Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point -- With storms encroaching on the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing’s military police company’s field exercise, the Marines were anything but discouraged.
“I hope it pours,” said 1st Sgt. Wilbur T. Amaker, the company first sergeant. “Maybe we can get a swim qualification out of this.”
Roughly 60 Marines from MP Co. conducted field training at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, May 4-6.
The training began with a humvee convoy from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point to Camp Lejeune at 5:30 a.m. May 4.
The exercise included military operations on urban terrain training from Camp Lejeune’s special reaction team, patrol training, and improvised explosive device training. The Marines lived in a bivouac area for the exercise, with two Marines to a tent.
The MOUT training occurred in a threadbare building that resembled a barn. But what awaited the Marines who entered were theoretical adversaries, threatening to strike in the maze of dark crevices and hallways within the structure.
“Our mission is to give these Marines more confidence in the fundamentals of clearing a structure,” said Sgt. Charles A. Walker, a military policeman with SRT, Camp Lejeune. “This is something they can carry over when they deploy.”
2nd MAW’s MP Co. is a field military police company and the first of its kind in the air wing. The Marines seemed to relish in the chance to learn from an expert squad like SRT.
“This is one of the only places as a military policeman where junior Marines, straight from occupational school, can get in the field and receive training from specialized unit teams,” said Cpl. Johnathan D. Finnsson, a military policeman with MP Co. “Now if any of us find ourselves in an urban combat environment, we are better prepared.”
MP Co.’s stubborn commitment to training makes it a force ready to deploy.
“We have a very good setup here,” said Sgt. Mark A. Edwards, the platoon sergeant for first platoon. “It’s to the credit of the command.”
Amaker said the Marines in command devote themselves to making sure their Marines grow as military policeman.
“These Marines may not realize it,” Amaker said, “but they have been evaluated since the moment we left Cherry Point.”