Security Cooperation Group Marines strengthen their combat fitness and lifesaving skills

Photo By Gunnery Sgt. Alexis Mulero | A team of Marine Corps Security Cooperation Group Marines strengthen their combat life-saving skills during an offsite training event aboard Camp Pendleton State Military Reservation in Virginia Beach, Va., March 23. The unit conducted a Medical Practical Applications Lane combat fitness course, which consisted of a three-mile litter run performed in boots and utilities.  

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA, UNITED STATES

03.29.2012

Story by Gunnery Sgt. Alexis Mulero 

Fleet Marine Force Atlantic, Marine Forces Command, Marine Forces Northern Command

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - More than 60 Marines and sailors from Marine Corps Security Cooperation Group participated in an offsite training event aboard Camp Pendleton State Military Reservation, Virginia Beach, Va., March 23.

The purpose of the offsite was to exploit a gap in the unit’s normal work schedule created by Solid Curtain – Citadel Shield, which is a Naval exercise designed to test the preparedness of Navy installations nation-wide when responding to natural and man-made disasters.

"The offsite training was a great opportunity for the MCSCG Marines and Sailors to get away from their normal routine, receive some of their required annual training requirements, and build unit cohesion through team work," said Master Gunnery Sgt. Michael Earwood, operations chief at MCSCG from Barrow, Alaska.

Some of the topics reviewed during the training included: the revised Marine Corps policy on hazing, the Never Leave a Marine Behind training and required medical classes.

The day’s event was capped off with a Medical Practical Applications Lane combat fitness course, which consisted of a three-mile litter run performed in boots and utilities. Prior to the run, MCSCG personnel were separated into teams of six to seven and each team received a trauma bag and a litter to carry throughout the course.

“It is important for Marines and sailors to be proficient in medical evacuation procedures of injured personnel from the front lines,” said Chief Thomas Gentry, a surface force independent duty corpsman and medical chief at the unit. The Laurinburg, N.C. native added, “This training built camaraderie and teamwork while also testing service members physical stamina, which is essential in a combat environment.”

The Marine Corps Security Cooperation Group is a unit that coordinates, manages, executes, and evaluates U.S. Marine Corps Security Cooperation programs and activities, to include assessment, planning, military related education and training, and adviser support to ensure unity of effort in building Partner Nation Security Forces (PNSF) capacity and capability in order to facilitate Marine Corps and regional Marine Forces component support to combatant commanders security cooperation objectives.

• Date Taken: 03.29.2012
• Date Posted: 03.29.2012 16:59
• Story ID: 85972
• Location: VIRGINIA BEACH, VA, US