Photo By Cpl. Taylor Cooper | Two simulated foreign nationals practice properly applying a tourniquet during a...... read more read more
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Marines and Sailors assigned to Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response Africa, logistics combat element, spent the week proving their abilities during a certification exercise at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Feb. 20-23.
Different training operations were evaluated such as teaching Combat Life Saving techniques, Evacuation Control Center operations, rail transportation operations, and other logistics based training.
The CERTEX was designed to see how the Marines and Sailors of SPMAGTF-CR-AF could handle themselves in real world scenarios under stress and also become cohesive working among their foreign partners.
“The most important part of this training for the Marines is establishing the relationship between us and our foreign counterparts,” said Staff Sgt. Matthew Rhodes, an electrician with the Theater Security Cooperation team. “The key is to get accustomed to building rapport and getting a feel for working with allies that might not necessarily speak English.”
The Marines and Sailors were pushed out of their comfort zones and into situations where they had to interact with notional foreign national soldiers who, when in character, could not speak English. Marines had to figure out how to work around language barriers and utilize an interpreter while teaching a Combat Life Saver course.
Scenarios would arise to challenge the Marines and ensure they were capable of successfully handling or diffusing them.
The simulated foreign national’s enacted situations where they would argue and fight, become a casualty themselves, and also pose questions to the Marines that were of a sensitive matter, to see how they would react.
“The more skills our foreign partners know and the better common ground we have, the easier it will be to cooperate in future operations,” said Lance Cpl. Loren Lindner, a combat engineer with the TSC team. “If the foreign security forces are on par with us, then that will create a much better working relationship further down the road.”
The culminating event for the detachment heading to Moron, Spain, was operating an Evacuation Control Center, where role-players would act as U.S. citizens being evacuated out of country.
“No situation our Marines go through is the same,” said Cpl. Cory McKee, a landing support specialist with the SPMAGTF. “It allows the Marines to anticipate a wide variety of scenarios they may encounter while conducting these operations in the real world.”
Marines and Sailors had to treat the evacuees for injuries, who from time to time, became irate and impatient to test the Marines resolve. After the treatment process from corpsmen on site, they would begin the screening process, where they would be searched for contraband and led to a waiting area before they were escorted out of the ECC.
“Evaluations like this help units to ensure that they are ready to operate before they head out the door,” said 1st Lt. Leah Moore, officer in charge of the ECC. “The CERTEX standardizes the playing field for us, showing our regiment they can trust us to accomplish the mission.”
| Date Taken: | 02.23.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 03.06.2018 08:47 |
| Story ID: | 267872 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 45 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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