1/23 prepares for Afghanistan deployment

Photo By Staff Sgt. Lucas Vega | Sgt. Nico Purkiss, a squad leader with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, and an Afghan national role player playing an Afghan soldier provide cover for a fire team gathering intelligence information from local villagers inside a building during infantry immersion training at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Jan. 11-12, as part of intermediate location as the infantry battalion prepares for a scheduled deployment to Afghanistan.  

CAMP PENDLETON, CA, UNITED STATES

01.12.2011

Story by Cpl. Lucas Vega 

Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES)

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Marines and sailors with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment took part in infantry immersion training Jan. 11-12, as the battalion continues preparations for an upcoming six-month deployment to Afghanistan.

What used to be a tomato-packing warehouse and field is now two full-fledged training facilities used by Alpha Company 1/23 Marines, a Houston-based reserve infantry company, currently conducting intermediate location training.

The two separate training compounds, one copied from an actual village in Afghanistan, was created a few years ago to give Marines the most realistic feel possible for the combat zone they will be deploying to in just a few weeks.

Every aspect of the training facility engages all five senses. From the textured concrete on the walls of the buildings in the village, to the Afghan national role players, to the stench released by aroma machines.

Mock improvised explosive devices detonating and role players speaking in the local dialect replicate many of the events that may occur during the unit's deployment.

During the training, the Marines remove the factory muzzles of their M-4s and replace them with another muzzle, designed to fire special effect, small-arms marketing system rounds. "These facilities make the training as realistic as possible," said Gunnery Sgt. Hector Vegacigarroa, a platoon sergeant with Alpha Company, 1/23. "All aspects of the training play a unique role in recreating the reality of the actual Afghanistan."

In the old warehouse, which was transformed into a small indoor Afghan village, the Marines patrolled while attempting to successfully complete each scenario that was briefed before they began.

The training was repeated numerous times with each scenario being different. Examples included locating a heroin lab, and finding a captured Marine.

"Training is called training because you get the opportunity to learn what you don't know, and expand on what you already know," said Vegacigarroa, from Houston. "Each scenario, the Marines gain more confidence which is important in getting the mission done over there in Afghanistan."

Lance Cpl. Ceasar Sanchez, a rifleman with Alpha Company, 1/23, has five years with the company and has previously deployed to Iraq.

"This training makes it feel so real," said Sanchez. "It reminds me of Iraq because they replicated everything so well. The type of training we are receiving is hard to believe at times because it just feels so real."

The battalion arrived here on Oct. 1, 2010, and is scheduled to deploy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom sometime in February.

• Date Taken: 01.12.2011
• Date Posted: 01.24.2011 14:29
• Story ID: 64123
• Location: CAMP PENDLETON, CA, US