Photo By Staff Sgt. Abrey Liggins | A Marine examines the results of the detonation of a platter charge during a...... read more read more
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Marines with 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division set off explosive charges during a demolitions range, Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, April 26.
The Marines trained as part of a training exercise to increase their confidence with the employment of manufactured and improvised explosive devices.
“Today we performed a basic demolitions range where we initiated improvised charges and claymores,” said Cpl. Trenton Brookshire, an assistant section leader with Fox Company. “We build the charge prior to setting up the range then we send them up, prime them and detonate behind a berm.”
During a deployment, a combat engineer’s main mission is to provide close combat support for the accompanying ground unit. By employing explosive devices, a combat engineer can enhance the mobility and survivability of fellow Marines in a combat environment.
“One of the key things to remember when messing with explosives is respect,” said Brookshire. “You can’t just treat them like they’re a bag of rocks. You have to understand what they are and what they’re capable of.”
The Marines must be able to build their own improvised explosive devices. Team leaders with 2nd CEB, like Lance Cpl. Logan Wiley, ensure their Marines build them correctly and deploy them on targets effectively.
“Making sure your guys know how to calculate the net explosive weight of a charge that they’re building is important,” said Wiley. “They also have to know the stand offs of the charge and the placement of the charge as well.”
The Marines must take the training seriously in order to do their job effectively when deployed. If a Marine doesn’t focus when setting up a charge, it could potentially put themselves and other Marines in danger.
“The training is important to me because not every military occupational specialty gets to do this,” said Wiley. “Being able to mess with demolitions and build charges and get them how we want is one of the best things about being a combat engineer.”
| Date Taken: | 04.26.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 05.10.2017 10:14 |
| Story ID: | 233289 |
| Location: | FORT A.P. HILL, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 57 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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