Photo By Sgt. Fenton Reese | Cpl. Cody Sorrells, a basic water support technician, or Water Dog, checks the filter...... read more read more
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AQABA, Jordan – There are many places in the world where drinkable water is hard to come by. This is not an issue for the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit participating in Exercise Eager Lion 12 thanks to basic water support technician Marines, also known as Water Dogs.
These Marines perform water purification duties to provide clean drinking water for the unit’s service members participating in Eager Lion 12.
Eager Lion is an irregular warfare-themed exercise focusing on missions that our coalition partners might perform during operational deployments in support of global contingency operations.
Performing water purification operations during this exercise provides the type of experience the Marines would need for real-world operations.
This is a capability that can be very convenient and useful to a unit in most missions. The drinking water is actually better than most commercially sold brands, said Lance Cpl. Scott Clark, a 24th MEU basic water support technician.
“Now that’s some high quality H2O,” remarked Cpl. Cody Sorrell, in reference to a movie, as Clark took a drink from their “harvest” of the day after conducting a routine chemical and purity test.
Every few hours the Marines test the purified water for chemicals, salt and phosphorous levels to make sure the water is clear and balanced.
Due to this and other maintenance requirements, the Marines must remain with the gear around the clock. The Water Dogs set up shop and then set up tents close to the water source.
They use two different systems to complete the process: the Tactical Water Purification System and the Light-Weight Water Purification System.
The TWPS is the primary system. The machine has the power to draw in and purify up to 1,500 gallons of water per hour.
The LWPS is a smaller, more portable purification system that can bring in up to 180 gallons per hour.
Both systems are connected to a series of hoses that siphon water from the source. Once the water is purified and ready to drink, it is delivered throughout the unit.
“It is very rewarding to know how important we are,” said Clark referring to the unit’s mission.
The Water Dogs provide all the fresh water for the 24th MEU during ground operations. This is important for this exercise since part of the mission is for the unit to be self-sufficient.
The Water Dogs provide a unique capability that allows the 24th MEU to continue the mission without relying on or depleting other available resources.
| Date Taken: | 05.08.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 05.24.2012 14:17 |
| Story ID: | 88956 |
| Location: | AQABA FREE ZONE, JO |
| Web Views: | 419 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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