Combat hunter tracks prey: 3rd Recon Marines learn techniques of predator

Photo By Heather Johnson | Marines with 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, scan the area around them for any evidence from their prey during a combat hunter course Jan. 28.  

CAMP SCHWAB, AICHI, JAPAN

02.04.2011

Story by Lance Cpl. Heather Johnson 

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

Marines with Company B, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, recently began a combat hunter course hosted by instructors from the School of Infantry West.

The 10-day course began Jan. 24 and is designed to improve the observation and hunting skills of the individual Marines operating in combat environments, as well as enhance their survivability.

The concept of the combat hunter course originated in 2007, in order to transform Marines’ mindset to that of a predator rather than prey, said Sgt. Kyle O. Kerr, a combat instructor with Advanced Infantry Training Battalion, School of Infantry West, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

“The course is broken down into three pillars- observation, tracking and profiling,” Kerr said. “The package was put together because Marines were being hunted down (by insurgents) while in country. We wanted (our Marines) to be one step (ahead of) the insurgents.”

When instructors first began working with profiling, police officers from multiple departments were brought in to teach them the necessary skills needed to identify what a person did from several feet away, said Kerr.

“You can profile someone from Kansas to Kandahar- we all have similar habits and mannerisms,” he continued.

Prey can be unknowingly tracked by the paths they create. Freshly broken sticks, skid marks, foot prints and flattened plants are just a few of the clues students are taught to look for during the course.

Challenging weather added to the tracking portion of the course, which combat hunter instructors say can affect evidence tremendously.

Units that primarily work outside of the wire are now required to participate in a combat hunter course prior to any combat deployment, Kerr commented.

“We want the Marines to be able to identify the bad people and take them out without harming any innocent bystanders in the process,” he said.

Instructors have received multiple success stories from units that have used course elements while in combat.

“I really believe that this course is necessary for all Marines,” said Kerr. “We have heard stories from Marines with a unit at Camp Pendleton about how they utilized the information we taught them to locate an insurgent.”

Lance Cpl. Randall A. Stevenson, a reconnaissance Marine with Company B, said the course was very helpful.

“I thought it was pretty awesome,” said Stevenson. “I now know how to figure out what people are about, more or less. I’ve never done any tracking whatsoever, being from Louisiana. I’m impressed that I’ve learned how to track someone down. It’s my favorite part of the course so far.”

Currently, the course is taught by SOI West instructors that travel to units teaching the five to 10-day course. However, the future of combat hunter is being discussed, according to Kerr. The course may begin as early as recruit training with a four-hour video shown to all recruits. Once in SOI, the Marines will then get a small taste of what the course currently offers. After arriving at their units, Marines will receive the full 10-day package that is now offered to all units.

“I wish this course was offered to my unit before I first got deployed,” he said.

For more information about the course, contact your unit’s S-3 office.

• Date Taken: 02.04.2011
• Date Posted: 02.03.2011 23:16
• Story ID: 64768
• Location: CAMP SCHWAB, AICHI, JP