Photo By Lance Cpl. Francisco Abundes | Recruit Erika Balasabas, a 24-year-old from Delano, Calif., and Platoon 4009, Oscar...... read more read more
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PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. - Oscar Company recruits were almost done at the Battle of Fallujah, an event of the Crucible March 22.
The recruits grimaced. The midday sun beat down on them. They were sweating, and the sand they were crawling through was caked onto their clothing and faces. But a football field-long pit of sand still stood between their frustration and a breath of fresh air.
“The sand is hot. You’re sweating,” said Recruit Autumn Robancho, an 18-year-old from Bakersville, Calif., and Platoon 4009. “You get headaches because of the heat, but there are people in Afghanistan right now who are going through worse than what we have to go through.”
The Battle of Fallujah begins at a terrain model in the middle of the woods where the recruits are briefed on their mission. Afterward, they stage themselves inside of a mock helicopter. They exit the wooden structure and head for the tree line.
Tactically advancing through the forested area, the recruits are faced with the challenge of getting over walls and rope bridges before eventually getting to cement tunnels. Combat noises blast from speakers overhead.
They crouch through an obstacle, rush over a bridge and climb another wall. Once over, the recruits drop low to the ground and crawl through sand, under barbed wire and razor wire, at times, assessing “casualties” along the way.
“Once you start getting into casualties, you have to drag your buddies,” said Sgt. Christopher Proffitt, event leader for Event 4. “It gets hot. You get sweaty – tempers flare.”
During the exercise, Robancho “died.” She said she was worried when her teammates could not get her out of the “danger zone.” Then, the roles switched.
“It frustrates you after a while, because you want to be able to do it so bad,” Robancho said. “But physically, sometimes you can’t do it. Still, you got to try because they’re your sisters and brothers and you have to get them out of there.”
Every time the recruits took too long, they were sent back to the wall to begin crawling again.
“I saw the importance of teamwork,” said Rct. Emily Kirk, a 20-year-old from Norfolk, Va., and Platoon 4008. “I got paired with another recruit to help pull out one of the victims. It took a lot from us.”
Kirk said her and her partner had to work quickly to figure out the best method to get the “casualty” out of the “danger zone.”
“They let [the pain] get to them instead of pushing through,” said Sgt. Malina Shippen, a drill instructor for Platoon 4009.
If recruits get frustrated, they tend to stop caring about the others in their platoon, Shippen said. It affects teamwork and unit cohesion.
To finish the Crucible, the group will have to pull together and get past their own selfish wants, Shippen said.
| Date Taken: | 03.23.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 03.29.2012 09:45 |
| Story ID: | 85943 |
| Location: | ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 361 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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