Cpl. Jonathan G. Wright
31ST MEU
OKINAWA, Japan - In the dark hours of the morning, Marines and sailors of Company A, known as Boat Company, launched from the USS Tortuga in combat rubber raiding craft for a clandestine insertion on White Beach Naval Facility March 17.
The raid, conducted by more than 60 Marines and sailors with Bn. Landing Team 1st Bn., 4th Marine Regiment, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, was part of the MEU’s certification exercise prior to continuing its deployment in the Asia-Pacific region.
“We haven’t done a lot of benign water raids at this point, meaning that instead of coming onto the beach hot and fast, we come in quiet and slow,” said Lance Cpl. Ryan K. Saunders, team leader with the company. “That was probably the most beneficial part of the training for us, allowing us to be able to insert in a different way.”
Hitting the beach, the Marines’ objective was to clear the area of hostile insurgents, conduct tactical site exploitation, and return control to the local police force. Marines acted as the enemy while other role players represented the civilian populace, contributing to the realism of the exercise.
“The role players [increased] the educational value because they are thinking and moving targets,” said Lance Cpl. Robert J. Auerbach, an infantry assaultman with the company. “It makes our training a lot more realistic than fighting a notional enemy.”
The boat raid was conducted with the highest level of realism possible in a training environment, using simulated ammunition. The goal was to test the MEU’s maritime capabilities with a succession of ship-borne missions with the aforementioned role players.
“When the raiding forces got on the objective area, having those Marine role players and non English speaking civilian role players all added to the most realistic training we can get in peacetime,” said Lt. Col. Stephen P. Armes, executive officer for Special Operations Training Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, III MEF.
As the nation’s tip of the spear in the Pacific area of operations, realistic training like this is required to breed operational readiness, according to Auerbach.
“The overall exercise increases our level of confidence,” said Auerbach. “In the end, it gives us a practice makes perfect kind of mentality and helps our training eventually become muscle memory.”