Marines reach new heights during Javelin Thrust

Photo By Cpl. Christofer Baines | Lance Cpl. Blain Giddings, a Papillion, Neb., native and Lance Cpl. Thomas Leach, an Armstrong, Iowa, native, operate a water purification system, July 20. The Marines took time to learn these skills, passed down by the unit’s Mountain Warfare Leader’s Course graduates, as they settled into their new home at the MWTC.  

BRIDGEPORT, CA, UNITED STATES

07.22.2011

Story by Lance Cpl. Christofer Baines  

Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES)

MARINE CORPS MOUNTAIN WARFARE TRAINING CENTER BRIDGEPORT, Calif. – Marines with 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment uprooted from the Hawthorne Army Ammunition Depot and headed west to the MWTC, where they will complete their training for Javelin Thrust.

Flying in by helicopter, the Marines quickly established a bivouac and settled into the new and unfamiliar terrain. The altitude, which exceeds 8,000 feet, and general environment of the MWTC has laid forth a new set of challenges.

As a result of the extremities faced by the Marines as they transition from a desert to mountainous environment, they are going through two days of pre-environmental training. Throughout the PET, the Marines will learn about environmental hazards, acclimatization, how to evaluate the terrain and weather, time-distance formula and other vital skills to accomplish a number of missions in this austere environment from MWTC instructors.

The purpose of this training is to give Marines the fundamentals of mountain warfare and survival, as well as the confidence to complete the mission, said Staff Sgt. Gregory J. Hoover, an instructor at the MWTC. It takes 90-days to fully acclimatize, so this will help keep them safe throughout the course of their training, where they do not have that opportunity.

“Deploying to Afghanistan will be easier since we can practice navigating the terrain, how to run patrols, adjustments in equipment and the type of environment with the stress of the altitude here,” said Sgt. Jesse E. Drahos, a platoon sergeant with Co. E, 2/24. “The change in environment and surroundings is something they’ll need to consider, with being here they actually get to see what it’s like.”

This training, along with other classes being taught by squad leaders and platoon sergeants, is proving its worth in the minds of their Marines, making them more confident and effective in a variety of tasks.

“In my notebook alone I wrote about 20 pages, I learned stuff in radio operations, patrolling, classes in environmental safety,” said Pfc. Nicholas R. Thul, a machine gunner with Company E, 2/24 and Algona, Iowa native. “These sergeants and staff sergeants we’ve been taking knowledge from have been to Iraq and Afghanistan; they know what they’re talking about. They know exactly what to warn us about and what to teach us to keep us alive.”

Everything taught from navigating the mountains though their PET classes to other skills taught by non-commissioned officers, it will all be utilized and tested throughout the trials that lie ahead, though so far they have done a spectacular job.

“For being a reserve company and not being able to go to the field as much as we’d like to, these Marines have gone above and beyond with what’s expected and sustaining that while out here,” said Drahos, a Belle Plaine, Iowa, native. “You got guys coming out of their regular civilian jobs and going straight into this military mindset in this environment being pushed outside of normal bounds into something a lot more complicated and stressful. They’re doing really well.”

• Date Taken: 07.22.2011
• Date Posted: 07.23.2011 17:13
• Story ID: 74213
• Location: BRIDGEPORT, CA, US