EVANGOLA STATE PARK, N.Y. --
EVANGOLA
STATE PARK, N.Y. – Along the salty shore of Lake Erie, the tide washed the
sands clean of boot prints left by Charlie Co., 1st Battalion, 25th Marine
Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, and members of the
Canadian Army Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, Wentworth Regiment, as they
conducted coordinated amphibious landings with the help of the full time naval
support staff in Buffalo, New York with the U.S. Navy Mid Atlantic Reserve
Component Command.
Exercise Lake Effect brought members
of the Marine Corps, Canadian Army and U.S. Navy together to conduct amphibious
landing, patrolling and patrol base operations.
“We have been looking for
opportunities to train with sister services in Canada, and in the past we did
winter training alongside the Canadian Army in Canada,” said Capt. James Bagg,
commanding officer of Charlie Co. “In an effort to reciprocate, we looked for
an opportunity to get them down here and train with us. So naturally, we looked
to train in patrolling and something in more of an amphibious nature. Given the
fact that our drill center is on Lake Erie, we were able to utilize the U.S.
Navy and set up a training exercise where we could conduct an amphibious
landing and a joint exercise where we could combine Canadian forces with
Marines and exercise the interoperability of both the Navy and Canadians with
the Marines.”
Marines are amphibious and known for
being the best at ship-to-shore combat with a resume that includes Iwo Jima,
Tinian, Guam and Saipan.
“As Marines we like to stick to our
roots as soldiers of the sea, but it is something we don’t get to train for a
lot,” said Bagg. “Luckily, we have the Navy here and if we have the
capabilities to do it then we are going to do it. Adding
an amphibious aspect to our training is something this company has not had the
opportunity to do, at least not in the last decade. Being able to expose our
Marines to what I believe really defines us as a Marine Corps, being
amphibious, it is important. Giving them the opportunity to see how amphibious
landings are actually conducted, then to get the chance to practice is really
worthwhile for the Marines, and our Canadian counterparts.”
During the training, the members of
the Canadian detachment attached to each platoon in Charlie Co., so that
everyone could build closer bonds and learn how each service does business.
“I was a squad leader, which is the
equivalent of a Canadian section leader, which is what I do back home,” said Canadian
Army Master Cpl. Ryan Vine, RHLI, Wentworth Regiment. “The Marine Corps team
leaders helped me out quite a bit because some of the doctrine is quite different
in the way we do things, I had a group of 10 guys and we moved within our
patrol area to take out the enemy forces while integrated with the Marines.”
Vine added that this exercise was
his third time training alongside Marines, each time learning something new.
“While we have a lot of similarities
in tactics, our kits and equipment are different,” said Vine. “We looked at the
pros and cons of what each other brought out to the field. We had stuff the
Marines were pretty surprised by. The Marines packed really light so they could
move quickly and at high speeds while we brought more equipment, so we were
surprised by how quickly they could get up and go.”
Exercise Lake Effect added to the
units’ overall readiness by being unscripted. Anything could happen for the
Marines and Canadians who were patrolling. Occasionally the platoons would run
into each other on patrol. When this happened, they became simulated enemies as
small combat and small unit tactics were deployed for a stronger since of
realism.
“Each platoon set up their own
patrol bases in different areas, from there we conducted combat patrols,
seeking out the other platoons and engaging them in simulated non-scripted combat,”
said Sgt. Keith Ramos, a rifleman with Charlie Co. “It was pretty much every
platoon for themselves. We conducted a variety of maneuvers such as combat,
security and reconnaissance patrols, and hasty ambushes when possible.”
While the Marines and Canadians
patrolled, the rain poured down adding to the difficulty of the exercise for
each service and a certain uncontrollable element of realism which could occur
in a real-life combat operation.
“I think it’s important that even
with the awful weather, the Marines really recognized the value of what we were
doing out there,” said Bagg. “It’s not easy to go on patrol in the middle of
the night, soaking wet, tired and freezing. But understanding that for the
limited time we are out there and that these could potentially be the sort of
circumstances they face in a combat situation, makes them more receptive to the
training, and that is what we are looking for and that is what led to the
success of this exercise.”
The long standing relationship
between Charlie Co. and the Canadian detachment has continued to improve. After
exercise Lake Effect, the Canadians have planned to invite the Marines to their
training grounds again to continue building on that relationship and ensuring
that should the need ever arise, the two services would be able to interact seamlessly
as one team in a hostile environment.