KANSAS RANGE, WESTERN CORRIDOR, Republic of Korea -- The average service support Marine or Sailor may spend years in the military without ever experiencing any special weapons training other than the M16A2 service rifle, mainly due to timing and the nature of military occupational specialties.
In an effort to widen the spectrum of their personnel's experiences, Combat Service Support Groups 77 and 33, from Hawaii and Okinawa, Japan, sent more than 90 Marines and Sailors to live M67 grenade training here, March 22 - 23.
"Training like this gives our Marines an opportunity to experience using grenades, which does not happen very often," said Gunnery Sgt. Daniel Montano, operations chief for CSSD-77. "In this day and time, with current events as they are, it doesn't matter if a Marine is in the rear or on the frontline. He will experience combat at some point.
"So, we want to expose them to this type of training as often as possible to prepare them for those situations," Montano continued.
Before the Marines and Sailors could throw any live grenades, they were required to complete six different training stations using practice grenades filled with only the detonation fuse. Although the practice grenades did not explode, they still made a satisfying pop, followed by a puff of smoke, giving the Marines and Sailors a small taste of what was to come.
The first of the six practice targets was used to measure the throwing ability of the service member.
The service member was required to throw the grenade a set distance from the training pit for safety reasons. Once all successfully threw two grenades past that point, they moved on to the rest of the targets.
Marines and Sailors learned how to aim their grenades for a window of a building, and how to toss them into fighting holes and trenches. They also learned how to take out a bunker or disable a vehicle with the grenades.
"Most of these Marines and Sailors have not gotten to work with live grenades since training camp, because they are not in the infantry," said Montano. "So, when this chance came up, we made sure everyone had a chance - from cooks and drivers, to supply clerks and corpsmen. We wanted to expose them to what they may face in future missions."
After all the preparatory training was completed, each service member threw at least two live grenades into the firing pit. Many Marines and Sailors found it so enjoyable that they stepped back in line to throw again. By the end of the day, more than 250 live grenades had been expended.
"This training was a lot of fun, and was a good break from the mundane responsibilities we have back at base," said Cpl. Byron Walters, a postal clerk from Headquarters Bn., MCB Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay. "I took as many turns as I could. It's comforting to know that if we are ever in a combat situation, we have more training under our belt than just the M16."