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POHAKULOA TRAINING AREA, Hawaii – Just as a rifle is comprised of many parts and pieces, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, is composed of various companies. Pieced together by three rifle companies, a Headquarters and Service company, and a weapons company, the Marines of “Trinity” fight in order to accomplish the infantry mission: To locate, close with and destroy the enemy with fire and maneuver. Each company serves its own unique purpose and adds to the force and readiness of the battalion.
Divided into a mortar platoon and Combined Anti-Armor Teams 1 and 2, Weapons Company provides the battalion with direct support through mortar fire, as well as through the CAAT’s heavy machine guns and missile assets, designed to destroy enemy tanks and anti-armor assets.
“Our ultimate purpose, as a weapons company, is to support the battalion’s scheme of maneuver with the heaviest weapons that we have at the battalion level,” said Capt. Russell Fluker, the commanding officer of Weapons Co., 3rd Bn., 3rd Marines. “We are important to the battalion because we are the most proficient with this weaponry and we are constantly improving by working with it.”
The platoons within Weapons Co. differ from those of a standard rifle company and they work directly for the battalion commander and operations officer. The mortar platoon provides indirect fire support and the two CAAT platoons serve as the company’s tank-killing assets.
Fluker, a Kirbyville, Texas, native, said that while those weapon systems are the Marines’ specialty, they don’t often get the chance to fire them unless it’s on the big island of Hawaii. He said he enjoys seeing the Marines of Weapons Co. in their element, doing what they are constantly training for.
“I’m proud of the Marines’ efforts and what they do every day,” he said. “They come out ready to accomplish any task we set before them and they are nothing but professional. We carry some of the biggest weapons the battalion has, and it’s great to see them employing their craft. Through all their hard work, I know they can overcome any challenges they are faced with.”
Gunnery Sgt. Joaquin Ortiz, the platoon sergeant for CAAT 2, Weapons Co., 3rd Bn., 3rd Marines, said the company has certainly improved the lethality of the battalion with the Marines’ ability to effectively handle their weapon systems and assets.
“Through the training we do, we continue to grow in order to strengthen the battalion,” said Ortiz, a San Jose, Calif., native. “Our support varies depending on the battalion’s plan of attack, however, more often than not, we are attached to another company and are required to provide either direct or indirect fire. It is our mission to help out as much as we can.”
Ortiz said the company has a really great group of Marines and hopes they can keep up their momentum and keep moving forward. He also said that it doesn’t matter if someone is new to the battalion because once they get to know the company, it’s like they’ve been there the whole time.
“Each Marine here has their own unique quirks, but they all share the same mindset,” Ortiz said. “There’s an interesting dynamic here in Weapons Company: The Marines are a little louder and a little more proud; not only are these guys proficient and aggressive when it comes to their work, but they role their sleeves a little different and have a different swagger. For the Marines of the company, their pride comes with the guns they carry on their backs.”
| Date Taken: | 11.02.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.03.2015 20:07 |
| Story ID: | 180805 |
| Location: | POHAKULOA TRAINING AREA, HI, US |
| Hometown: | KIRBYVILLE, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 600 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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