Marines live fire training essential to readiness

Photo By James Andrews | 1st Lt. Robert R. Marraffa, The Basic School at Marine Corps Base Quantico, looks through his optic as he provides security at the training grounds of Quantico. The Marines were on their seven-day War Field Exercise Marine officers receive the foundation to lead Marines upholding the Marine Corps tradition of training to fight in every clime and place.  

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, VA, UNITED STATES

03.28.2017

Story by James Andrews 

Marine Corps Base Quantico

Marine Corps Base (MCB) Quantico is a noisy installation. The constant booms, bangs and explosions can be heard for many miles. However, these “Sounds of Freedom” are vital training opportunities and learning lessons for the Marine Corps and other agencies that utilize the many ranges. Still, some of MCB Quantico’s neighbors may underestimate the importance of training with live weapons and training at night.

One of the key commands that make use of MCB Quantico’s live fire ranges, The Basic School (TBS), trains newly commissioned or appointed officers when they enter the Marine Corps. The training of the approximately 2,100 “boot officers” every year includes many aspects of weapons employment, to include small unit tactics, implementation of indirect fire and the use of aviation in support of ground troops. This includes training on the M777A2, Lightweight 155mm howitzer, currently the main artillery weapon system employed by the Marine Corps.

“In everything we as instructors teach at TBS we try to use the systems approach to training. Think of this as crawl, walk, run. By the time the student arrives at the Observation Post (OP) and Gun Position, they have been exposed to fires knowledge a minimum of three times. They have seen it in their student hand-outs, in the classroom and in tactical decision games,” said Artillery Instructor Battery Commander Captain Matthew Simpson, describing the importance of live fire training. “This is the fourth step in a process which teaches the student officer how to call for fire and what it actually looks like to do so. Unlike controlling air, you do not have to have any special certification to be able to call for fire, just the knowledge and training to do so. By implementing live fire, this forces the student to put into practical application the lessons from the classroom.”

Live fire operations also drive the emotional memory-based link, according to Simpson.

“It is more likely a student will remember to plan for fires and utilize supporting arms after they see the devastating effects that fires bring to the fight firsthand from the OP. This also exposes the student officers to what life in an Artillery Battery may hold for them as they compete for whatever MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) they want to have,” he said.

Simpson explained that TBS students do not train on the artillery at night, however, the Marines that operate the battery do. The reason for this is summed up simply by Simpson, saying, “Marines of the Battery do this in order to familiarize themselves with operations in low to no light situations. Just like anything else, we cannot let the darkness dictate when we fight, so we prepare to shoot artillery in any situation.”

While not always pleasant for the residents in the vicinity of MCB Quantico, it is a war fighting imperative that Marines train for all possible scenarios. While this is just one of the commands that may shake the windows at your house, the students at TBS are the future leaders on the battlefield if another combat mission is ordered.

This is one of the many missions that are unique to this installation and is just one reason that the intersections that make up the “Crossroads of the Marine Corps” meet aboard MCB Quantico.

• Date Taken: 03.28.2017
• Date Posted: 03.28.2017 12:56
• Story ID: 228321
• Location: MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, VA, US