Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune --
Marines and sailors with 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine
Division conducted a field exercise called Operation Firestorm in order to
prepare for their upcoming exercise, Rolling Thunder, at Camp Lejeune, N.C.,
Sep. 14-18, 2015.
“The main focus for Operation Firestorm is to get the
regiment out into the field and knock the dirt off the gear, get all of the
communications checks and operations checks and make sure that we’re ready for
Rolling Thunder coming up next month,” said Master Sgt. Justin Mingie,
logistics chief for 10th Marines.
The regiment set up their campground in a similar layout for
Rolling Thunder in order to see how communications will be set up and
functioning for the exercise. Rolling Thunder, one of the regiment’s largest
exercises, is an exercise to integrate every capability of an artillery
regiment, such as the logistics side and the firing side, in a different
environment.
“This is pretty much like an actor before they do a show,
they do a dry run or a dress rehearsal. This is kind of our dry run or dress
rehearsal,” said Lance Cpl. Gabriel Morris, an intelligence specialist with 1st
Bn., 10th Marines. “We’re making sure everything works the way it’s supposed to
so when we get out there and we need to perform and complete the mission that
we’re supposed to, we won’t have any hiccups or anything that we’re not
prepared for.”
Ensuring that the ‘dress rehearsal’ went well, the regiment
conducted multiple radio checks and calls-for-fire, along with mapping out
different targets and calling them in to the fire direction center.
Morris said that this exercise ensures that each artillery
battery is ready to push out whenever they need to and that the supporting
units are able to do their jobs when the regiment gets to Fort Bragg for
Rolling Thunder.
Likewise, Mingie said that this is a vital operation to
prepare for the exercise and that Marines are always striving to be more
proficient so by training now, next month’s exercise will be better executed.
“Ultimately this prepares us for Rolling Thunder, first off,
by getting the Marines in that mental mindset that…we are a ground combat
element and we don’t always get the chance to go out in the field and do
operations like this,” Mingie said. “By doing things like this it gets them out
of their normal day-to-day routine and gets them ready for potentially what may
come in the future. “