Marine Corps Base Hawaii

MARINE CORPS MOUNTAIN WARFARE TRAINING CENTER, Calif. -- Pfc. Rich Mattingly3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment Public AffairsMARINE CORPS MOUNTAIN WARFARE TRAINING CENTER, Bridgeport, Calif. – Ascending to a lung-straining elevation of more than 10 thousand feet to Landing Zone Penguin, “America’s Battalion” set up camp and set in defense as part of a field-training scenario last week. With the entire 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment setting up for business in a single scenario, none of the Marines seemed to mind the extra breaths the thin air required. “I’m pretty amped to be out here,” said Pfc. Justin Bennett, a Weapons Company81mm mortarman. “It’s cool to be able to put what we’ve been doing into practice,” said the dark-haired Panama City Beach, Fla. native, never taking eyes off his field of fire. In this particular scenario, the Marines were watching five mountain trails into an area representing the Pakistan-Afghani border. Intelligence reports had suggested anti-coalition forces might be smuggling weapons across the border, setting up caches where hostile forces might later retrieve them. But it wasn’t only the ever-watchful Marines on patrol who got to put some new skills to the test. “I’m out here monitoring the water supply and making sure my Marines are okay,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Daniel Bookwalter, 3/3 hospital corpsman, hopping from rock to rock over a frigid mountain stream. “It’s helping keep me busy, and I can keep good track of everyone in the cold weather if I keep moving.” In the early morning light on the second day of the FEX a page directly from the Small Wars Manual, a sixty-year-old Marine Corps Publication that retains a fierce devotion for its timeless insights into military operations other than war, was brought to life. The Marines braved the frosted morning to load a team of four mules with enough meals ready to eat and water to re-supply an entire infantry line company. “We’re actually using a lot of pack animals over in Afghanistan right now,” said Staff Sgt. Gil Sandoval, head wrangler, Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, Calif. The former sniper explained Marines will have to learn how to purchase and handle local animals once they got in country. “Part of learning about animal packing is learning how to improvise,” said Sandoval. “You never know exactly what you might run into – you might have to pack a camel or other animal you weren’t expecting to use.” The mules, amenable enough to being loaded with up to one-third of their own body weight (often upward of 300 pounds a load), didn’t always go just where they were supposed to, giving the Marines a difficult time maneuvering. Commenting on the mules’ tenacity, Gunnery Sgt. O. Russell Lucas, motor-transport chief 3/3, compared his equine charges with some of his two-legged workers. “It’s just like working with Marines. They’re difficult and stubborn, but they get the job done every time,” said Lucas. America’s Battalion plans to end its pre-deployment package with a battalion-level movement, simulating another real-world scenario.