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OKINAWA, Japan - Rain whipped across his face and the rope
holding his weight swayed precariously, threatening to drop him
dozens of feet into the valley below. He steadied himself and
continued moving slowly for this challenge is but one of many he
would face in the Okinawan jungle.
Marines and Sailors of
Company G., Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 31st
Marine Expeditionary Unit, completed a week-long jungle operations
course at the Jungle Warfare Training Center here, from Sept. 23 to
Sept. 30, 2013.
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Marines with Company G., Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion,
4th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, navigate through a
river under the cover of smoke during the culminating event of the
Jungle Warfare Training Center's jungle operations course here,
Sept. 30, 2013. The Marines underwent a week of instruction in
jungle warfare and survival skills. The culminating event tested the
Marines in a jungle obstacle course spanning three miles through the
Okinawan jungle. The 31st MEU is the only continuously
forward-deployed MEU and is the Marine Corps' force in readiness in
the Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jonathan
Wright)
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The company lived and trained in the dense Okinawan
surroundings as they learned to operate in the jungle.
Having prepared for, and deployed to, urban and desert
environments in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring
Freedom, the unique characteristics of the jungle provided
the Marines and Sailors valuable experience.
“Going
from (Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center)
Twentynine Palms to here is like day and night, both in the
kind of land we're operating in and their individual
challenges,” said Lance Cpl. Ryan M. Deleos, a 20-year-old
rifleman with Co. G., BLT 2/4, 31st MEU. “We're going to be
more effective fighters following the course.”
Company G. endured days of pouring rain, high humidity and
thick mud they nicknamed “peanut-butter mud” as they learned
new combat skills. Rappelling down jungle cliffs, making
improvised stretchers, crossing rope bridges and setting
ambushes were some of the skills practiced during the
course.
“It's going back to the basics and building
jungle-specific skills on top of their infantry
foundations,” said Sgt. Aaron J. Mathewson, a 29-year-old
instructor with the JWTC and a native of Buffalo, N.Y.
“Applying desert-specific tactics in a dense jungle
environment is just not smart, plain and simple. Even for
the combat vets, everyone has to step back, re-analyze what
they know and be willing to learn.”
The course
culminated with a three-mile endurance course that required
each squad to negotiate multiple obstacles by using all of
the skills learned throughout the week. The demanding course
took each squad approximately three hours to complete.
The endurance course began with a multitude of
rappelling and rope bridge crossing sites that ended at the
mouth of a river. Each squad covertly moved downriver,
negotiating around concertina wire and smoke screens as they
traversed over debris and through underwater tunnels. The
final and most physically demanding portion of the course
required the squads to construct makeshift stretchers using
two pieces of wood and their blouses to carry a simulated
casualty over hills and through deep trenches.
“That
(endurance course) was pretty intense, but it was definitely
a refinement of our skills and made sure we knew what we
were taught,” said Deleos, a native of La Mirada, Calif.,
between labored breaths at the end of the course.
Although the Marine Corps' last major foray into jungle
warfare was more than 35 years ago in Vietnam, the Marines
of BLT 2/4 recognize the importance of becoming “jungle
ready.”
“The Marine Corps takes pride in being able
to operate in any clime and place, and this training helps
us reach that end state,” said Cpl. Gage C. Doyle, a
21-year-old squad leader with Co. G., BLT 2/4, 31st MEU, and
a native of Melbourne, Fla. “Besides, some people pay
hundreds of dollars to be in a tough mudder race, and we're
the ones getting paid for it here.”
The 31st MEU is
the only continuously forward-deployed MEU and is the Marine
Corps' force in readiness in the Asia-Pacific region.
More photos available below
By USMC Sgt. Jonathan Wright
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2013
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