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CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Upon graduating from boot camp, Marines
are required to attend the School of Infantry, where they learn the
essential combat skills to become a Marine rifleman. Like most
things learned, these skills are perishable.
More than 90
Marines with Combat Logistics Battalion 7, Combat Logistics Regiment
1, 1st Marine Logistics Group, began their final exercise of the
Basic Combat Skills Course aboard Camp Pendleton, Calif., July 18,
2013.
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Sergeant Luis A. Quinonez, a motor
transportation operator with Transportation and Support Company,
Combat Logistics Battalion 7, Combat Logistics Regiment 1, 1st
Marine Logistics Group, inspects his Marines' gear before conducting
a mock combat logistics patrol aboard Camp Pendleton, Calif., July
18, 2013. More than 90 Marines from CLB-7 attended the Basic Combat
Skills course to prepare for their deployment to Afghanistan. (U.S.
Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Timothy Childers)
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The BCS Course is a weeklong class that teaches Marines
and sailors the basics of operating in a combat environment.
The training includes classes in land navigation, combat
logistics patrols, counters to Improvised Explosive Devices
and combat hunter skills. After training day four, they
apply these classes in the field.
“During the BCS
[course], we teach individual and collective skills to
prepare the Marines for combat,” said Staff Sgt. Juan A.
Salazar, operations chief, Combat Skills Training School,
Combat Logistics Regiment 17, 1st MLG. “After [training] day
four, they apply everything they learned for the final
exercise. This is just a stepping stone to build the small
unit leadership needed for future operations in combat.”
To ensure the course runs effectively, 16 instructors
are tasked with teaching and supervising the class. The team
conducts a course every other week, were they qualify
Marines in the basics of leadership in combat.
“Our
main focus is on the small-unit leadership, the squad leader
or fire-team leader,” said Salazar, a native Houston. “This
is their bread and butter. I enjoy training the Marines so I
can better prepare them for the worst case scenarios. We
teach the small-unit leaders to figure things out on the
spot and in a timely manner.”
To attend the course,
Marines from CLB-7 embarked from Marine Corps Air Ground
Combat Center, located at 29 Palms, Calif. Coming all this
way, the Marines made sure the valued training would be put
to good use.
“We're here to prepare our Marines for a
future deployment,” said Capt. Michael M. Tatosian, company
commander, Transportation and Support Company, CLB-7, CLR-1,
1st MLG. “The training gives them more confidence in basic
infantry skills. Typically, we're not exposed to this type
of training as [motor transportation Marines],” added the
Lewiston, Maine, native.
During the final exercise
the Marines had to put their knowledge to the test and
conduct combat logistics patrols, where they encountered
simulated IEDs. They also interacted with an Afghan
community portrayed by role-players.
“The course
takes them away from the comfort of their jobs and puts them
in the role of a basic infantry Marine,” said Staff Sgt.
Harold E. Linsley, BCSC chief, CST School, CLR-17, 1st MLG.
“These basic skills are perishable. The training brushes off
the rust and ensures basic combat skills are remembered.
Scenarios like the one with role-players can give the
Marines a new training experience. It puts a cultural face
on the operations, giving the experience of dealing with a
different culture,” added the Mount Vernon, Ohio, native.
Apart from the mental challenges of learning new skills
and testing old ones, the course can be a challenge
physically.
“The course is very physically
demanding,” said 1st Lt. Andrew J. Gerdes, commander, 1st
Platoon, TS Co., CLB-7, CLR-1, 1st MLG. “The Marines are
constantly carrying a combat load and wearing flak and
Kevlar while going up and down different types of terrain.
Physically, it's taking a toll on their bodies.”
Although the training was more than halfway over, the
service members still had a lot left on their plate. It was
only day one of their final exercise. Equipped with
knowledge from the course and guidance from their dedicated
instructors, they were confident and ready.
By USMC Cpl. Timothy Childers
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2013
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