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Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron 1 Commences Shark Tank 2010

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100820-04
8/20/2010

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Byron C. Linder, Navy Public Affairs Support Element West

SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND, Calif. (NNS) -- Navy Reserve Sailors from Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron (MSRON) 1 commenced the inaugural field training exercise series "Shark Tank 2010" on San Clemente Island, Calif., Aug. 17.

Six Reserve detachments from Texas and the San Diego area are participating in the training, which will take place for the next two weeks and focus on the many facets of expeditionary warfare.

"Our responsibility is to support and defend wherever water meets dirt," said Capt. Will Dailey, MSRON 1's commanding officer. "Shark Tank is something of a new experiment for us. It's a field exercise that's designed to be an expeditionary schoolhouse. We've set up the camp and all the training to provide classroom experience for about 260 Sailors."

Cmdr. Roger Hawkes, MSRON 1's Advance Team officer-in-charge, emphasized the importance of teaching to all levels of expeditionary warfare experience.

"We have the students divided up into a core, and intermediate and advanced skill level set. The Sailor who is warfare qualified, who may be an expert in his field and has been on multiple deployments, and really understands the mission is not being trained at the basic level. We're offering all levels of training," said Hawkes.

Hawkes explained the school's course layout.

"We have the courses broken down into the skills they need to perform their job. It's focused on getting the qualifications to become an expeditionary warfare specialist, so we're covering PQS [personal qualification standard]-type items as well as the individual combat skills with live fire exercises. We have classroom training that runs the gamut from GMT [general military training] all the way to very technical training on communications gear," said Hawkes.

Master-at-Arms Seaman Jonathan Lopez, a San Antonio native assigned to MSRON 1's Delta Detachment, expressed his enthusiasm for the school.

"There's only so much you can get with the books. A lot of the time, we're so busy drowning in admin stuff, and I've been waiting to get out and actually get a taste for the environment I'll actually be working in during deployment," said Lopez.