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MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA, Ariz. - United States Marines have
long been hailed as the world's preeminent combat arms experts.
Battle after battle, Marines have proven they have what it takes to
get the job done.
So, how does the Corps maintain this degree
of combat-tested prowess? Through training ... and training, and more
training.
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A maneuver coyote with the Tactical Training Exercise Control Group of Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine
Palms, Calif., donning orange, provides feedback to infantry Marines
with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment of Marine Corps Base Camp
Pendleton, Calif. during a long range raid training exercise in the
desert southeast of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., June 3,
2013. The coyotes' responsibility is to assess and instruct the
Marines training for combat. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. William Waterstreet
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Whether airframe mechanic, infantryman or legal services
specialist, every Marine is constantly practicing the
essential skills he or she needs to accomplish the mission.
Often, this behind-the-scenes practice is omitted in
discussion of the Corps' accolades and accomplishments. So
too, are the Marines who provide this training, those
dedicated few who work daily to ensure their compatriots
receive the necessary preparation to survive and thrive.
Among the trainers of Marines are the coyotes
of the Tactical Training Exercise Control Group, of Marine
Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., who
play an integral role backstage during the Integrated
Training Exercise.
The coyotes are the fulcrum around
which the Corps' new, revamped pre-deployment exercise, the
ITX, revolves. Their task is exercise control- the
conduction of training exercises, the assurance of safety
and the assessment of performance.
“We teach, coach,
mentor,” explained Maj. Ronald Chino, a tactical air control
party evaluator with TTECG and a native of Brooksville, Fl.
“When we try to train the Fleet in (techniques, tactics and
procedures] for combined arms, we try to teach them
doctrinal methods and tactics that will broaden their
ability to conduct combined arms operations.”
When
supervising events, it is the job of the coyotes to focus on
what their subject matter specialties are – infantry, armor,
artillery, engineering, aviation, etc. – and observe how the
participants are doing. They then provide feedback and
suggestions during and after the exercise to help the
trainees improve.
“(The Marines) get a chance to look
at themselves with our assessments, all the way up to the
top of that battalion, letting them know where their
weaknesses are and where their strengths are,” explained
Staff Sgt. Eric Jensen, a maneuver coyote with TTECG and a
native of Racine, Wis.
With a priority mission to
help Marines better themselves, the coyotes also focus on
their other key objective – safety.
“At the end of
the day, our number one mission is to keep it safe,” said
Chino. “We make sure they can get the best training possible
but that they are safe in doing so, and they are not going
to do anything that will hurt somebody.”
As the
coyotes carry onward with these objectives in mind, they
come together as the backbone of TTECG's influence.
“TTECG's mission has a profound impact on the Marine Corps,”
added Chino. “We do integrated training. We do combined
arms. We let guys do stuff they may never see unless they
end up in a combat zone.”
“It takes everybody doing
their job to make exercises work,” he added. “You have
several thousand people who show up to Twentynine Palms for
an exercise. TTECG supervises that execution. We need
everyone to be able to execute because there are so many
moving parts.”
Earning the privilege to don the
orange gear (coyotes wear orange body armor or camelbacks to
visually separate themselves from the exercise force) comes
only from accruing extensive experience in a particular
field involved with combined arms combat operations. That
knowledge is then honed through training into the coyote
skill set.
The coyote training regimen consists of
some essential classroom instruction, but focuses more on
vital field experience. Each coyote-in-training will spend a
period of time shadowing a veteran, learning from his
actions over a training cycle.
Then, this
relationship will reverse, and the veteran will step back,
and advise and assist the new coyote as they perform what
they have learned. This process of being trained and
certified on each training event takes two to three ITXs.
For coyotes, it's all about experience.
“As you see
the different units, you see what good and bad look like.
You have to do it first to be able to evaluate well later
on,” said Gunnery Sgt. Xavier Altamirano, a maneuver coyote
with TTECG and a native of Deming, N.M.
This
well-trained and dedicated staff is strong not only because
of their proficiency at the conduct of constant exercises,
but also because they care about the Marines who come
through the ITX.
“The goal of TTECG is to give them
the best training possible, and we actually care that they
learn and they are doing things in the most efficient manner
possible,” said Chino. “When they leave ITX, some of these
guys will find themselves doing this for real, and hopefully
they know what they are doing. I think that's the goal of
every coyote. At the heart of it, everyone wants to see
these guys learn and be great at what they do.”
The
coyotes are constantly working to improve the capabilities
of the Corps. For the Marines in this line of work, there is
a constant reminder of how watching a combat force in action
feels.
“There are moments when you are watching
artillery, 81s, 50 Cals., 7.62, 60mm mortars and aviation
fires all dropping together in a target area in close
proximity to friendlies,” said Chino. “When you are watching
this amazing orchestration of fire, it's moments like that
where you go, ‘This is a pretty cool job.' I get to watch us
do what we are supposed to be able to do the best, and it's
very cool to see, because you see the effects of all the
training we do and all the discipline. You spend your time
in the fleet training. You are down in the weeds doing your
job, and you don't get to step back and go, ‘This is pretty
amazing what we are capable of.' It's pretty impressive.”
By USMC Cpl. William Waterstreet
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2013
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