Marksmanship Training Unit prepares Marines for combat

[thedrifter]

Marksmanship Training Unit prepares Marines for combat
Submitted by: MCB Camp Butler
Story Identification #: 20048502354
Story by Lance Cpl. T. J. Kaemmerer



CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan ? (July 29, 2004) -- The Marksmanship Training Unit here provided antiterrorism and force protection training July 26-29 for approximately 50 Marines with the aviation combat element of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.

The MTU taught Marines with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron-265, which is reinforced by 1st Stinger Battery, how to properly employ force protection techniques.

Force protection is the collective term for measures taken to prevent or mitigate hostile actions against Department of Defense personnel, to include family members, resources, facilities and critical information, according to Staff Sgt. Vedel T. Poindexter, MTU instructor and staff noncommissioned officer in charge here. The MTU instructors ensured each Marine understood different types of aversive procedures he could use during convoy operations, security patrols, peacekeeping/humanitarian missions and in rear area security.

?All Marines need to receive force protection training regardless of their (military occupational specialty),? Poindexter said. ?This training can be applied to any mission a unit may receive in all the exercises and operations on Okinawa, in the Pacific theater and throughout the world.?

The force protection package provided the Marines with about three hours of classroom instruction for each weapon system, focusing on its characteristics, nomenclature, assembly and disassembly, and what to do in case of a malfunction, Poindexter said.

?The course gave the Marines hands-on training with weapons other than the M-16 (A2 service rifle),? Poindexter said. ?The firing portion of the training was all live-fire, where they engaged their basic human silhouette targets from the standing, kneeling and prone positions.?

Marines learned how to use the M-9 service pistol, M-1014 combat shotgun, M-249 squad automatic weapon, M-203 grenade launcher and M-240G medium machine gun, Poindexter explained.

The Marines ran through a prescribed course of fire for each individual weapon, which is
designed to give them an in-depth knowledge of the weapon?s functionality and capabilities, as well as how to employ and troubleshoot it, Poindexter said.

The combination of the training and the Okinawa heat brought fatigue to the sweat-soaked Marines, providing a training element they may encounter in future deployments.

?The heat made the training that much harder,? said Lance Cpl. Christopher Sutton, a ground support equipment technician with HMM-265. ?(I was) out in the field getting hot and sweaty and firing weapons like Marines do and just getting baked by the sun the whole time.?



CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan ? Lance Cpl. Erich H. Wolf ensures his M-240G medium machine gun is clear of ammunition here July 29. Approximately 50 Marines with the aviation combat element of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit were invited by the Marksmanship Training Unit here to participate in antiterrorism and force protection training July 26-29. Wolf is a stinger gunner with 1st Stinger Battery. Photo by: Lance Cpl. T.J. Kaemmerer



CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan ? A Marine changes the barrel of the M-240G, which needs to be done periodically to prevent overheating. Approximately 50 Marines with the aviation combat element of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit were invited by the Marksmanship Training Unit here to participate in antiterrorism and force protection training July 26-29. Photo by: Lance Cpl. T.J. Kaemmerer
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn20...F?opendocument


Ellie