Photo By Sgt. Austin Long | Private First Class Garry Stafford Jr., a mortarman with Weapons Company, 1st...... read more read more
Subscribe
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - As the helicopter began its descent, Marines inside began to prepare for a quick off-load from the rear. Once on the ground Marines quickly ran from the helicopter towards the encompassing tree line closest to them, before lying down to cover the other Marines still moving into position. Once on the ground they quickly began moving forward to complete the mission: to seize the airfield so expeditionary forces can use the platform during future operations.
Marines with 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division conducted a battalion air assault field exercise, at Marine Corps Auxiliary Landing Field Bogue, North Carolina, May 11-15, 2015.
Throughout the training the battalion performed airfield seizures and tactical recovery of aircraft personnel missions in order to prepare for their deployment with Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task-Force Crisis Response.
While deployed, any of the companies in the battalion can be called upon at any moment to conduct a helicopter-borne operation in assistance of embassy reinforcement missions, crisis response missions, or theater security cooperation missions.
Since the battalion is going to be disaggregated across Europe and Africa, each company needs to be capable of conducting helicopter-borne and tilt-rotor borne operations at any time from where they are located, said 1st Lt. Jake Ryan, the assistant operations officer with the battalion.
“This type of air assault field exercise is very basic, when it comes to the employment of helicopters,” said Ryan, a native from The Woodlands, Texas. “From here we are able to build on this training and make future helicopter operations more complex. We are also able to see where we are at as a battalion as we prepare for the integrated training exercise and how we can tailor future field operations in order to rectify some of the issues we’ve seen.”
Most of the Marines with the battalion are new to the unit, but aren’t new to the Marine Corps. Ryan said, many of the new Marines have come from the various battalions from 9th Marine Regiment which has since been deactivated.
For the new Marines this was their first field exercise with the battalion and served as an opportunity for the leadership to work with them. This field exercise was a little more difficult, because it included helicopter-borne operations, which is not a basic skill set, but one, that is more advanced, said Ryan.
“I believe the overall training was a great first step in integrating Marines into air assault,” said Sgt. Matthew Whitaker, a mortar section leader with Weapons Company. “We wanted the junior Marines to understand how air power supports the company’s actions on an objective as well as the concept of the forward projection of combat power. It gives Marines at the lowest level an opportunity to witness the complexity of integrated fires and supporting assets of the MAGTF.”
Utilizing air assault as a means for supporting combat operations allows infantry battalions to be more expedient in their process to mobilize on a mission objective. Operating this way, allows the infantry operations to shine in their true light by operating with smaller units at greater distances; keeping with the ideology of Expeditionary Force 21, said Ryan.
| Date Taken: | 05.15.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.27.2015 14:47 |
| Story ID: | 164696 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US |
| Hometown: | THE WOODLANDS, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 112 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Marines seize airfield during training, by Sgt Austin Long, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT