NAVAL STATION NORFOLK, Va. -- Marines and Sailors with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, were “Hollywood Marines” for a day during their participation in cultural and combat immersion training here March 5.
Explosions, Iraqi-American extras and small-arms fire created the “hyper-realistic” environment catered by special effects technicians whose primary focus is generating illusions for movie projects, said Stu Segall, president and owner of Strategic Operations, a tactical training off-shoot of his Hollywood production business.
“We try to make it as realistic as possible to make it feel as though they were ‘in-country,’” explained Segall. “This is stress inoculation – we want them to train in combat without having to actually be in combat.”
The training came as part of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Battalion Landing Team’s Training in an Urban Environment exercise, or TRUEX, taking place throughout the Hampton Roads, Va., area. Each rifle company in BLT 1/8 – the MEUs Ground Combat Element – as well as members of MEU Service Support Group 24 undergo a three-day, intelligence-intensive evolution culminating in a company-sized cordon-and-search raid at a simulated Iraqi village.
“This is set up so they can make the mistakes here and not ‘in-country,’” said Cpl. Trevor D. Ihlan, an instructor at the exercise and part of the Urban Warfare Training Center at Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command in Twentynine Palms, Ca. “The realism really gives the Marines a good shock of combat.”
During the training mission, the Marines began executing a cordon-and-search mission at an Iraqi village when a series of explosions – beginning with a massive blast from a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device – disrupted the operation. Marines were surrounded by casualties elaborately dressed by make-up artists with authentic-looking wounds and Iraqi role players who invaded the area and utilized enemy weaponry and blank rounds to simulate small-arms fire.
“They really put on an awesome show,” said Staff Sgt. Michael J. Simon, the staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the instructors from the UWTC. “The best part is the realism of the training. So much is thrown at them that they really have to work their language and tactics training.”
After dealing with casualties, outraged locals and insurgents setting new IEDs, Marines began searching the village for intelligence, weapons caches and high-value targets. The process incorporated the use of interpreters, cultural interaction and security maintenance, said Lt. Col. Chris A. Ross, the deputy director of the UWTC.
“This is more than just a tactical battle – it’s more than locate, close with and destroy the enemy,” said Ross. “Just like in theater, there are so many dynamics. It adds stress to the squad leaders; it’s not only a kinetic fight, it’s also about dealing with the population.”
“It was great to be able to deal with the role players and interact with the local population,” added Lance Cpl. Cody S. Allen, an assaultman with Alpha. Co., preparing for his first deployment. “This will definitely prepare us for what we might face overseas.”
With each phase of the training – including a mass casualty evacuation with air support from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 365 (Reinforced) – the Marines and Sailors were given an insight into the difficulties of combat, said Capt. Nathan T. Perkkio, Alpha. Co. commanding officer.
“You can always learn something from every exercise,” said Perkkio. “This was good training because of the role players and the realism this exercise gives to the Marines. They did a good job today. We’ve come a long way – we need more training like this.”
The training operation succeed in its key mission of training the Marines to make decisions under fire, communicate on the battlefield and react properly to the community. Marines left the exercise learning the necessary lessons that will keep them alive during scenarios they could each face in the coming months, said Cpl. Peter S. Ramos, a senior instructor with UWTC.
“No matter how many times they’ve been to Iraq, there are still benefits to this training,” said Ramos. “The feedback they receive here is a substantial building block toward their deployment.”
The TRUEX is the premier training event during the MEU’s six-month pre-deployment workups that kicked off Nov. 30. The exercise involves each of the MEU components: Command Element; Battalion Landing Team 1/8; HMM-365(Reinforced); and MSSG-24.
The 24th MEU is scheduled to deploy this spring to the European and Central Command theaters of operations.