Marines on Okinawa become familiar with deadly jungle booby traps

Photo By Lance Cpl. Andrew Avitt | Lance Cpl. Thomas Hennigan, a supply administration and operations Marine with Headquarters Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, approaches a victim of his squad's simulated ambush, on May 7. He will proceed to check the body for explosives as two of his team members provide security.  

05.22.2009

Story by Cpl. Paul Zellner 

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

The jungle may be neutral, but the enemy is not. In the environment, visibility is low and fear is high. The enemy may be near. Even if they aren't, there are many ways they can blend traps into the pieces of the jungle's puzzle. That next step could be the last for the untrained.

In the jungle, the most effective way to know the enemy's tricks is to think like the enemy.

Marines enrolled in the Jungle Skills course at the Jungle Warfare Training Center on Camp Gonsalves, Okinawa, May 7, learn just that.

"Making booby traps is only limited by your imagination," said Cpl. James Cabay, an instructor at JWTC. "They're really easy to disguise and almost impossible to find if they're disguised right."

Booby traps fall into two categories, explosive and nonexplosive.

Disguising the nonexplosive booby traps in the jungle is not difficult because the traps are usually made of natural foliage such as bamboo and logs, Cabay said. The bamboo blends into the trees or is covered up by leaves and twigs to make the trap appear natural. Explosive booby traps can also be easily covered up with existing elements in the jungle.

During the course, Marines learn about different initiators for booby traps such as pressure, pull, tension release, pressure release and electrical triggers. Knowing the initiators allows Marines who activate a trap to give early warning to squad members.

Jungle traps can be set off by tension wires, so when a Marine feels the tension he may have enough time to warn his team. If he has not completely tripped the wire, it still may be disarmed without causing any damage.

"During that moment of complete chaos when a booby trap goes off or the enemy ambushes, communication is key," Cabay said. "The person who set off the trap usually has a small window [of time] in which to communicate the imminent danger with his squad, since most traps take a few seconds to [trip]."

With each war, new tactics become devastating factors in increasing casualty numbers. Learning from the past and preparing for the future can help the Corps remain a lethal force in readiness. The students agree the class gives them that advantage.

"I know more about where and what to look for, [and be] especially alert to everything in the jungle," said Lance Cpl. Justin T. McKee, a field radio operator with 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. "You never know what's going to be around the next corner."

As the course's newest graduates walk through an enemy-infested jungle, no longer are they uneducated victims. They have been transformed into predators in disguise, keen to the enemy's tricks and lethal traps.

• Date Taken: 05.22.2009
• Date Posted: 05.22.2009 02:34
• Story ID: 33931