CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - Special Operations Training Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, conducted a mechanized raid for Marines of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard Camp Pendleton Calif., Feb 26.
Marines from the Light Armored Reconnaissance Platoon, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment recently participated in this training event simulating the capture and seizure of enemy personnel and equipment.
The event consisted of six light armored vehicles converging upon a mock town suspected of housing several high value individuals and weapons caches. The Marines seized the town, eliminating all enemy threats and immediately began conducting tactical site exploitation of personnel and weapons.
SOTG’s Raid and Tactical Recovery of Aircraft Personnel section creates realistic training to better equip units that are soon to deploy worldwide.
Sgt. Peter Monfeli, staff noncommissioned officer in charge of TRAP, said training to enhance field craft in a realistic environment gives Marines the opportunity to expand their critical skills to another level.
Monfeli said, “This kind of training we really try to keep on a realistic plane.” It’s our job to enable these Marines to become a viable asset to the operating force overseas.”
Staff Sgt. Eric Schmutzer, close quarter training instructor with SOTG said, that the ever-changing circumstances surrounding current operations requires Marines to be flexible.
The platoon participated in the raid and encountered a myriad of obstacles within the scenario, including simulated enemy aggressors, improvised explosive devices and opportunities for ambush become obstacles for the Marines.
Monfeli said that training of this caliber requires small steps to be taken in order to focus on the details surrounding the ever-changing battlefield, moving away from the mindset of the two large-scale wars the Corps has been engaged in within the past decade to a more global perspective.
The 11th MEU is scheduled to depart later this year.