Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND
“I will keep them on their feet, so I’ll pull one of them out from a crowd and have them help me demonstrate something I explained. By the way they do it, I’ll give corrections.” explains Cpl. Trevon Williams a supply chain and material management specialist with 7th Comm. Bn., III Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group.
During Stormbreaker 25.1, the 7th Comm. Bn. Marines not only worked on their transmission capabilities, but they also had the opportunity to be trained in close quarter combat tactics and room clearing by instructors and also by veterans who cleared buildings in the Middle East. This gave the Marines an opportunity to learn how to increase their lethality and survivability in a contested environment.
“Being at 7th Comm. Bn., we focus a lot on transmissions, networking and data systems.”, said Staff Sgt Lewis Molet-Clytus a transmissions chief with 7th Comm. Bn. “Being able to adapt to an environment and training that we don’t normally do in a communication battalion really sets the tone for other Marines to let them know that we too are able to adapt and have that skill set to have variable assets among us, not just using communications, but we can also strategically plan the clearing of rooms and hallways.”
Stormbreaker 25.1 also included a live grenade range where Marines learned to become familiar and comfortable with the procedures of throwing an M67 fragmentation grenade.
“When you think about holding something that has damage of a high capacity, you might expect that most people would panic, but with us as Marines, we learn to adapt in difficult challenges. That’s where I come in to facilitate that and let them understand that with good hands, there’s good measures and there’s a safe environment, which I put in place for those Marines to have the confidence to execute these exercises.” Said Staff Sgt. Molet-Clytus.
7th Comm. Bn. strives to mold well-rounded Marines who embody the spirit of ‘Every Marine is a rifleman’ by creating field exercises that include fast-paced tactical courses in conjunction with technical training. Each training iteration allowed Marines to work through stressful environments while learning how to work together as a team. Stormbreaker 25.1 increased Marines’ skills as rifleman and communication operators.