MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- As convoys of military vehicles leave forward operating bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Marines aboard them are ready to respond to any type of insurgent attack, thanks to training taught at the Small Wars Office at 1st Marine Division Schools.
Convoys are a popular target among insurgents who lace the roads with improvised explosive devices and ambushes according to Staff Sgt. Thomas L. Yagla, small wars chief instructor, 1st Marine Division Schools.
“We want to make the course as close as possible to what the Marines will be encountering in Iraq,” said the 29-year-old from Boise, Idaho.
The students will learn how to respond to any type of enemy attack, including ambushes from enemy fighters.
The course is an essential tool for Marines from the 5th Marine Reg-imental Headquarters Company who are currently enrolled in the week-long course and looking to deploy overseas in early 2006.
One of the methods used to add realism to the course is the use of mock IEDs, which the instructors detonate while the students roll down the road in military vehicles.
Following the loud blast from the mock IED, sending clouds of dirt in every direction, the convoy becomes a frenzy of activity with team leaders barking orders and Marines flying off the trucks ready to provide immediate-action drills.
The course instructors are all combat veterans who spent a great portion of their time in Iraq and Afghanistan on the dangerous roadways in convoy operations. The intensity of the attacks have become more complex since the beginning of the war, and insurgents are finding smarter ways to attack with IEDs, Yagla explained.
“We adjust to what is taught in the course based on what the Marines coming back from Iraq are experiencing,” said Yagla. “Even though insurgents have become more organized in conducting ambushes, we adjust the training.”
For one of the students, the course is a good refresher as most of his days in Iraq were spent on the road providing personal security aboard vehicles.
“This is important because the junior Marines need to know exactly how to respond in an attack on a convoy and what to look out for,” said Sgt. Albert P. Murad, 21, from Sugarland, Texas, and a platoon sergeant with Headquarters Company, 5th Marine Regiment. “This is training that they will be using on a day-to-day basis because you never know when the enemy will attack.”
For others who have yet to complete a combat tour, the training is another tool to carry in their toolbox.
“It helps get me in the right mindset for combat,” said Cpl. Davey L. Tucker, 23, from Virginia Beach, Va., and a section chief for Headquarters Co., 5th Marine Regiment. “By learning how to react to IED attacks, it keeps me calm, cool and collected.”
Tucker has kept close contact with Marines returning from Iraq and noted that everything he’s been taught by the veterans in regards to convoy operations is what he’s learning here.
“Battalions have come and gone to Iraq, and after hearing their stories, I feel ready to go,” said Tucker.
The size of the convoy plays an important role in the response of the Marines, as a convoy can be as large as more than 100 vehicles, said Cpl. Cole R. Young, 21, from Steelville, Ill., and a convoy operations instructor, 1st Marine Division Schools.
Young puts the Marines knowedge of convoy operations to the test in the field portion of their training where they actually go on a convoy and are ambushed by the enemy. He uses machine gun sound simulators as well as a mock IED which explodes mid convoy and cues the Marines response to the attack.
The students go through numerous drills and ride in vehicles equipped with mounted machine guns. Their M-16A2 service rifles are loaded with blanks. The Marines walk away from the course with a well-rounded understanding of their roles in a convoy.