MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — Shockwaves from M67 fragmentation hand grenades shock the battlefield as Marines with 2nd Law Enforcement Battalion prepare for an integrated training exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, February 9, 2017. The unit participated in a three-stage exercise to familiarize themselves with grenades.
“Today we are doing a grenade range, familiarizing the Marines [on dummy grenades] and going on to the assault course in preparation for the live grenade drill,” said 2nd Lt. Steven A. Catadella.
This type of training prepares the Marines for the upcoming ITX 3-17 at Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center Twenty-Nine Palms, California, to educate the Marines on the logistics and element of a Marine Air-Ground Task Force, according to Catadella.
The first stage of the exercise consisted of practicing with dummy grenades. Marines used blue-body colored dummy grenades and threw them at simulated enemy mortar positions. During the second stage, Marines buddy rushed to a notional enemy mortar location and used dummy grenades to destroy the mortars. At the final stage, Marines use live M67 hand grenades and threw them over a bunker to observe the damage of the actual live grenade.
Sgt. Justin Wright, a military police Marine with the unit, said that being out here in the field instead of an office increases unit cohesion and prepares the Marines for upcoming exercises. Keeping a combat mindset is always a priority regardless of military occupational specialty and we to have maintain a high level of combat readiness.
The unit is expected to travel to MCAGCC Twentynine Palms for ITX in the spring.
By Lance Cpl. Juan A. Soto-Delgado
