MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Convoy ambushes, makeshift explosives triggered remotely, mortar attacks from every direction in close quarters -- it's a lot to contend with when trying to stay alive in Iraq.
So 1st Lt. Theresa E. Hornick is making sure her Marines are ready for anything. She's tapping state-of-the-art warfare training available here.
Hornick, commander of 2nd Platoon, Company C, 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Force Service Support Group, will deploy with her charges within the next two months. She's preparing them for the modern battlefield via training at the Combined Arms Staff Trainer and the Set Fire Observation courses -- two of the Corps' newest warfighting tools for preparing Marines for today's modern battlefield.
The training, which instructors say incorporates real combat scenarios experienced during Operation Iraqi Freedom, is designed to equip Marines with skills they'll need to stay alive, said Master Sgt. Osama B. Shofani, chief instructor.
CAST teaches Marines -- infantry and non-infantry alike -- how to use artillery, mortars and close-air support on the battlefield.
"Regardless of Marines' military occupational specialty, all Marines are basic riflemen and must always be prepared for combat," said Sgt. Vincent E. Orvins, course instructor.
"The hands-on training, along with the new upgrades, ensures training is as close to real life as you can get," Orvins added.
Among the upgrades -- terrain boards depicting Camp Pendleton, Twentynine Palms, North Korea, plus maps of Fallujah and Ramadi used for urban and close-air support training.
According to Shofani, the Marine Corps has spared no expense on the courses. Terrain maps for the CAST course cost approximately $80,000 each and paper maps cost $30,000 each, he said.
The fire observation training was revamped six months ago. It now includes a $75,000 Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer with three-dimensional graphics. Students receive updated handbooks and new binoculars in addition to the maps.
The fire observation training helps Marines locate targets and adjust fire, navigate the terrain and call for air or artillery strikes.
The curriculum includes battlefield tactics currently in place in Iraq, Rodriguez added.
Marines apply some mathematics and use individual paper maps when engaging the enemy. Plus, they learn to provide a final intelligence report and battle damage assessment, he added.
Marines should at least know the basics, Hornick said. That's why her platoon is taking advantage of the training -- even though her platoon of engineers' primary responsibility isn't combat.
But amid a raging insurgency -- when the unpredictable becomes commonplace -- combat skills are likely to move to the forefront.
"If they know how to (call for fire), then they will (adapt in Iraq) that much quicker," she said.
In the past, the training was basic and unrealistic, Rodriguez said. Moreover, overhead projectors, handouts and lectures bored the students, he said.
In contrast, students in the modern fire observation course pay more attention and appreciate the realism the indoor training provides, he said.
The training is open to Marines who've deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom and those preparing to deploy. The former can improve their battle skills while the latter develop new ones, Rodriguez said.
Hornick says more than half of her Marines already have served in Iraq. That experience comes through in their training -- which gives Marines confidence not only in themselves, but also in their noncommissioned officers as leaders, Hornick said.
The CAST course can be condensed into one day or stretched over a week, depending on how much knowledge a unit's Marines already have, Orvins said.
"I'd like to see more units using this facility and taking advantage of the skills being taught here," Shofani said.
"The training Marines acquire here may very well save lives during combat," he added.
The training is set to receive an additional $1.5 million in upgrades in the near future, he said.