MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- The Chilean Marines got a crash course on modern artillery technology from the Marines of Fox Battery, 10th Marine Regiment at Observation Post 2 here today.
The Marines taught the Chileans how to operate and use the pocket-sized forward entry device and the Viper laser range fire binoculars, which makes for a more accurate and precise targeting system.
According to 2nd Lt. Michael Meyers, 27, the Fox Battery liaison officer, the main goal was to see how they conduct artillery missions and compare it to how American Marines conduct them.
The Chileans were given the opportunity to plot a grid, call it in on the radio, call in for fires to drop arty rounds and use modern technology to do it.
“We wanted to conduct as many different missions as possible and get the Chileans involved. There really wasn’t that much of a difference in our systems of conducting these missions, just the technology we use,” Meyers, a Long Island, N.Y., native explained.
Marines also taught the Chileans how to plot a safety box, which is an area that has been designated an impact area, and they can only fire into the confines of that area.
“The Chileans don’t conduct safety boxes, so it was good for us to show them how we do things a little differently than they do,” Meyers said.
“They caught on really easily on how to make a safety box and how to use our equipment. It was interesting to see how similar our way of doing things is,” explained Sgt. Luis Garza, 21, from Edcouch-Elsa, Texas.
Mainly familiar to plotting their missions and fires manually, the Chileans enjoyed their opportunity to use the advanced technology of modern day artillery.
“The only real difference in the way we do things is the technology. We’ve never seen it, but so far we like it,” explained Chilean Marine Staff Sgt. Claudio Campillay, 33, from Arica, Chile.
As the camaraderie and training continues between the Chilean and U.S. Marines, they learn more and more about each other’s culture and military tactics and today was an example of the similarities of both groups of Marines.
“Everything out here is going well, we’ve discovered that we have more in common in the way we do things than we thought,” explained Garza.