COVENAS, Colombia -- While the majority of Marine Forces Unitas was sweating it out during jungle warfare training at the Counter-Guerilla School here, Aug. 26-30, a handful of Marines from Weapons Platoon were sharing their "tricks of the trade" with Colombian Marines and Naval Academy Cadets.
Throughout the week, the U.S. Marines not only taught the Colombians how to fire both the M-249 squad automatic weapon and the M-240G machinegun-integral parts of any U.S. Marine infantry unit-but they also showed them how to effectively use the weapons as an effective means of firepower.
"I really get the feeling that the Colombians are going to benefit from the training we gave them," said Cpl. Richard Meehan, a reserve Marine from Arlington Heights, Ill., who provided instruction on both weapons. "When we were explaining how we employ the guns, many of them seemed surprised; it was all new to them."
According to Meehan, the Colombians generally only attach one machine gunner to a platoon, while U.S. Marines use pairs. The use of more than one gun enables infantry Marines to utilize effective interlocking fields of fire.
In addition to learning different techniques, it was the first time many of the Colombians had seen the M-249 and M-240G, let alone fire them.
According to Colombian Cadet Jorge Raos, from Medellin, Colombia, they still use the M-60 machinegun, which the U.S. Marines replaced with the M-240G in the mid-1990's. Raos was genuinely enthused about the training he received.
"This was very good training for the Colombian Marines," said Raos. "We really needed to learn these techniques. I hope we get to participate in Unitas every year with the U.S. Marines. This has been a good experience for me and all Colombian Marines."
Raos especially liked firing the M-249 SAW, which at 22 lbs., when loaded, is much lighter than the M-60.
The U.S. Marines were equally as happy with the training exercise.
"It was very gratifying to help them; an honor to work with them," said Meehan. "They were very professional. Hopefully they will be able to take what they learned and be able to put it to use. I really wish them the best of luck."
With the training in Colombia now behind them, the Marines of MARFOR Unitas look forward to sharing their knowledge with the military forces of several other South American countries, to include Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. They are scheduled to return to Camp Lejeune, N.C., in early December.