Marines learn the ropes with ROK Marines

[thedrifter]

Marines learn the ropes with ROK Marines
Submitted by: MCB Camp Butler
Story Identification Number: 20031029212926
Story by Sgt. Danny L. Patterson



KIMPO, Republic of Korea(October 12, 2003) -- Marines from 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, currently attached to 4th Marine Regiment on the Unit Deployment Program, recently deployed to the Republic of Korea to participate in Korea Integrated Training Program 04-1.

During their deployment, one training opportunity the Marines participated in was a mountain warfare package at the Mountain Warfare Training Center owned by the 2nd ROK Marine Division here.

The package consisted of four training days and included two days of rope tying, obstacle courses and rappelling. The other two training days consisted of mountain patrols and offensive and defensive positions on the mountain terrain.

According to Sgt. Chris K. Anderson, rifleman for C Company, 1/3, the training gave the Marines an opportunity to participate in training they didn't usually do.

"Training in the mountainous terrain is somewhat different to what we are used to," the Chico, Calif., native said. "Even if we knew how to tie certain knots, we were able to learn the ways the ROK Marines tie knots."

Each morning began with a strenuous physical training (PT) session led by the ROK Marines. Even though Marines are known for their strength and abilities, they said it was difficult and tiring.

After PT, the Marines geared up and set out for their first day of rope training. They learned how to tie basic knots first and then moved on to the advanced. By the end of the class they were able to tie a harness they could use for many activities such as rappelling and rock climbing.

When everyone was confident enough to tie the knots, they began tackling the obstacles one-by-one. Climbing rocks, traveling across numerous rope bridges and rappelling took its toll on most of the Marines, but all were proud they finished each obstacle and learned something new.

"Most people don't know exactly which muscles they need to build," Anderson said. "Going through these obstacles was a reality check for most and let the Marines know exactly what they need to work on."

During the other two days of training, the Marines set out to use their basic infantry skills on the mountainous terrain. Although much like the jungles they were used to, they still learned a lot from the experience.

"One of the main things we learned was communication," 1st Lt. Matt R. Mueller, 2nd Platoon commander, C Company, 1/3 said. "A lot of the hand and arm signals the ROK Marines use is different than ours."

While the Marines were doing their ropes portion of the mountain package, each day ended with an intense soccer game against the ROK Marines. Each company that went out to the center had fierce competition against the ROK Marines.

"The course was both mentally and physically rewarding because it takes a lot of endurance to deal with the obstacles the ROK Marines threw at us, but each Marine had fun and learned from the experience," Anderson said.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn20...0?opendocument


Sempers,

Roger