1/8 conducts squad-level fire and maneuver drills

Photo By Cpl. Damarko Bones | Lance Cpl. John Knobloch throws a M69 training grenade during a fire and maneuver range at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Nov. 29, 2016. The range was held in order to sharpen the fundamentals of the Marines and increase combat readiness. Knobloch is a rifleman with 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment.  

CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, UNITED STATES

11.29.2016

Story by Lance Cpl. Damarko Bones 

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

Marines with 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment conducted squad-sized fire and maneuver drills to enhance combat readiness and basic fundamentals as Marine infantrymen at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Nov. 29, 2016.
The three day long training served as a building block to enable the Marines to increase proficiency with weapon systems.
“We go to the field for weeks at a time and conduct drills like this,” said Lance Cpl. Johntaye Gore, a team leader with the unit. “This training is a great way to sharpen any tactics that we may have forgotten or may have decreased in efficiency over time.”
These fire and maneuver drills improve more than just proficiency in combat-related tasks.
“This kind of training absolutely helps build unit cohesion, especially with new joins,” Gore said. “You have to take the newer guys in as your brothers. They might not know as much as some of the others because they just got out of [Infantry Training Battalion] and this stuff allows us to work with them and find out how they are.”
Along with cohesion and combat proficiency, fire and maneuver drills also increase confidence in the Marines.
“If we were deployed to a combat environment tomorrow, I have full confidence that we would be fully capable to complete any mission,” Gore said. “The Marines in 1/8 have great levels of enthusiasm and skills which would allow us to complete combat missions.”
During the event the Marines had to provide covering fire as their comrades advanced toward the notional enemy targets. The drill also contained a section where Marines had to fire a M72 Light Anti-tank Weapon to destroy a notional enemy bunker.
“In a real-life scenario you never know what’s going to happen,” Gore said. “This is the perfect opportunity to train to know what to do in combat. These are skills that you need to be able to do. This is our bread and butter.”

• Date Taken: 11.29.2016
• Date Posted: 12.01.2016 08:43
• Story ID: 216103
• Location: CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US