MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – As Marines with Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, reach their objective they receive a new mission, one that will require them to use their training and discipline to perform.
The Marines were given the mission to conduct site security training, which involves taking an objective and creating a defensible position here, Oct. 9., to prepare for an upcoming deployment to the Middle East where they will provide embassy security.
“As a platoon commander it is my mission to get my Marines set up, organizing my units and setting up a rest plan for them,” said 1st Lt. Joseph Guerrero, a platoon commander with Delta Co. “A lot of work goes into setting up our position and making it defensible.”
Guerrero immediately ordered his men to set up concertina and obstacles, intended to stop enemy vehicles and ground forces.
“Setting up barriers is a necessary step in maintaining site security,” said Guerrero, a native of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. “It is our objective to make it as difficult as possible for enemy forces to get into our compound.”
The Marines started performing their tasks, varying from providing overwatch, to keeping an eye out for approaching vehicles and searching suspected enemy vehicles for improvised explosive devices.
“All the Marines know what to do as soon as the tasks are assigned to them,” said Guerrero. “This makes my job easier, having Marines that can perform their mission with minimal supervision.”
Guerrero ordered his Marines to set up checkpoints along the road leading to the town, giving warning to vehicles to slow down before reaching the compound. Using the escalation of force principle, the Marines gave plenty of warning to approaching vehicles before using deadly force as a last resort.
“It’s our objective here to provide security for the town we are defending,” said Sgt. Bryan Boyles, a squad leader with Delta Co. “Everything we have set up, and all the Marines we have standing post are all designed toward one purpose, making this place secure.”
The exercise challenged Marines with real life scenarios they could face while on deployment.
“This is almost the same type of operations, that we will be performing when we are out on deployment,” said Boyles, a native of Columbia, Wash. “It’s necessary for us to perform this training now so we are proficient in performing our security tasks, and there are no mistakes or misunderstanding of what we need to accomplish.”
The Marines with Delta Co. will continue their pre-deployment training with future live-fire ranges and security exercises.