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During December 2017, Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit completed
their final portion of the Law Enforcement’s Non-Lethal Weapons
Course involving proper non-lethal weaponry
handling and usage.
“This course teaches Marines how to
properly implement the weapon systems,” said Cpl. Cade Sullinger, a
non-lethal weapons instructor with the 15th MEU’s Law Enforcement
Detachment. “It also serves to provide the Marines with the
confidence and knowledge to push through the effects of the
non-lethal weapons.”
Namely the HEMI/ X-26E Taser and type
MK-4 Oleoresin Capsicum spray. The effectiveness and reliability of
the non-lethal weapons are unquestionably useful, continued
Sullinger. It’s highly important the Marines know how and when to
best use the weapons systems.
The Taser is a five-thousand
volt, gas-powered, reloadable projectile used for close-quarters
situations when dealing with a non-compliant aggressor. It has a max
effective range of twenty-five feet and when implemented requires
both pronged projectiles to make contact with the aggressor’s skin.
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December 17, 2017 - Cpls. Trevor Green and Cpl. Alex Cooper, a
cyber-network specialist and satellite operator with the 15th Marine
Expeditionary Unit’s Command Element, experiences the effects of the
HEMI/X26E Taser during a three-day Non-Lethal Weapons Course aboard
USS America (LHA 6). The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and American
Amphibious Ready Group are operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of
operations to enhance regional partnerships and serve as a
ready-response capability for any type of contingency. (U.S. Marine
Corps photo by Cpl. Jacob Pruitt)
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The Taser uses neuromuscular incapacitation working on the
aggressor’s own central nervous system against itself. The shock
forces affected muscles to clench and become locked while also
causing severe pain, effectively disabling the aggressor. The
nervous system is a complex web of electro-sensitive sensors that
tell muscles when to contract and release. The electro-shock
provided by the Taser acts as a flood of signals to these sensors,
causing the body to uncontrollably clench, reliably shutting down
any muscle groupings affected by the spread of the projectiles. The
more widespread the prongs are placed affects how many muscle
groupings can be shut down.
For an effective result direct
contact with skin is required, and can be impeded by thick coats,
phones, wallets, belts and a multitude of other objects. The Taser
has the ability to be directly applied to the skin for a harder but
shorter burst of electricity.
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December 17, 2017 - Cpl. Patrick O’Donnald, a generator
technician, and Sgt. Jacob Wright, a motor transportation
specialist, both with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Command
Element, are hit with the HEMI/X-29E Taser during a three-day
Non-Lethal Weapons Course aboard USS America (LHA 6). The 15th
Marine Expeditionary Unit and American Amphibious Ready Group are
operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance
regional partnerships and serve as a ready-response capability for
any type of contingency. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jacob
Pruitt)
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“The Taser portion of the class was very interesting,”
said Cpl. Frank Delacruz, a student in the non-lethal
weapons course. “But the real test of strength, for me, came
from the O.C. practical application portion of the class,
which taught us to stay focused and fight the pain to
overcome your challenges.”
O.C. spray is used for the
submission of a single or multiple aggressors, and is
unquestionably powerful and versatile.
The class started by
learning the history of the spray and its evolution into
modern usage and from there covered its unique disabling
capabilities and short falls. The United States military
began researching O.C. spray in the 1970s and soon began
implementation. It’s evolved since into the effective and
harsh, yet non-life threatening weapon we used today.
The spray has three different methods of dispersion – a
continuous shot spread out as a stream, a fog comparable to an
aerosol-like dispersion, and a thick solution not unlike that of a
fire extinguisher. O.C. is effective at upsetting an assailant’s
ability to breathe properly and open their eyes.
After the
instructors taught the class how to effectively operate the weapon
systems, their limitations and drawbacks, the students were required
to execute the practical application of the weapons’ systems under
the supervision of trained professionals in a controlled
environment, providing first-hand knowledge of what it feels like to
be tased as well as how to fight through the pain of O.C. to take
down an aggressor, either by themselves or with a partner.
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December 21, 2017 - Marines with Company C., 1st Battalion, 5th
Marine Regiment, the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Battalion
Landing Team conduct team takedowns while experiencing the effects
of the type MK-4 Oleoresin Capsicum spray as part of the practical
application portion of a three-day Non-Lethal Weapons Course aboard
USS America (LHA 6). The course taught Marines how to properly
implement the weapon systems and provided the Marines with the
confidence and knowledge to push through the effects of the
non-lethal weapons. The 15th MEU and American Amphibious Ready Group
are operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance
regional partnerships and serve as a ready-response capability for
any type of contingency. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jacob
Pruitt)
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“This course taught me almost as much about myself as it
did the weapons systems we learned to operate,” said
Delacruz. “Not only did the class teach me how to use the
weapon systems and conduct takedowns, but also taught me I
could fight through the pain and rely on my instincts to
successfully deescalate an aggressor or a dangerous
situations.”
This type of training is relevant to
the Marines and Sailors of the 15th MEU especially if they
are called upon for a noncombatant evacuation operation or
embassy reinforcement, which are missions this Marine
Air-Ground Task Force trains for specifically and maintains
proficiency in.
“This
course is beneficial to Marines should they go down range in the
future to do an embassy reinforcement or evacuate refugees out of an
area, “said Sullinger. “Say [someone] is to try us, to harm us,
attack the embassy, what have you, this will provide a deterrent and
let us escalate our force without having to use lethal means.”
A MEU is task-organized to operate across range of military
operations and has 13 mission essential tasks required to be
proficient in. Mission sets include noncombatant evacuation
operations, humanitarian assistance, stability operations, tactical
recovery of aircraft and personnel, joint and combined operations,
aviation operations from expeditionary shore-based sites, theater
security cooperation activities, and airfield or port seizures.
The 15th MEU and America Amphibious Ready Group is deployed as a
global response force to enhance regional partnerships and serve as
a ready-response capability for any type of contingency.
By U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Jacob Pruitt
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2018
The U.S. Marines
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