KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- Standing
at the edge of the open ramp on an MC-130J Commando II, 13,000 feet above their
target with the cold wind whipping through the aircraft, they wait for the
green light and the aircraft’s loadmaster to give the go sign allowing them to
jump from the ramp and parachute in to take their target.
August
23-27, the 353rd Special Operations Group along with the III Marine
Expeditionary Force, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, Force Reconnaissance
Platoon conducted an airfield seizure operations exercise at Wake Island.
“The
320th and the Force Reconnaissance Platoon conducted this training to build
interoperability between our two units,” said Capt. Dunn, 320th Special
Tactics Squadron special tactics officer. “It enabled us to identify better ways
to work together and ensure we are able to execute a joint mission as smoothly
as possible when the time comes.”
The
mission of the exercise was for the Jump Clearing Teams (JCT), consisting of a
small team of Special Tactics Airmen and the Force Reconnaissance Marines, to
jump onto Wake Island, seize the airfield and provide air traffic control
allowing an MC-130J Commando II from the 17th Special Operations Squadron to
land.
“This
exercise is important for a couple reasons,” said Dunn. “It allowed our team to
conduct a military freefall jump onto an unmarked, uncontrolled drop zone
located on a small, geographically-isolated island. It is essential that we
maintain this capability because it most closely replicates what a real world
military freefall mission might look like.”
The
realistic training of the operations conducted allowed the units to address any
issues before taking on any real world tasking.
“The
entire force learned how we can better execute a time-sensitive tasking to
deploy and perform an airfield seizure, primarily what’s required for
coordination between all the ground and air players,” said Dunn. “Working with
outside units in training often highlights interoperability issues and allows
us to address them before real world tasking come down.”
Both
the Airmen and Marines were able to take a lot away from the training and
discover what they can do better together in the future.
“Working
with the 31st MEU Force Reconnaissance Platoon is always a rewarding experience,”
added Dunn. “Their professionalism and high-level of technical proficiency
allows the 320th and the Marines to work well together every time we conduct
joint training.”
Increasing
interoperability with our joint partners during training exercises is essential
for real world success.
"Force
Reconnaissance and Special Tactics units pair extremely well.” said Capt.
Joshua J. Chambers, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit Force Reconnaissance Platoon
commander. “The training event was an excellent opportunity to showcase the
enhanced capabilities of our units when we team together. I greatly
enjoyed working with the 320th Special Tactics Squadron, and I hope this is one
of many future joint training exercises between Force Reconnaissance Marines
and Special Tactics Airmen."