Marines practice Rehearsal of Concept at ITX 1-15

Photo By Sgt. John Baker | Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Powledge, the battalion commander of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, asks a question during a rehearsal of concept drill aboard Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., Nov. 7, 2014. The purpose of the drill was to discuss the Marine Air Ground Task Force commander’s intent for the Integrated Training Exercise’s Motorized Assault Course.  

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA, UNITED STATES

11.07.2014

Story by Lance Cpl. John Baker 

I Marine Expeditionary Force

TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. - Marine Corps leaders at Integrated Training Exercise 1-15, gathered for a rehearsal of concept drill for the Motorized Assault Course aboard Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California, Nov. 7. The Marines went through the plan step-by-step to ensure it was understood by everyone.

Leaders from every unit participating in ITX attended the drill. Among them was Lt. Col. Timothy Powledge, the battalion commander of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment.

“The rehearsal of concept drill is intended to bring the battalion together with the entire headquarters to make sure everyone understands the (Marine Air Ground Task Force) commander’s intent,” said Powledge, a native of Los Angeles.

Once the MAGTF commander’s intent has been discussed, the commanders will use that information to begin more detailed planning for the mission before coming back together to brief their in-depth battle plans.

“We bring together all the elements of the MAGTF,” said Powledge. “All these units come together from the East Coast and the West Coast and we’ve never worked together before. So it’s very important that we get to meet each other, hear the commander’s intent and discuss it in an open forum and talk through how we each see our own part in the mission.”

The MAC is a large-scale training exercise that is bigger than these units are used to doing. Captain Jacob Godby, the assistant operations officer for 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, from Fredericksburg, Virginia, explained just how many different elements are going into this exercise.

“We’re incorporating a lot of moving parts into this one large exercise,” said Godby, a Fredericksburg, Virginia, native. “We have infantry, tanks, tracks, (light armored reconnaissance) as well as artillery and close air support.”

Though some of the units are stationed at Twentynine Palms, others came from as far as Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to participate in ITX.

“Twentynine Palms provides an awesome training facility,” said Godby. “This is the only place where we can do live fire combined arms training with direct fire, indirect fire and close-air support on such a large scale.”

• Date Taken: 11.07.2014
• Date Posted: 11.17.2014 18:27
• Story ID: 148076
• Location: TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA, US
• Hometown: FREDERICKSBURG, VA, US
• Hometown: LOS ANGELES, CA, US