HAWTHORNE ARMY WEAPONS DEPOT, Nev. -- Combat Engineer Platoon, Marine Wing Support Squadron 473 practiced urban breaching with live demolitions at Hawthorne Army Weapons Depot, Nev. June 17 during exercise Javelin Thrust 2010.
“As the battlefield changes into urban environments; cities and townships, gaining entry is vital for hostile situations,” said Gunnery Sgt. Jonathan Balbuena, the engineer operations chief.
“It’s part of our job to gain entry and clear rooms. That can mean getting the bad guys or saving the people inside the room.”
On the outer edge of a simulated combat town, the engineers constructed a seven foot wall with two doors and a window to be breached using precision demolition techniques.
“These are specific charges designed to breach that specific target using the least amount of explosive to gain entry,” explained Balbuena.
Two four-man fire teams each took turns breaching the doors and windows. The Marines used a donut charge to blow the door knob off one door, a water charge to blow a door out of the frame, and a window charge to blow the glass out of the window.
“Every demolition is different,” said 1st Lt. Steve Simmons, the platoon commander for Combat Engineer Platoon. “You have to determine the charge needed, place it in a certain area and then safely blow it up.”
An instructor watched as four Marines stacked up to breach.
The team consisted of a breacher, assistant breacher, mechanical breacher, and a fire team leader. The fire team leader designated the breacher, and then the breacher assigned individual tasks to the Marines in the team.
“Every team is going to be different,” explained Balbuena. “One team might have the breacher blow; another might have the A-breacher blow. They can mix and match inside their teams because the breacher controls the team.”
On a whistle blast from the instructor, the team walked to the wall, aiming their weapons in front of them. The mechanical breacher leading the line held a hooligan tool while he kept his weapon pointing forward. The fire team leader behind him carried a kevlar blanket over his left shoulder and his rifle in his right shoulder.
Once they reached the wall, the mechanical breacher walked to the door and pace counted five steps for the Marines to safely position themselves away from the blast.
“As the front man, I don’t want to miscount my steps and suddenly, we’re too close to the explosion,” said Lance Cpl. Jonathan Edward, a Denton, Texas native and college student.
After getting the proper count, he and the fire team leader unrolled the blanket and held it up. They pressed the bottom of the blanket to the ground by stepping on it. The team kept their helmets under the height of the blanket with their faces down and knees bent to provide stability.
“You’re just trying to make sure you’re as safe as possible, staying tight and making sure all your teammates are covered under the blanket so you’re not getting fragmented or injured,” said 1st Lt. Carlos Munoz, a Fresno, Calif. native.
On two whistle blasts from the instructor, the breacher and assistant breacher moved from the back with their weapons slung to their sides to go place a charge on the door. The assistant breacher helped paste the charges to the door, then returned to the stack. The breacher wired the charge to the detonator and returned to the wall.
The Marines moved the blanket closer to the wall and squeezed in tight behind the blanket.
On three whistle blasts, the instructor asked, “Breacher, do you have control?”
The breacher replied, “Roger, I have control.”
The breacher counted down, “Standby, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1”
Booom! A fiery, bright yellow ball of fire flashed as pieces of the wooden door blasted in the air, blown out of its frame by a water charge. The Marines stood behind the kevlar blanket, which reduced the impact of the shockwave from the explosion.
“Breach! Breach! Breach,” shouted the breacher.
The fire team leader and the mechanical breacher in the front dropped the blanket and hooligan tool and moved to clear the room. With his rifle pointing forward, the fire team leader walked into the room as if he were anticipating hostiles, then shifted to the right side to clear it. The mechanical breacher button hooked behind him and cleared the left side and overhead.
The team extracted and prepared to blow another door with the purpose of gaining more confidence as the repetitions increased.
“Building confidence takes a lot of rehearsals, a lot of working with the team, getting good instruction, and then practical application,” said Balbuena. “Repetitiveness is what’s going to build confidence. Confidence is half the battle.”
Each fire team practiced breaching with different explosives several times. At the end, the Marines executed the breach in less time and with less guidance from the instructor.
“It’s good practice because we gain muscle memory,” said Munoz. “My confidence grew exponentially, just handling the different devices. It’s not going to explode just because you breathe on it.”
With proficiency in their skill, combat engineers can support any aspect of the Marine Air Ground Task Force from infantry to aviation.
The explosive training was conducted as part of exercise Javelin Thrust 2010.
Javelin Thrust is an annual exercise conducted by MARFORRES in several different locations in the Southwest. This year, more than 4,500 Marines from ground combat, logistical and air wing units are participating in the training, which resembles a Marine Air Ground Task Force operating in Afghanistan, in terms of both terrain and mission objectives.