Marine Corps Logisitcs Base ALBANY Ga. -- Deep in the woods at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, nearly 50 noncommissioned officers assigned to Headquarters Group East, Marine Corps Logistics Command, took part in basic Marine tactics in a simulated jungle terrain, Jan. 12.
“The professional military education exercises are about challenging the NCOs by giving them physical and mental obstacles at different stations in a set-up we call Ronald McDonald land,” 1st Sgt. Javier Duarte, acting sergeant major, Maintenance Center Albany, said.
The Marines marched in teams of four, wearing ghillie suits and camouflage, to a remote location in one of the wooded training areas here.
Upon arrival, they were given instructions on what to do at each area set up for them to maneuver through.
“The stations included assembling and disassembling an M240 Golf machine gun, constructing a make-shift bridge and getting across it without touching the water and a combat life-saving course,” Duarte said.
The other three stations consisted of the Kim’s game, designed to develop a person’s capacity to observe and remember details; an ambush, causing Marines to utilize Marine Corps Martial Arts Program tactics and working together as a team to cross the final obstacle, according to Duarte.
“The culminating exercise is by far the most intensive and physical,” he said. “The Marines are now exhausted, having walked more than 20 miles at this point, and will brief their leader about what they have seen and the type of terrain they have walked through. “The Marines will then cross into the danger area, armed with paint ball guns, where the enemy is hiding,” Duarte added. “They must engage and destroy the enemy and continue on to their next mission where one of them will become a casualty.”
Duarte noted the ultimate goal of this training is for the NCOs to continue this legacy by training their Marines and to sharpen the tools and skills they already have. Sgt. Benito Hijar, musician, Albany Marine Band, said even though he was mentally and physically exhausted, the event was fun and it gave the Marines an opportunity to do some field training they don’t normally get to do.