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3rd LAAD conducts Stinger missile live fire

Marine Corps News

Story Identification #: 200551114233
Story by Lance Cpl. James B. Hoke

SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND, Calif. (May 5, 2005) -- There isn't much that gets a Marine motivated more than conducting training they haven't had in awhile, especially if the training involves blowing something up.

Marines from 3rd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, Marine Air Control Group 38, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, participated in a live fire training exercise with Stinger missiles May 3 at San Clemente Island, Calif.

According to Lt. Col. Mark P. Melzar, commanding officer, 3rd LAAD Bn., his Marines have not trained on a live fire range with Stinger missiles for nearly two years.

"It has been something we haven't been able to do for the past few years because of security training and deployments to Iraq," he said. "They were excited about having the chance to conduct a live fire shoot. It gets them back in their (Military Occupational Specialty) - their duty as a Marine."

The Stinger missile is a man-portable, shoulder-fired guided missile system, which enables the Marine to effectively engage low-altitude jets, propeller-driven and rotary-wing aircraft. The system is a "fire-and-forget" weapon, employing a passive infrared seeker and proportional navigational system.

According to the Federation of American Scientists, during the 1960s the Marine Corps introduced its first lightweight shoulder fired surface-to-air missile - the Redeye. The Redeye missile served throughout the 1970s before giving way to the more technologically advanced Stinger missile in 1982.

According to 1st Lt. Sanford C. Orrick, logistics officer, 3rd LAAD Bn., the island provided the ideal secluded location for giving his unit the chance to train with the missiles.

"The location was great," said Orrick. "It was a great opportunity for the Marines to get out and do what they are trained to do. They don't get a lot of opportunities to do this."

Ironically, the location was also a restriction because of the island's limited access to the mainland.

"There are a couple of conditions (that come with) being on an island," said Orrick. "If you forget something or something goes wrong, you can't just go back for it right then and there. It takes more time."

Although the island is separated from the United States by nearly 70 miles of the Pacific Ocean, it is not without its own resources.

"This island is used for research, development and a lot of live fire training," said Melzar. "It is not only used for our live fire training, but aviation, submarines and Navy Seals train here also. It works well for training because of its length."

According to Melzar, 3rd LAAD Bn. isn't only focusing on their air defense training at the moment.

"We're like the grunts of 3rd MAW," said Melzar. "Right now, we are dealing with force protection. We did a lot of ground deployment training, machine gun training and ground weapons training, because we know we are going to go back to Iraq and will be doing it again."

Still, at San Clemente Island the battalion's Marines focused on their primary weapon - the Stinger weapons system - by firing a total of 44 live missiles at airborne model aircraft flying in close proximity to the island.

Following the evolution, the battalion commander put the importance of the shoot into perspective.

"There is nothing more valuable than shooting the weapon you are responsible for," concluded Melzar. "The reason this is so valuable to us is because we have to remain balanced."