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13th MEU unit takes step closer to SOC qual

Marine Corps News

Story Identification #: 2005222165514
Story by Cpl. Andy Hurt

FIRE BASE GLORIA, MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (Feb. 22, 2005) -- "Everybody has to be Special Operations Capable qualified," according to Gunnery Sgt. Stuart Glass, Special Operations Training Group instructor.

Battalion Landing Team 2/1's Golf Company is getting one step closer.

The unit, designated as the BLT's Helicopter Borne Raid Company started the SOTG Helicopter Raid course recently. The course is part of SOTG’s pre-determined curriculum to certify the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit as Special Operations Capable.

Training day one included introductory classes for the ground-pounders and company staffs on raids, breaching, consolidation, handling enemy prisoners of war and more.
Then the SOTG officer-in-charge, Capt. Jim Eagan, issued the warning order.

The first situational training exercise warning order detailed an improvised explosive device-maker named Turki. This individual is high value to coalition intelligence, and his stature in the local area made him a “capture or kill” priority.

The company staff was given a six-hour deadline to plan coordination between the elements of the raid force, including air support from the 13th MEU’s air combat element, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 163.

Utilizing rapid response planning procedures, the staff prepared a raid plan and briefed the SOTG instructors and evaluators, who carefully critiqued the plan for any areas that could be improved to special operations standards.

“We’re not going to dictate the (standard operating procedures) for these guys,” said Glass, “but we evaluate what they have in place already and suggest what they could improve on.”

With the plan set by the staff, reconnaissance and surveillance teams set out to survey the target.

At the target site, Marines from MEU Service Support Group-13, who had spent the previous night occupying buildings, houses and the village square, roamed the area dressed in Middle Eastern attire. Prayers echoed from the village mosque to add to the realism. Little did the villagers know, however, the keen eyes of snipers and recon scouts were cast upon them throughout the night and day.

The R&S teams relayed intelligence back to the command post, which fine-tuned the assault according to the collection effort.

Golf Co. rehearsed the situation, and by 1300, they were staged in a landing zone standing by for the ACE.

As the helicopters creeped over the horizon, the villagers grew frantic, pointing at the skies and the Sheik urged for everyone to return to their buildings. Within minutes, the support-by-fire element was in place, and R&S began their extraction.
AH-1W Cobra attack helicopters made low-altitude sweeps over the town, as the smell of chaos lingered.

Another set of CH-53 Super Stallions appeared in the sky and inserted the assault element, into an adjacent landing zone. The raid force poured out of the bellies of the birds, combat engineers breached a small entanglement of wire and the raid began.

Utilizing urban combat sweeps, Marines worked their way from building to building, while intelligence and combat cameramen interrogated locals about the high value target, and documented the event.

As the raid force creeped closer to the objective, terror appeared. Wire strands and booby traps concealed weapons caches, making it clear that the HVT was near. To the trained observer, this was a smooth, routine helicopter borne raid training exercise. To the civilian eye, a small, Middle Eastern village had been swept by coalition forces.

The second STX involved the financer of the IED builder.

In this scenario the target was a terrorist encampment. Any non-coalition personnel on scene were considered hostile. Through night vision systems, the sky lit up with infrared strobes, muzzle flashes from small arms fire and automatic weapons, and flash-bang grenades rocked the ground beneath the raid force. Enemy bodies fell to the Earth and intelligence teams, along with Explosive Ordinance Disposal Marines, moved to the objective to document the scene.

The scenarios drawn by SOTG are generated to accurately depict what the MEU will face on its upcoming deployment.

“Some of the situations are ‘weapons tight,’ being careful to identify your targets, like Iraqi missions right now. Some of the situations are more free in the rules of engagement, like Afghanistan,” said Glass. “With what’s going on in the world right now, we try and make it as realistic as possible.”

2nd Lt. Ernie Medina, platoon commander for 2nd Platoon, said the training was “good to go,” adding, “Any time your unit get hands-on training, it’s going to help. Especially when we’re training in an urban environment, ‘cause that’s probably where we’re gonna be.”