MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- Marine team leaders and squad leaders from 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, participated in the Combat Hunter Course here Jan. 7-11. They were the first Marines to participate in the training at Camp Lejeune.
“We are teaching Marines to detect improvised explosive devices and sniper threats,” said Gunnery Sgt. Ben Alicea, a senior instructor with Mobile Training Cadre 1, Advanced Infantry Training Company, School of Infantry East.
“Combat Hunter is designed to increase the lethality of a unit during operations through enhanced observation, profiling and tracking skills,” Alicea explained.
The first week consisted of observation and profile training. Marines learned how to properly use night and day observation devices such as night vision goggles, weapon sights, binoculars and a thermal optic device. Marines practiced their skills of observation through memory drills called Kim’s games.
“These games are ongoing throughout the exercise,” Alicea said. “We can’t expect to expand a Marine’s retention skills from one class, so we do it repeatedly.”
Kim’s games were a continuous part of the training. The Marines worked to remember signs of enemy activity for later reporting, while using combat profiling to recognize those signs.
“We can now put optics to use properly and I know what I’m doing when I’m profiling someone,” said Lance Cpl. Anthony Smith, a team leader with Company F.
The Marines’ jobs were to observe and distinguish between threatening individuals and benign bystanders. The devil dogs learned a great deal about the Iraqi role players by watching from a distance.
“I can tell if someone is mad or happy by body language,” Smith said. “I can tell if someone knows another person by their reactions when meeting.”
Marines learned through Cooper’s Color Code that recognizing threatening actions and staying vigilant can save lives. The code consists of five different levels of situational awareness represented by colors.
“The color code explains to Marines what their bodies will go through as they reach different levels of awareness,” Alicea said. “If a Marine isn’t properly trained, he could go into condition black. In this condition he wouldn’t be able to immediately react due to fear.”
According to the course, a combat hunter should always be in condition yellow. This condition means there are no initial threats, but the individual is generally alert and aware of the surroundings.
“I would say I’m condition yellow with Cooper’s Color code in everyday life,” Smith said. “I can see things an average person normally wouldn’t, like a new flower pot outside the chow hall.”
The second week of training consists of combat tracking. Marines employ tracking teams during the training, use dynamics of a footprint or recognize action-indicators to eventually link an insurgent to a crime committed, or a crime in progress.
“The Marines will usually detect an insurgent prior to an incident because his activities will give him away,” Alicea said. “The Marines learn what activities to look for and that is how it’s narrowed down.”
The battalion will not participate in the second week of training due to other exercises in preparation for their deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Participants had nothing but good things to say about the course, except they wished the entire battalion could participate.
“The course is by far the most valuable information I’ve received in the Marine Corps,” said Lance Cpl. Allen Roden, a team leader with Company F. “If my squad could go through the course, we could be so much more efficient and effective.”
The Combat Hunter Course provides up to date training techniques to suit the ever changing War on Terrorism. These Marines are becoming more aware of the enemy’s tactics and strategies, ensuring a safer deployment for their brothers in arms and mission accomplishment.