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THE COAST NEWS
MAY 13, 2011
Program brings out the warrior in Marine athletes By Aquita Brown Wounded Warrior Regiment
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Unit takes form, begins its deployment cycle By Gunnery Sgt. Scott Dunn
CAMP PENDLETON — The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit began its deployment cycle here May 2 by assuming operational control of the elements that make it a complete Marine air-ground task force. The unit’s major subordinate elements become — with all their attachments — Battalion Landing Team 3/1, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268 (Reinforced) and Combat Logistics Battalion 11, the ground, aviation and logistics elements respectively. One of seven of its kind in the world, the unit has begun training to deploy later this year as a flexible, combined-arms, seagoing force that can conduct the Marine Corps’ full range of operations, from disaster relief to combat. “As a MEU, training both during pre-deployment workups and while under way will remain a continual focus to place us in a position to be the most ready when we are tasked to execute our assigned mission,” Pile said. Teaming up with the Navy’s Amphibious Squadron 5, the MEU is scheduled to deploy aboard three ships: USS Makin Island, an amphibious assault ship; USS New Orleans, an amphibious transport dock, and USS Pearl Harbor, an amphibious dock landing ship. The squadron aboard these ships forms the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, the “blue-side” partner to the MEU’s “green side.” “The blue-green partnership is the key to a successful deployment,” said Col. Michael R. Hudson, 11th MEU commanding officer. “A forward-deployed and fully integrated (Amphibious Squadron 5) and (Marine air-ground task force) team provides our leadership with solutions to problems and the ability to exploit opportunities in real time.” Hudson, who is supported by a sergeant major and a staff, is at the helm of the MEU and its command element, whose approximately 200 Marines and sailors provide leadership, planning and communications for the entire force of 2,200 service members. Training the MEU will include several land-based exercises and specialized courses, but to prepare for amphibious operations, the unit has scheduled three at-sea periods wherein the Marine Corps and Navy staffs integrate and learn to operate successfully together. This blue-green team synchronizes by perfecting a rapid-response planning process, the MEU’s baseline for planning and executing missions. The planning process is tested during several day and night training raids, facilitated by helicopters and landing craft operating from the flight and well decks of the three amphibious ships. The ground-combat element comes from 1st Marine Regiment and attachments from 1st Marine Division; the aviation-combat element comes from Marine Aircraft Group 39 and attachments from 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and the logistics-combat element comes from Combat Logistics Regiment 17. Parent commands of these elements have handed operational control and Department of Defense readiness-reporting responsibilities to the 11th MEU commander until 30 days after the unit’s deployment.
CAMP PENDLETON — From their first day on the yellow footprints at recruit training or day one at Officer Candidates School, Marines have developed into athletic warriors. A program that was established in February 2008 has succeeded in bringing out that same warrior instinct for wounded, ill and injured Marines nationwide. The Wounded Warrior Regiment’s Warrior Athlete Reconditioning program, also known as the WAR program, provides opportunities for Marines to engage in individual or team sports settings that improve their overall mental and physical fitness. Lt. Col. Nicholas E. Davis, Wounded Warrior Battalion East commanding officer, said the WAR program serves as a tool to assist wounded, ill and injured Marines in reaching their highest potential to support their “new normal” in life. “In the end (wounded, ill and injured Marines) will be better prepared for life’s journey if they take each day at a time and include family in the recovery process.This is a good way to get their mind, body and spirit through an arduous process that will have its challenges,” Davis said. “The program initially began to augment wounded, ill
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and injured Marines, traditional (recovery) and combine a new method of physical training to their regimen,” said Ginger Gold, program manager for the WAR program. “Most of the Marines who came into this program were only focused on their injury,but
the WAR program takes the injury into consideration and focuses on the entire body,” Gold said. This dynamic method of training is fashioned to allow wounded, ill and injured Marines an opportunity to return to active duty or transi-
tion out of the Corps while remaining physically and athletically motivated. In the beginning, the program was offered as an elective activity that focused on aquatics, equestrian activities, TURN TO WARRIOR ON B21
Marine Corps new recruit: Labrador retrievers By Sgt. Jesse Stence
CAMP DWYER, Afghanistan — The Marine Corps believes it has found the right dog for the counter-IED fight, but it’s not the traditional military working dog. It’s a Labrador retriever, and unlike the German Shepherd, which was carefully bred to herd sheep and fend off predators, the Labrador retriever was bred to go fetch. Originally created to help Canadian hunters catch game, today’s typical Labrador is catching Frisbees. The energetic yet even-tempered canine may be the most common household pet in the world. Yet the Labrador remains an able hunter, and therefore a competent aid to Marines conducting the delicate search for makeshift explosives, say those familiar with the Marine Corps’ counter IED efforts. Sgt. Steven Basham, the kennel supervisor with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, said the Marine Corps began taking more interest in Labradors after an Auburn University study highlighted the breed’s hunting instinct, disposition and controllability, or “how you could control the dogs with whistles
and arm signals.” Although some German shepherds have been converted to “bomb dogs,” they’re more difficult to remotely control than the Labradors — a disadvantage in the current counterinsurgency environment. “Bomb dogs were mainly created for the urban terrain, whereas the (Labradors) were meant to work off leash,” explained Basham, from Hawesville, Ky. Typically, Marines push the Labradors out front during patrols, Basham said. Labradors can smell 17 different odors associated with homemade explosives, and the dogs’ noses can sometimes detect what the Marines’ combat metal detectors can’t, he said. With its unique abilities, the Labrador has created a tactical niche for itself within the Corps’ counter-IED strategy. The trained Labradors are officially called IED Detection Dogs, and Marine Corps Systems Command has designated a program manager to further incorporate the IDDs into counterinsurgency operations. Lt. Col. Kenneth Burger, the program manager, said the
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IDD force is already slated to increase from 315 to 647 dogs. “The first handler course that reflects the increase in IDDs started April 9, 2011, but will not be realized in-theater until September 2011, when
the first unit will deploy with an increased number of dogs,” said Burger. “The number of IDDs deployed will go for some 130 to approximately 285. A typical infantry TURN TO MILITARY DOGS ON B21