POHAKULOA TRAINING AREA, Hawaii -- Sharp lava rocks, dense brush and rough hills weren’t enough to stop the Marines of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, from successfully assaulting a simulated enemy compound July 9.
The sunset attack on the makeshift forward operating base was the culmination of five days of training for Bravo Company, 3rd Marine Regiment’s Combat Assault Company and Amphibious Assault Vehicle Platoon, focused on teaching the Marines to integrate with tactical vehicles to become a mechanized infantry unit.
Since July 5, they learned how to mount and use amphibious assault vehicles from 3rd Marine Regiment maneuvering within Pohakuloa Training Area to move around the battlefield and incorporate the vehicle’s higher firepower into their attack plans.
“Since we’re the [battalion’s] designated mech company, we really wanted to get training in with the AAVs and they did a great job with that,” said 2nd Lt. Paul Trower, platoon commander, 2nd Platoon. “It really helps the Marines because they learn a great deal about fire and maneuver, rather than just fire and movement.”
Unfortunately for Bravo, the AAVs they used were unavailable for the assault exercise July 9. The Marines instead loaded into 7-ton trucks, drove to a concealed area near the compound, and dismounted their trucks to proceed on foot.
“For the movement there, we wanted to be as concealed as possible and have support by fire from the rest of our platoon so we could move with fire to the objective,” said Cpl. Chace Wallsch, 2nd Squad leader, 1st Platoon, whose Marines served as the assault element of the attack. “Moving over the terrain to get to the objective area was very difficult,” Wallsch said. “There was a lot of sharp lava rock and really thick brush everywhere as we pushed. We wanted to move quickly and quietly and the terrain made that difficult. [The terrain] disorients you sometimes and is overall just hard to move in.”
As 1st Platoon traversed a small ridgeline overlooking the enemy compound, they readied themselves for the attack. With supporting fire from 2nd Platoon, Wallsch’s Marines and other 1st Platoon squads bounded down the hill and across a road to the compound’s outer wall.
Wallsch’s squad took point and made their way along the wall toward a fortified bunker area. As fast as his first fire team had moved there, they were struck down by simulated roadside bomb. “Our first team went down after being hit by an improvised explosive device, and that’s tough when one third of your squad is down,” Wallsch said. “We’re seeing a lot of landmines and [roadside bombs] in Afghanistan right now, so it’s a good lesson for us.”
Another hard-learned lesson for Wallsch was when one of his Marines, Lance Cpl. Danny Martinez, suddenly went missing with only his flak jacket and helmet left behind after clearing a path through concertina wire for a casualty evacuation vehicle to move into the compound. Second squad quickly learned their first sergeant was behind the disappearance, simulating a kidnapping by enemy forces when Martinez had moved away from his squad.
“Right now we have an American missing in Afghanistan,” said 1st Sgt. Sean Greenleaf, Bravo Company’s first sergeant, relating the situation to his Marines. “This could be a Marine on your left or right whose parents have to see him on Al-Jazeera.”
Although Wallsch didn’t hear the first sergeant’s comments, he said the incident did hit home for him.
“When we lost Martinez, it was very real for me,” Wallsch said. “I didn’t know the first sergeant had done that, so I thought he may have actually gotten lost or something crazy like that. When I found out it was a scenario, I was relieved, but it made it real for me. “I realized how focused Marines can get on the attack and the enemy, and we want to go balls-to-the-wall, but in doing that we sometimes can forget about the Marines to our left and right and that’s horrible,” Wallsch said. “It was a lesson to all of my Marines out there last night.”
After Bravo Company secured the compound and flushed the remaining enemy forces from the area, they donned their packs, gear and weapons, and marched nearly four miles back to PTA’s main camp to clean themselves up and enjoy a full night’s rest.