NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY NORTHWEST ANNEX, CHESAPEAKE, Va --
Naval Support Activity Northwest Annex, Chesapeake, Va. – Exercise Tartan Eagle 16 Phase II officially ended on Oct. 29. Marines and sailors from Marine Corps Security Force Battalions Kings Bay, Ga., and Bangor, Wa., Training Co., Marine Corps Security Force Regiment, partnered with their British counterparts from 43 Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines and spent the last two weeks training vigorously to learn and improve upon tactics in close-quarters battle, as well as form new bonds at Naval Support Activity Northwest Annex.
Tartan Eagle is an annual, two-phase exercise that began in 1994. Phase I of Exercise Tartan Eagle 16 took place in different locations throughout the U.K., with Marine Corps Security Forces members attending mountain survival training in the Scottish Highlands as well as training with the 43 FPGRM in close-quarters battle training at the North Umbria Tactical Training Center in England. Phase II brought the Royal Marines on U.S. soil, giving them a chance to train with their counterparts and exchange tactics and ideas at Training Company’s close-quarters battle facility in Chesapeake, Va.
“The last two weeks have been great. We have been doing a lot of stuff out here like shooting steel targets, different stress shoots and applying marksmanship principles in a tactical environment,” said Royal Marine Sgt. David Brodowicz, recapture tactics team troop sergeant, 43 FPGRM. “The Marines have been phenomenal, giving us advice on doing things in a close-quarters environment and we’ll be taking them back to the U.K. and see how we can implement them in our world.”
The primary mission of 43 FPGRM and MCSFB Bangor and Kings Bay is to protect high-value assets and it is important each unit trains to maintain readiness for whatever challenge they may face. By training together as a whole, the U.S. Marines and Royal Marines were able to exchange tactics and modify their standard operating procedures in order to create a more efficient fighting force.
Phase II consisted of two weeks of training. Week one focused on engaging shooting at static pop-up targets, moving while engaging multiple targets on the move, applying marksmanship principles and stress shooting which includes shooters sprinting to the firing line, fireman carrying another person and deadlifting weighted objects before shooting to increase the heart rate of the shooter.
The last day of week one had the Royal Marines participating in cultural studies at the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, as well as tackling The Basic School obstacle and endurance course at Marine Corps Base Quantico.
“The museum was great. I don’t know too much about the history of the Marine Corps before 1945. It was really interesting, the museum is well-put together and I learned a lot about the Marine Corps origins,” said Royal Marine Joshua Williams, 43 FPGRM. “After the museum, we did the obstacle course and endurance course; it was a good experience and I had fun.”
Week two built upon week one. Service members had to apply techniques they learned on the range to their training in Training Company’s shoot house. The first day consisted of dry runs, allowing the instructors to assess and inform the U.S. Marines and Royal Marines how they can integrate their different tactics of breaching doors and clearing a house. The second day, paint rounds were used and the U.S. Marines and Royal Marines had to clear the live-fire house of opposing forces using the identical paint rounds. The force-on-force simulation allowed participants to experience a more realistic way of training. The culminating event with the live-fire house was the incorporation of live rounds. Instructors observed each squad go into the house from a control room with multiple cameras, seeing what U.S. Marines and Royal Marines were doing and ensuring they executed proper house-clearing procedures as well as acting fast and assessing their targets in a timely manner.
“Being in different geographical locations, we have different threats presented to each of us and for the Royal Marines,” said Cpl. Kurtis Silvernale, RTT, MCSFB Kings Bay, Ga., MCSFR. “They have different tactics for their threats as well as their Marines using different tactics for our threats. By being able to combine the two, it allows us to be better for threat capabilities, it allows us to become more inept to handle different situations.”
Along with the training, this bilateral exercise allowed all units involved to work with different commands from the other side of the world.
“This training is important to 43 FPGRM and U.S. Marine for a number of reasons, mainly being the experience and exposure to working with other forces,” said Royal Marine Lt. Ryan Taylor, officer in command, 43 FPGRM. “More importantly, this training is about exposing recapture tactics teams from both forces to one another, learning about different SOPs and to get better at what we do.”
Not only does the training allow each side to exchange tactics and ideas, it allowed different units to share their experiences with one another, form friendships and build the camaraderie Tartan Eagle has been doing for the last 22 years.
“The Marines here are great, a lot of great personalities, we got to know each other quite well, but it’s good as well to just be able to exchange tactics and see things from a new perspective and be able to apply them back home,” said Williams, 43 FPGRM.
With Tartan Eagle 16’s completion, Marine Corps Security Forces and the 43 FPGRM have successfully continued an ongoing relationship between U.S. Marines and Royal Marines. With the knowledge these units have gained in the last two weeks, they can go back to their units and pass on their experiences from their time in Chesapeake.