Photo By Master Sgt. Tyrone Marshall | The Region 2 Border Transition Team's billboard proudly displays their primarily...... read more read more
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TIKRIT, Iraq – As Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines throughout Iraq prepare for various missions they are assigned, they must train to remain efficient in accomplishing them. Successful training is the cornerstone to mission accomplishment.
One such group – the Marine Corps' Region 2 Headquarters Border Transition Team, prides itself on being prepared and with good reason.
The BTT is charged with establishing and monitoring training standards to ensure effective border security.
Additionally, the BTT, as part of the mission to advise and train, the Region 2 HQ BTT must ensure strict and equitable compliance with the established rule of law as well as coordinating regional border enforcement operations and force protection. There are five regions in Iraq, according to the unit.
"The overall mission is to bring stability and [achieve] a free, democratic Iraq," said Lt. Col Mark Winn, BTT chief, and native of Pleasanton, Calif. "Incumbent to that is being able to provide security for Iraq and [facilitate] Iraqis providing security for themselves. Border security is a key component of that."
"We can sit here and find every cache of weapons, capture or kill every insurgent, but as long as they can keep bringing more weapons, more money and more foreign fighters across the borders, we are kind of putting our fingers in the [proverbial] dike," the BTT chief continued.
"We are training the Iraqi security forces that guard the borders and are tasked with preventing the smuggling of people, equipment and money across the borders," said Winn.
With that said, the Region 2 HQ BTT, the first transition team assigned to the region and based at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, trains extensively, with or without impending missions, focusing on attention to detail and techniques, tactics and procedures that will save lives.
This small, close-knit group of Marines, Soldiers and Iraqi interpreters trains meticulously on everything from demonstrating the use of combat locks and escalation of force procedures to close-quarters marksmanship.
The thoroughness of their training is left to no doubt, as they complete each exercise, they conduct after action reviews and make necessary adjustments. This is the basis for the Marine Corps approach to training.
"We use a building block approach to training, start with basics and everything builds upon that," said Winn.
"You always reinforce the basics," said the Rutgers University graduate. "Always focus in on the basics."
The team chief, and assistant team chief, Capt. Daniel Sanchez, brief every aspect of the mission as well as a wealth of possible scenarios which could occur. In turn, contingency plans are reviewed leaving "no stone unturned."
The aforementioned scenarios, referred to as rehearsals, take the group through stages of combat-driven situations.
"Everybody can rehearse driving down the road, but you have to get out there and make mistakes, because you'll learn more from your mistakes," said Winn. "When you do these rehearsals you uncover things you never thought about. You have to make the rehearsals realistic."
This attitude resonated throughout with each member of the BTT.
"We try to be flexible in our training and realistic as possible," said Sanchez. "We train long and hard."
1st Lt. Marc "Israel" Ginez, the team's fire support adviser echoed that sentiment with a remark that embodies the Marine Corps attitude.
"We try to train realistically. Sometimes our training is even more difficult than you would actually see in the real world," said Ginez.
"When you train for the ridiculous, the impossible becomes simple."
The BTT is a close group, living, working and training together since their arrival in Iraq on April 12, 2006. The Marines, Soldiers and even linguists stick together. This is evident in all they do. One such situation demonstrated this.
On a break from training for the day, the unit went to a dining facility. One of the linguists was unable to enter the chow hall due to a previously unknown policy. So the entire unit departed and ate together elsewhere. This type of loyalty and cohesiveness is necessary when out on missions.
Even more amazing is the fact the team members are from different home stations such as Camp Lejune, Cherry Point, Camp Smith and even one team member is from Okinawa, Japan.
Although their missions can be especially taxing due to high operational tempo, the team realizes they are making headway mission.
"Our Iraqis are now capable of performing their missions," said Capt. Perry D. Maurer, BTT logistical adviser. "They can do convoy operations, they can perform other security measures now. And they are starting to do staff functions. The security force picture is starting to develop."
The team's senior noncommissioned officers agreed.
"The proof is in the pudding ... meaning when we leave can they do the job?" asked Gunnery Sgt. Scott H. Stalker, BTT intelligence chief, stationed at Camp Smith, Hawaii.
"There's a big difference," agreed Gunnery Sgt. Terrence Fry, BTT logistics chief.
"They still have a lot to improve on but they have a good, solid foundation," said the 21-year Marine Corps veteran.
The BTT themselves have been a success story in the making. They have logged over 15,000 miles without incident.
What does the team attribute that to?
"Just being ready," said Sanchez, "as Marines we live by [the motto] 'make yourself hard to kill.' When we go out there we do the right thing all the time."
He concluded saying, "we've never had to shoot our weapons, and we've never had an escalation of force. We've driven through downtown Baghdad, Mosul, everywhere ... we get paid to take the risk."
Not lost on the BTT chief is his unit's arduous mission.
"It took us almost three months to have a mutual working relationship with the Iraqis," said Winn. "[Our] Marines, Sailors and Soldiers have showed a tremendous amount of flexibility and patience in dealing with them and have done so with the utmost amount of professionalism and humor."
"There is no playbook for working with the Iraqis," he concluded.
| Date Taken: | 03.21.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 03.22.2007 01:41 |
| Story ID: | 9563 |
| Location: | TIKRIT, IQ |
| Web Views: | 468 |
| Downloads: | 349 |
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