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Marines with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment teamed up with multiple, newly developed technologies to test their effectiveness against a futuristic, asymmetric enemy at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California, July 26-Aug. 6.
The test was conducted as part of Sea Dragon 2025, to show how well Marines could grow and adapt against an ever-changing enemy and to give the Marine Corps an idea of what the future force might look like.
“We’ve got some hypotheses on what we think the Marine Corps should look like to fight a future adversary,” said General Robert B. Neller, the 37th Commandant of the Marine Corps. “This experiment will help prove or disprove some of those hypotheses.”
The Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, planned and executing MIX-16 as the initial phase of the Sea Dragon 2025 initiative. MCWL assists in the development of various forms of technology to help Marines carry gear, conduct reconnaissance, purify water, and even provide protection and suppressive fire.
“Ultimately what were trying to do is determine how we can make the Marine Corps more efficient, more lethal and more survivable,” said Maj. Jason Dempsey, lead project officer for Marine Air Ground Task Force Integrated Exercise 16 for MCWL.
During the experiment Marines were put in an intense, free-play, environment. Role players along with an opposition force from Lima company 3/5, tested the limits of Marines from K co.
“We’re not fairy dusting anything, and that includes casualties,” said Dempsey. “When one of the Marines or the opposing force gets shot they are extracted as if they were in combat. They are out of the fight and out of the picture to make it as real as we can make it”
The environment was made so that, initially, no one had complete control of any situation. Marines and opposition forces planned and executed their own scheme and maneuver, conducted raids, riots and attacks to gain the upper hand in the scenario.
“This is a free play environment, in this experiment the enemy can win and the good guy can lose,” said Dempsey.
Making this a free-play environment shows Marines where exactly they’re shortcomings may be and how technology can better aid them in completing their mission.
“I don’t want anybody to be afraid to fail. Were out here in training and training is where you make mistakes and learn from them,” said Neller. “Some of the stuff we do isn’t going to work. Some stuff Marines are going to tell us is too heavy or unreliable and were here to fix that.”
After the experiment Marines will continue working together with leaders and MCWL staff to make the current fighting force more effective and better equipped for the future fight.
| Date Taken: | 08.11.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 08.12.2016 22:04 |
| Story ID: | 207018 |
| Location: | TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 384 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Refining the future force, by Sgt Julien Rodarte, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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