MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII -- Marines with Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, conducted an amphibious raid of Pyramid Rock Beach and trained with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, as they transitted the Pacific within the 13th MEU, Aug. 30, 2013.
Marines of Alpha Company, BLT 1st Bn., 4th Marines, a boat company, utilized the simulated raid to instruct the “Lava Dogs” on the employment of F470 Zodiac Combat Rubber Raiding Craft.
The simulated raid was an opportunity for the boat company Marines of BLT 1st Bn., 4th Marines, to demonstrate the purpose and capabilities of scout swimmers and boat teams in the scheme of operations for the 1st Bn., 3rd Marines while conducting a full-scale raid. This was the first time the “Lava Dogs” received this sort of hands-on training.
Once the scout swimmers of BLT 1st Bn., 4th Marines, landed, they conducted reconnaissance for possible enemy emplacements, secured the beach and conducted surf and weather reports for the follow on raid force.
“It’s our job to recon the beach for enemies and ensure there are no hazards like coral that could obstruct follow on forces,” said Cpl. Andre Kanicka, a scout swimmer with Alpha Co., BLT 1st Bn., 4th Marines. “What we survey determines a go or no-go status for the raid force.”
Scout swimmers used brightly-colored air panels and at night, infrared chemical lights to mark the landing zones for amphibious assault vehicles and landing craft, air cushion hover craft, according to Kanicka.
After the beach was secured, Bravo Co., BLT 1st Bn., 4th Marines, made landing in AAVs and attacked simulated enemy missile silos. Squads rushed to elevated positions, firing and maneuvering with blank ammunition and secured their objective points.
During the attack, boat company Marines rendezvoused with Alpha Co., 1st Bn., 3rd Marines, and held an informal period of military instruction about its equipment and mission.
“We’re preparing (1st Bn., 3rd Marines) to become a boat company,” said Lance Cpl. Zachary Meyer, a Naperville, Ill., native and rifleman with Alpha Co., BLT 1st Bn., 4th Marines. “We're giving them an introduction to boating with classes on basic nomenclature and getting them out in the surf to become accustomed to the CRRCs.”
The Marine Corps has returned to its amphibious roots and away from the desert climates of the Middle East with a “pivot” to the Pacific.
“Everything we do involves amphibious operations,” said Lance Cpl. Zachary Drew, a rifleman with Alpha Co., 1st Bn., 3rd Marines. “For us to do this (boat training) now is a huge change from being in the desert. We’re preparing to fight in a much different environment.”
Training like this is relevant, according to Drew, because it will serve him and his company well.
Receiving hands-on time with boating operations very early in the pre-deployment training cycle will prepare them to transition to boat and reconnaissance responsibilities as a company for future operations.
“I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie,” admitted Drew. “I really liked the hands-on training (1st Bn., 4th Marines) provided and riding in the surf straddling the boat was awesome.”