Photo By Master Sgt. Helen Miller | Lance Cpl. Shane Davis, a Marine assigned to Headquarters Company, 25th Marine...... read more read more
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More than 2,000 Marines took part in the training, the most Marines ever included in the exercise. The training included amphibious assault missions, pistol qualification, unknown distance firing ranges, .50 caliber machine gun ranges as well as small unit assaults.
Marines from the regimental headquarters based in Fort Devens, Massachusetts had the opportunity to train on both their logistical and support specialties, as well as gaining valuable experience in combat roles alongside the infantry. The 25th is a reserve infantry unit that has companies located in Brook Park, Ohio and Garden City, New York.
“It’s an extensive training area,” said Capt. Pete Fisher, a Washington, D.C. resident and the commanding officer of the headquarters and support section. “It’s good for the Marines to train on the range and get training in day to day support operations.”
For most of the Marines, it was their first time at the CGJMTC.
“This is the first Grayling range I’ve ever been on,” said Lance Cpl. Brian Rice. “It’s a lot better than others I’ve experienced.”
Marines assigned to Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion based in Brook Park, Ohio worked on small unit exercises that included mounted live-fire assaults with .50 caliber machine guns. Camp Grayling’s open terrain allowed the company a rare opportunity to utilize the full-spectrum of bounding movements with multiple vehicles that some of the smaller facilities they came from cannot accommodate.
“At our home training center, there’s just not a lot of room for vehicle training,” said Cpl. Ryan Schindler, a Weapons Company Marine from Massillon, Ohio. “Grayling has a lot more space to work on vehicle formations.”
Michigan National Guard Soldiers and Airmen, played a vital role in supporting the Marines on the ranges, and throughout CGJMTC during exercise Northern Strike. This included providing range safety and control, air support, and logistical operations.
“The ranges and staff have been the most accommodating and supportive that I’ve seen in my career in the Corps,” said Michael Thatcher, the company commander of Weapons Company.
Northern Strike 16 is a National Guard Bureau-sponsored exercise uniting approximately 5,000 Army, Air Force, Marine, and Special Forces service members from 20 states and three coalition countries during the first three weeks of August 2016 at the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center and the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, both located in northern Michigan. The exercise strives to provide accessible, readiness-building opportunities for military units from all service branches to achieve and sustain proficiency in conducting mission command, air, sea, and ground maneuver integration, and the synchronization of fires in a joint, multinational, decisive action environment.
(Michigan National Guard story by Sgt. Seth Lacount and Spc. Alan Prince/Released)
| Date Taken: | 08.17.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 08.23.2016 14:04 |
| Story ID: | 207956 |
| Location: | MI, US |
| Web Views: | 159 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 25th Marine Regiment plays vital role in MING’s Exercise Northern Strike 2016, by SSG Seth LaCount, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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