Task Force Leatherneck takes 'great first step' toward
Afghan mission
4/6/2009 By Cpl. Aaron Rooks, 2nd MEB
 MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - The atmosphere inside
the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade Command Operations Center
was calm March 31, but something just wasn't right.
The Marines and sailors inside were working calmly, gazing
into their computer screens, listening for information. Yet a
sense of urgency still permeated the area.
The silent tension was present because, less than five minutes
earlier, the Marines and sailors received word that a
mass-casualty event occurred when a suicide bomber drove a
vehicle into a provincial district center in southern
Afghanistan. That was all the information they had. They
didn't know who or how many were affected.
Then, unexpectedly, a commanding voice halted everyone and
everything inside the operations center.
"Attention in the C-O-C!" said Maj. Byron Lawson, one of the
brigade's senior watch officers. "We are now receiving reports
that 17 were killed and 58 were wounded in the district center
explosion. Medical, what are we doing?"
"We are currently in contact with Regional Command (South) to
medically evacuate the injured," responded Navy Senior Chief
Petty Officer Shannon Dittlinger, brigade Patient Evacuation
and Tracking watch officer.
"Were any Marines involved?" Lawson asked.
"No, they were all local Afghan nationals and Afghan
military," Dittlinger answered.
Lawson then turned to the ground watch officer, 1st Lt. Joshua
Pogue, to determine if a quick reaction force was available to
move to the district center.
"What do we have available?" Lawson asked.
"Second Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment is in the area and will
provide a QRF, sir," Pogue responded.
The brigade then added the mass-casualty event to the long
list of incidents that day. They had already dealt with small
arms, indirect fire and improvised explosive device attacks,
an escalation of force incident, a vehicle accident and two
complex ambushes, one of which involved a search for a missing
Marine.
These scenarios, including others the brigade's Command
Element faced during the 2nd MEB Mission Rehearsal Exercise
from March 29 to April 1, were all fictitious. But the
scenarios featured in the MRX represent real events that could
occur while 2nd MEB, nicknamed Task Force Leatherneck, is
deployed to Afghanistan this spring, which raises the
question: is the brigade prepared?
"This was a great first step for us, but it was only a first
step," said Lt. Col. Jay Bargeron, brigade current operations
officer. "The next time we get to do this, we will be in
Afghanistan. But from the teamwork and discipline that the
C-O-C team demonstrated this week, I have no doubt that they
will be ready the first day of operations."
"The battle drills were designed to be challenging," Bargeron
said. "If you get complacent, the people more forward deployed
than you are going to pay for it."
Lt. Col. John Barnett, command element trainer, Marine Air
Ground Task Force Branch, MAGTF Staff Training Program, said
the purpose of the exercise is to train and prepare Marines
and sailors in the brigade Command Element for the operations
they will be conducting in Afghanistan.
Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, 2nd MEB commanding general, voiced
his confidence in the unit's progress during the MRX.
Nicholson said the Marines and sailors must not let go of that
momentum, as the next time they meet, they will be working
together in Afghanistan.
"We are hopefully the last ‘in extremis' MAGTF to be formed
for Afghanistan," said Nicholson. "Task Force Leatherneck has
been formed, manned, trained, equipped and (sent) out the door
in about 75 days. My hat is off to every Marine and sailor in
this organization and to all the folks across the Marine Corps
who have enabled us to pull this off."
Maj. Tom Clinton, the brigade's other senior watch officer,
said the MRX was a valuable learning experience for everyone.
"You have to be vigilant," said Clinton, who, along with
Lawson, is responsible for the orderly and effective
operations of the C-O-C. "We manage the battle space. We are
always overseeing every aspect of the MEB. There's a
tremendous amount of information to process at one time, with
a very small amount of time to do so."
Clinton said the success of the C-O-C came down to how they
performed as a team. Through every scenario, in most cases,
everyone was involved in some way.
Scenarios begin with the senior watch officers, then work
their way down to from engineers and counter-IED Marines to
the Civil Affairs Group, Staff Judge Advocate and
communication network specialists.
And everyone agreed that the experience working as a team was
the most crucial advantage gained.
British Army Brigadier James Cowan, who will assume command of
Task Force Helmand later this year, visited the brigade during
the exercise to meet the command staff he will be working with
while in Afghanistan. While here, he was able to see the
Marines and sailors in action, and stated that he left
confident in the "joint" mission awaiting them in Afghanistan,
where Task Force Leatherneck will work in close coordination
with Task Force Helmand.
"What I like about the Marines is their tight-knit, family
attitude," Cowan said. "I feel that had a lot to do with their
success in Iraq's Al Anbar Province, and I believe they will
be able to apply that same success to Afghanistan." |
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