Knock, Knock Marines gain access the hard way

[thedrifter]

Knock, Knock
Marines gain access the hard way
Submitted by: MCB Quantico
Story Identification Number: 2003116125748
Story by Lance Cpl. J. Agg



MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. (Nov. 6, 2003) -- Whether the avenue of approach is through a window, door, roof or reinforced concrete wall, speed, shock and violence of action is among the first lessons taught at Weapons Training Battalion's Dynamic Entry School where up to 48 Marines each year are trained in the art of urban breaching.

The 10-day Dynamic Entry Basic Course is offered four times annually to teach Marines from the fields of explosive ordinance disposal, force reconnaissance, security forces and military police special response teams how to gain access to the bad guys.

Staff Sgt. Todd Corbin, an EOD technician and Dynamic Entry School instructor, says Marines who attend the basic course take away critical skills when they return to their units.

"[Students] leave with the ability to enter a room with a maximum amount of violence and a minimum amount of collateral damage," said Corbin.

Corbin and his colleagues teach manual entry into a structure using an individual or two-man battering ram, crowbar, sledgehammer, and the "hooligan tool," a carryover from firefighting similar to a crowbar. When more force is necessary, students learn to employ a shotgun with breaching rounds or to set and detonate explosive charges. For steel-reinforced concrete walls, students learn to burn through rebar using an exothermic torch.

"This is the best job in the world," said Corbin. "I get to blow [things] up for a living, and they pay me to do it."

While learning to properly handle and employ explosives is a popular part of the course curriculum with students, it is also the most dangerous and requires the most training.

"Explosive breaching is our bread and butter," said Chief Warrant Officer-5 Eugene M. Klabenes, Dynamic Entry School officer-in-charge. "It is the most hazardous subject and takes the most time to learn."

Before detonating their first explosive charge, students learn the fundamentals of blast-related chemical poisoning, thermal effects, fragmentation and secondary fragmentation, and blast effects on the human body.

Sgt. Joseph Hockett, an EOD technician with the 2nd Force Service Support Group, recently returned from combat operations in Iraq, and says the skills he is learning in the Dynamic Entry Basic Course will serve him well during his next Middle East deployment.

"By completing this course, we bring an advanced breaching capability to the battalion landing team, giving the grunts better capabilities and making us better assets," said Hockett. "It's a good course. I'm learning a lot [that] would have come in handy in Iraq."

Quantico Provost Marshal Office Special Response Team member Sgt. David Wheeler completed the basic course in May 2002, and found the training to be a rewarding experience.

"[The basic course] was the most challenging course I've ever taken in the Marine Corps. I came back feeling like I really learned something," said Wheeler. "It's a very exciting course to be in, very fast-paced. You can't just squeak by; you really have to commit yourself."

Wheeler hopes to work for the Fairfax County Police Department following his commitment to the Marine Corps, and believes his training at the Dynamic Entry School will prove to be an asset in his civilian law enforcement career. "Breaching school is looked upon very highly on the civilian side," said Wheeler.



Cpl. Jose Leos employs a one-man battering ram to force open a door during a Dynamic Entry School Basic Course practical application exercise. Photo by: Lance Cpl. J. Agg

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

Sempers,

Roger