www.CAmPLejeunegLobe.Com
VOLume 76, edition 19
Gl be The
Serving CAmP Lejeune And Surrounding AreAS SinCe 1944
Winner of the 2013 thomas Jefferson aWard for excellence in Journalism
Chesty Puller Award
the globe accepts award for best department of defense newspaper| 2A
8th Comm Bn, 2nd ANGLICO recognized | 5A ThursdAy, mAy 15, 2014
www.Lejeune.mArineS.miL
vAtrA dornei, romAniA
BSRF-14 Marines, sailors get acquainted with mountain training LAnCe CPL. SCott whiting
Black sea rotational Force
W
ith the first week of exercise Platinum lynx coming to a close, marines and sailors with Black sea rotational force 14 from 3rd Battalion, 8th marine regiment received the unique opportunity to undergo mountain training with romanian soldiers of the 17th mountain troop Bn. in the carpathian mountains, may 7 to 8. the specialized training acclimated the marines and sailors to hiking and operating in rocky, snowy and mountainous terrain; something many in the group hadn’t experienced before. the american service members were led around the edge of a mountain by romanian soldiers experienced with the training and terrain. after the hike, the marines and sailors spent a day and a half learning the basics of climbing and maneuvering through mountainous terrain. the got the chance to rock climb small cliffs under the supervision of the romanians. they also rap-
Courtesy photo
Cpl. Scott bradley and Lance Cpl. dakota marshall, two marines with black Sea rotational force 14 from 3rd battalion, 8th marine regiment, reach the peak of a cliff with two romanian soldiers of the 17th mountain troop bn. during exercise Platinum Lynx in the Carpathian mountains, may 8. exercise Platinum Lynx 14-5 is a bilateral exercise between the united States marines and sailors, and romanian Land forces, designed to build familiarity and interoperability between the united States and their romanian allies through squad and platoon-level infantry training. pelled down steep cliffs and rode on a zip line as part of the training. “this is definitely a new experience for most of us,” said 2nd lt. andrew Blacker, a platoon commander with Weapons company. “some guys are
comfortable doing it and others are a little out of their element, but everyone is pushing through and overcoming fears. it’s a good experience for all of us out here.” some marines had to learn the basics of the mountain
training from the romanians who spend most of their time in the rocky terrain. “the romanians are very nice,” Blacker said. “We taught them some things earlier this week, and they’re teaching us things now. We’ve
been sharing military knowledge back and forth.” the marines looked forward to working with the 17th mountain troop Bn. during the week of Platinum lynx, which included several days of live-fire exercises.
force recon conducts CerteX, prepares for deployment LAnCe CPL. jAred LingAfeLt 2nd marine division
marines from force reconnaissance detachment delta, ii marine expeditionary force, completed a certification exercise aboard marine corps Base camp lejeune, april 29 through may 9. the reconnaissance marines performed clandestine amphibious inserts and highaltitude high-opening parachute operations, certifying the marines for an upcoming deployment with the 24th marine expeditionary unit. “this is their final certification after working up for the better part of two years if you include their individual training,” said lt. col. robert revoir, battalion commander of 2nd reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd marine division. the marines completed the certification exercise to assess their ability to conduct reconnaissance and surveillance patrols in a clandestine environment. a platoon of marines traveled a total of 20 miles out to sea on combat rubber raiding crafts, then conducted amphibious reconnaissance and surveillance operations. “the scenario for these objectives includes inserting off the coast of a foreign country,” said revoir. “they went in to gather intelligence for the meu on enemy positions, enemy dispositions, as well as a crisis scenario. their jobs are to identify high-value target individuals, their leadership and their location after they conduct a clandestine insert through amphibious means, as well as using high-altitude high-
opening parachute capability.” the marines have spent years training to make each team member multifaceted while creating a highly trained and highly capable team of marines. each team member has their own job to do within the team, said capt. nathan Willis, force reconnaissance company commander, ii mef. most team members have in-depth medical training and other valuable skills, including diver, static line jump master, radio operator, sniper and more. reconnaissance marines’ unique skill sets provide commanders with vital eyes and ears wherever and whenever needed. “the meu knows that before they go off on a mission, they have this fully trained product which is very valuable,” said revoir. the certification exercise required the marines to use all of their skills, including high-altitude parachute operations to be successful during the exercise. Parachute operations are an important part of the reconnaissance mission, giving the marines multiple insertion options onto the battlefield, said master sgt. Brad dean, force reconnaissance detachment delta operations chief. “this culminated the last six months of training, taking everything we have done, including ground and amphibious reconnaissance, all in one final certification exercise,” he added. the detachment consists of two platoons, comprised of roughly 50 force reconnaissance marines, one
Photo by Lance Cpl. jared Lingafelt
marines from force detachment delta, ii marine expeditionary force assemble in an amphibious formation before departing for a reconnaissance operation aboard marine Corps base Camp Lejeune, may 5. the marines conducted reconnaissance operations to prepare for and upcoming deployment. of the first of its kind to deploy with the meu. “this is one of the first detachment type concepts that we have put on a meu,” said revoir. “it’s not the traditional 23 man group that we send, it’s now two platoons that are trained equally on these high end skills with one command element over the top of them.” deploying a detachment gives the meu an independent and well capable force of highly trained war fighters. “the benefit of bringing the detachment is we are self-supportive … as well as consolidating all of the reconnaissance support allows us to allocate resources to best meet mission require-
ments,” said Willis. the marines have spent months away from their homes and families, working hard to prepare for their upcoming deployment and the exercise, but it hasn’t gone unnoticed. “there are high expectations for these marines, and we have been running on a very tight timeline,” said Willis. “i am very impressed with them. throughout the operations, they provided an accurate picture, identified potential hostages on top of providing additional information such as what the compound looks like, and where they can breach. they are very resilient despite the tough times, tough weather and a tough winter.”