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BRADSHAW FIELD TRAINING AREA, Northern Territory, Australia –
Marines with Marine Rotational Force – Darwin moved through the
extreme heat and dry terrain of the Australian Outback to send
rounds flying at a simulated militia group of rebels armed with 82mm
mortars, two vehicles and other weaponry.
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Lance Cpl. Justin Oates, machine gunner, Weapons Platoon, Lima
Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force
– Darwin, engages a simulated enemy force with an M240B machine gun
on Sept. 2, 2013. Throughout the exercise, MRF-D Marines conducted day
and night live-fire training. This training evolution is the first
of its kind here in which Marines with MRF-D and the 31st Marine
Expeditionary Unit worked bilaterally with the Australian soldiers
of Bravo Company, 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment as a
“proof of concept” to assess the capacity of the training ranges to
support a battalion-sized live-fire event. (U.S. Marine Corps photo
by Sgt. Sarah Fiocco)
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This movement-to-contact exercise was just one of three
ranges in which Marines with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion,
3rd Marine Regiment, MRF-D, along with units from the 31st
Marine Expeditionary Unit and Australian soldiers with Bravo
Company, 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, worked
together to eliminate the “enemy” threat as part of Exercise
Koolendong, here, Sept. 1-4.
“Exercise Koolendong was
about three days of live-fire activity, focusing on platoon
attack ranges,” said Capt. Raymond L'Heureux, commanding
officer, Lima Co., 3rd Bn., 3rd Marine Regiment, MRF-D. “The
MEU did a movement-to contact exercise where Lima Company
basically acted as one of the supporting efforts and
conducted their range as if part of a larger operation.”
In order to prevent the advancement of the paramilitary
force, MRF-D Marines executed a seamless plan-of-attack.
“We had to use a platoon-sized reinforced attack to pin
them down and eliminate the vehicles and threat of the
mortar systems,” explained Lt. Wesley Nix, platoon
commander, 3rd Platoon, Lima Co., 3rd Bn., 3rd Marine
Regiment, MRF-D. “We wanted to make sure the enemy couldn't
egress.”
The MRF-D Marines expertly accomplished that
mission by employing the firepower of their riflemen,
assaultmen, mortarmen and machine gunners.
“The goal
was to have the mortarmen engage the enemy first while the
machine gunners are setting up for their support by fire,”
said Staff Sergeant Daniel Hubbert, platoon sergeant,
Weapons Platoon, Lima Co., 3rd Bn., 3rd Marine Regiment,
MRF-D. “As soon as the mortarmen had effective rounds, the
machine gunners started occupying their support by fire. At
that point, the riflemen began their maneuver to the
objectives. Assaultmen were embedded with the riflemen the
entire time, and their job was to eliminate the two enemy
vehicles with Shoulder-Fired, Multi-Purpose Assault Weapon
rockets.”
Each day, MRF-D Marines traveled to the
ranges either on foot, by vehicle or by aircraft.
“The range itself stayed the same through every execution,
but the methods of insertion changed,” explained L'Heureux.
“For the movement-to-contact, we were motorized using the
7-tons and then we executed an air assault via an MV-22B
Osprey and two CH-53E Super Stallions. It just allowed us to
practice different methods of travel to our objectives using
the different abilities we have as a Marine Corps.”
Overall, the exercise acted as a “proof of concept” to
assess the capacity of the ranges to support a
battalion-sized live-fire event.
“It's a good
training area where you can get a lot of things done,” said
L'Heureux.
The more than 1,000 Marines and Australian
soldiers who trained here made their point loud and clear:
they can, in fact, successfully send rounds down range while
sustaining themselves deep in the Outback.
By USMC Sgt. Sarah Fiocco
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2013
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