www.CAMpLEjEunEgLoBE.CoM
Volume 76, Edition 16
Gl be The
SERving CAMp LEjEunE And SuRRounding AREAS SinCE 1944
2nd CLR Marines
8th ESB stays sharp | 5A
train at Fort Bliss| 3A Thursday, ApRiL 24, 2014
www.LEjEunE.MARinES.MiL FORT BLISS, tExAS
America’s Battalion
2/8 Photo by Cpl. Austin Long
Marines with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, take a break during their 13-mile hike to Range 62 at Fort Bliss, Texas, recently. As a light infantry unit, infantry Marines must rely on their feet to get them to their objective on occasion.
Echo Company fires first shots at Fort Bliss CpL. AuStin Long 2nd marine division
Marines with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, completed a squad-size, live-fire exercise at Range 62 on Fort Bliss, Texas, recently. The training is helping Echo Co. prepare for the Network Integration Evaluation exercise beginning in May, where the unit will be tasked with company size attacks on objectives. The upcoming evaluation is a bi-annual training exercise where the Army’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, tests new technology in a simulated combat scenario. This year is the first time multi-national and coalition forces have been invited to evaluate the technology and test their skills against other forces during the exercise. Task Force 2-8, a force made up of multiple units from Camp Lejeune, is using the month of April to prepare its units for the upcoming exercise in May. Starting from small-unit exercises and building up, Echo Co. was among the first to begin training. “From this range, I want the squad leaders and team leaders going away having built on their communication, so they understand how each fire-team moves as a squad to accomplish the objective,” said Gunnery Sgt. Craig Garrett, the company gunnery sergeant. “And I want the Marines new to the company to know how each team works with one another as a squad to complete the mission. I also want the new Marines to know how to operate within the teams individually; controlling their rate of fire, staying in their
Photo by Cpl. Austin Long
Lance Cpl. Allen Richmond, an automatic rifleman, with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, provides cover for Marines moving forward while assaulting the enemy during mission rehearsals at Range 62, on Fort Bliss, Texas, recently. lanes, knowing the Marine to the left and right of them and that they are able to put rounds on target.” Echo Co.’s leadership was able to successfully prepare its Marines for the range after scouting the range and looking over terrain models, a scaled down replication showing in detail the area of operation, said Garrett. Once at the range, Marines began building terrain models and performed mission rehearsals. Marines moved over 800 meters as a squad through tough ter-
rain to reach their objective and defeat the enemy, an electronically-operated pop up target. While a squad of Marines moved over the terrain, machine-gun teams provided support with M240B machine guns and mortar teams provided notional supporting fire on the target. “It’s a pretty good live-fire range,” said Cpl. Marc Casimiro, a team leader. “Going through ranges like this with someone, will really show you how they operate inside the team and if they can shoot
and communicate effectively. We have five new guys in our squad alone, but we’re not approaching it any differently. The only difference here is that the squad leaders and team leaders are a little more watchful over them. Just to make sure they know their job within the team and aren’t putting anyone in danger.” The training helped build up the squads for future platoon and battalion size attacks in the near future. Once everyone in Echo Co. is comfortable with their
squad’s performance, they plan on moving on to platoon exercises and more advanced tactics, said Casimiro. “The Marines performed very well,” said Garrett. “This was only squad attacks, but during NIE we will be tasked by battalion to perform a few company attacks using all the platoons together in a similar manner that we used the squads out here. This training is a stepping stone for NIE and will definitely pay off very soon.”
Lejeune’s Environmental Restoration Program recognized by SecDef CpL. jACkELinE M. pEREz RivERA marine Corps Base Camp lejeune
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune’s Environmental Restoration Program was recognized as the best of its type throughout the military and defense communities with a Secretary of Defense Environmental Award, Monday. Environmental Restoration, a section of the base’s Environmental Management Division, assesses and properly addresses ordnance and contamination throughout the base. “I couldn’t be more honored and pleased by the Department of Defense’s recognition of the tremendous efforts of the unsung professionals who lead Camp Lejeune’s environmental restoration mission,” said Brig. Gen. Robert F. Castellvi, commanding general of Marine Corps Installations East - Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. “The award is a worthy reflection of the exceptional commitment
and dedication to the stewardship of this base, demonstrated every day by the entire Environmental Management Division.” The program was judged by a panel made up of experts in the field. Camp Lejeune’s Environmental Restoration stood out due to its cost-effective sustainable efforts to protect human health and the environment, while cleaning up contamination, according to an American Forces Press Service press release. The program has saved the base millions of dollars. Three sites aboard the base with more than 16 acres of contaminated soil were treated, establishing more than 55,000 tons of soil nonhazardous and saving $5.5 million in costs. Since the program’s inception in 1983, they have performed environmental responses at more than 900 locations and are currently addressing more than 80 active sites. While some sites offer military specific
challenges, such as unexploded ordnance, other sites are comparable to what is faced in a civilian environment, with contaminants such as fuel, oil, pesticides, or chlorinated solvents. “We clean the world one day at a time,” said Charity Delaney, an environmental engineer and the program’s manager. Environmental Restoration’s Underground Storage Tank program removed more than 70 storage tanks and 14,000 tons of soil contaminated with petroleum. Environmental Restoration also performs extensive assessments at potential construction sites, which they refer to as due-diligence assessments, where they identify and address risks. The program implemented an effective, innovative way by adding an extra step to their investigation process. Through expanded site inspections, where personnel collect extra data before launching a full investigation, members of Environmental
Restoration can determine if a site warrants a full examination. “(The restoration team) have all made the environment a measurably cleaner and safer place by their commitment, professionalism and solution-oriented leadership,” said John Townson, Director of Camp Lejeune’s Environmental Management Division. “Winning the Secretary of Defense award this year is a great honor and is a tribute to the many years of success the Environmental Restoration program has had at Camp Lejeune.” The program will receive a trophy, a Secretary of Defense certificate of Achievement and an American flag that was flown over the U.S. Capitol on Earth Day. The program also holds a quarterly public forum where members of the community can discuss environmental restoration issues. The Restoration Advisory Board’s next meeting is scheduled May 28 at 6 p.m. in Room BT105 at Coastal Carolina Community College.