Photo By Cpl. Chase Drayer | Lance Cpl. Garrett Mathena, a Marine automotive maintenance technician with 3rd...... read more read more
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Though it was only role-players flooding the streets, begging for food and water, and looking for rescue, the Marines with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment trained as though it was a real-life scenario.
Marines participated in Marine Corps Combat Readiness Evaluation (MCCRE) at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Feb. 4-7.
A major focus during MCCRE was a Noncombatant Evacuation Operation (NEO), which provides areas abroad that face actual and potential danger from natural or manmade disasters with the opportunity to evacuate.
“Our job is to coordinate with the embassy— to get the US citizens and anyone else that is going to get evacuated to safety,” said Lance Cpl. Garrett Mathena, an automotive maintenance technician with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, who worked in the Evacuation Control Center (ECC) during the exercise.
Actors vetted by the Department of Defense were brought in to fill the roles of hungry, desperate citizens facing danger in the exercise-world of Tuscarora. Some complied with the orders of the Marines, such as forming neat and orderly lines to get water or medical attention, but some took another direction.
Marines like Lance Cpl. Brittney Smith, a military policewoman with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, found herself using a riot shield for the first time to fend off an angry mob chanting for the Americans to leave.
Smith said the exercise was a little overwhelming but understood the importance.
“There would definitely be a difference for the next time we trained and if we ever did it in real life,” she said.
Capt. Thomas Lacey, a company commander with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, said despite having a successful MCCRE, there were some pitfalls.
“The enablers and the attachments that come together for this in training—when you’re not a composited MEU—is a lot of times last minute,” said Lacey. “So some of the things we did during this exercise was kind of last minute.”
He commended those who worked with the time constraints.
“Because of the professionalism of all the enablers out here, we were able to make it happen,” he said. “I think a lot of learning points were taken away.”
Lacey said the NEO and ECC went “very smoothly and relatively friction free,” and Marines like Mathena would agree.
“We had to adjust fire a little bit and get some curve balls thrown at us,” said Mathena. “It hasn’t really been a problem. I just trust every Marine here with my life.”
| Date Taken: | 02.06.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 02.13.2020 13:22 |
| Story ID: | 362616 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 42 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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