Photo By Staff Sgt. Immanuel Johnson | The tanks are aligned and awaiting the signal to breach the hill for assault breacher...... read more read more
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CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Engineers gather their machinery preparing the ground for the tanks to cross over in a tactical manner, while the tanks prepare to make their way to the other side; they align next to each other. As the engineers’ powerful machines plow dirt from one side of the terrain to another, the tanks make their way across the hill one-by-one.
Marines with Bravo Company, 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, and Charlie Company, 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, participated in a joint-training exercise that included the assault breachers from the mobile company.
“Today we’re simulating a breach we would see with an obstacle belt on the far side, which is protected by improvised explosive device mines,” said Gunnery Sgt. Bobby Stone, a combat engineer with 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, and a native of Hatfield, Arkansas.
“We are employing the tanks as a support by fire position to locate the enemy where the assault breachers will come in and reduce the obstacle in front to provide a path,” said Stone. “We’re going to pile up to the actual ditch site in conjunction with heavy equipment. We’ll come in after that, allowing the assault breacher vehicles from the far side to get to the near side enemy objective.”
Stone expressed his confidence in his unit’s ability to reach across to an impassable obstacle, and how important it is when facing the same situation in a deployed environment.
“We’re moving more into a mechanized environment,” Stone said. “We can proof, clear and reduce obstacles in our way. We’re integrating into a more mechanized environment, it’s important you put these entities together pushing toward the objective these days.”
Transitioning into a mechanized environment allows for the plans and operations to become integrated into a whole, conducting tank and engineer exercises efficiently. “Bringing it all together, putting it in one bowl and mixing it together, we get a feel of how the tanks and engineers operate,” said Stone. “We’re on the ground putting boots on the deck, doing what I need to do and how I need to direct a mechanized unit.”
| Date Taken: | 03.31.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.02.2015 15:07 |
| Story ID: | 158980 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 47 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Breaching Operation: Tanks Clear the Way, by SSgt Immanuel Johnson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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