Photo By Cpl. Eric Huynh | U.S. Marines and airmen attached to the Method of Entry School, Weapons Training...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. – The USS Bonhomme Richard continues to be useful long after many would have given up the fight. The ship made headlines when it caught fire July 12, 2020 while docked at Naval Base San Diego for maintenance; the four-day fire resulted in the loss of the Navy ship… so it was said.
Marines at Weapons Training Battalion Quantico recently found a new way to keep the ship in service to the nation. The unit’s Method of Entry School (MOES) repurposed salvaged parts from the decommissioned USS Bonhomme Richard to enhance training and the overall combat lethality of the force.
MOES, a unique Marine Corps course, helps facilitate national security strategy by assuring the nation’s most strategic assets. It provides commanders in the Marine Corps and Air Force reconnaissance, security forces, special operations, and explosive ordinance disposal communities with specialized methods of entry capabilities.
Acquiring the salvaged parts from the Bonhomme Richard meant more than a significant cost savings for the school. It also meant opportunities for more realistic training.
“The first time a Marine experiences an actual water tight door in a visit, board, search and seizure like mission should be in training and not when they are in a real life situation,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Steven Pearsoll, explosive ordnance disposal officer, MOES .
Ships have unique, water tight doors, or “hatches.” These doors provide unique challenges in breaching operations that require specific tools and procedures to open efficiently. The salvaging of parts from the Bonhomme Richard made access to this important training opportunity available.
With the help of International Ship Breaking Limited, and the assistance of Naval Sea Systems Command, Weapons Training Battalion and MOES acquired 44 hatches and two hull sections (portions of the main body of a ship); an additionally 36 hatches are expected to arrive later this month. The parts in total equate to over $100,000 in saved funds for the Marine Corps.
“The hatches of the USS Bonhomme Richard expose students to many different types of target material and ultimately leads [to] this course producing a better, trained breacher for the Fleet Marine Force,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Pearsoll.
Previous ship hatch models purchased by MOES were useful but differed in materials, dimensions, and markings; not often seen on naval ships in use today, making it difficult to train students for real world scenarios.
The parts gathered from the Bonhomme Richard save the Marine Corps valuable resources while providing students with realistic training opportunities and skills they can take back to the fleet for use in conducting real world missions.
“We have more shipments from the BHR [USS Bonhomme Richard] and eventually, the USS Kitty Hawk that will continue to save us money for the foreseeable future,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Pearsoll. “None of this would have been possible without the help we received from the Naval Sea Systems Command and International Ship Breaking Limited.”
Weapons Training Battalion Quantico serves as the Marine Corps center for all facets of small arms combat marksmanship, including doctrine, training, competition, equipment, and weapons. The cost savings from salvaging parts from the Bonhomme Richard allows the battalion to further other service initiatives such as the Advanced Marksmanship Training Program to enhance combat lethality to the Fleet Marine Force.
| Date Taken: | 08.10.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 10.03.2022 08:29 |
| Story ID: | 430582 |
| Location: | QUANTICO, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 651 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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