imaging and Threat Evaluation Lab; suited up in protective gear while learning about chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear contamination; and got an intimate look at the group's many aircraft.
"Everything we did was exciting, I learned a lot and I had a great time meeting other wives in the unit," said Lisa Drew.
Most of the ladies said driving a humvee was a lot easier than they expected. The flight simulator, while fun, was difficult, according to the spouses, who tried piloting CH-53 Sea Stallion or CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters or the KC-130 Hercules aircraft in the simulator.
The ladies beamed with laughter as they shot the M-2 .50 caliber machine gun, the M-16A2 service rifle and the AT-4 rocket launcher in the Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer.
Schmidle said the experience was very insightful and fun.
"I had a blast, and it gave me a real appreciation for what the Marines do," Schmidle said.
This was the first time MAG-36 hosted a Jane Wayne day, and Matthews said that he is pleased with how well it turned out and is looking forward to doing it again in the future.
| Date Taken: | 03.12.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 03.25.2008 21:59 |
| Story ID: | 17745 |
| Location: |
| Web Views: | 126 |
| Downloads: | 42 |
This work, Spouses get taste of Marine Corps during Jane Wayne Day on Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, by LCpl Daniel Todd, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT