Photo By Cpl. James Sauter | French airborne Marines of the 8th Marine Airborne Light Infantry Regiment move...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS TRAINING AREA BELLOWS, Hawaii - Hot sunrays beat down through the clouds and humidity onto a patrol of U.S. and French Marines as they progressed through two seemingly vacant Afghan villages. The only sounds they could hear were the crackling of an outdoor cooking stove, an occasional sheep call and traffic over handheld radios.
Moving through the villages, the Marines paid close attention to the surrounding details. They checked food bins in the marketplace, provided security on dirt roads, searched for suspicious items in the brush and peaked into the sewer. Not a single detail was left amiss because lives were at risk.
French airborne Marines of the 8th Marine Airborne Infantry Regiment and U.S. Marines of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, conducted a mechanized assault, squad patrols and improvised explosive device searches at Military Operations in Urban Terrain facilities at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows during Exercise Amercal 2012, Oct. 23.
“After the assault this morning, the Marines cleared the buildings at the first facility, set up security around the town and began sending out squad patrols looking for insurgents and IEDs,” said 1st Sgt. Fausto Cabrera, Bravo Company first sergeant, 1/3. “This is a chance for all of us to see how we do patrols and IED searches.”
Exercise Amercal is a bilateral training evolution between the French Armed Forces in New Caledonia and 3rd Marine Division. During the training, a Hawaii-based infantry platoon from 3rd Marines exchanged with a French platoon in New Caledonia. The exercise is held to help improve military to military relationships, enhance interoperability, improve warfighting skills and increase the readiness of U.S., allied and partner militaries to respond to the full spectrum of crises and contingencies.
During the previous two weeks of training, the French and U.S. Marines trained together on numerous evolutions, such as close-quarters combat, shooting drills and martial arts training.
“The training we did together was an awesome experience,” said Lance Cpl. Walter Cruces a rifleman with 1/3. “I learned by watching them that they don’t rush their patrols or cordoning off an IED. It’s interesting to learn different techniques from an allied nation on how to conduct similar procedures.”
As the patrol moved through the second village, they spotted a suspected insurgent hiding in a courtyard. Before the Marines could make the arrest, a pair of snipers perched on houses across the street fired on the troops below. During the firefight, a simulated IED explosion killed a French Marine, but the remaining squad members subdued the aggressors and cleared the town.
“This whole exercise is meant to be a learning experience,” said Staff Sgt. Tyler Rakowski a platoon sergeant with 1/3. “When we were at the [Modular Armored Tactical Combat House] on Marine Corps Base Hawaii last week, I saw a lot of mutual learning from us and them. I saw the same thing here and I’m hoping it will continue until we’re finished.”
| Date Taken: | 10.23.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 10.25.2012 13:46 |
| Story ID: | 96764 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS TRAINING AREA BELLOWS , HI, US |
| Web Views: | 487 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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