Sgt. Ryan Molina, assistant section chief with India Battery, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, trades weapons with a French Marine and discusses similarities and differences between the two during a bilateral training exercise in Djibouti, Aug. 27, 2012. Both nations spent Aug. 25-27 strengthening alliances and discussing tactics and procedures for the U.S. Marine Corps version of the French mortar, the M-327 120 mm Expeditionary Fire Support System, or EFSS. The 24th MEU, along with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, is currently deployed to the U.S. Central Command and 5th Fleet areas of responsibility serving as a theater reserve providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts. (USMC Photo)

By 2ND LT. JOSHUA LARSON

24th Marine Expeditionary Unit

DJIBOUTI – Marines and Sailors with India Battery, the artillery attachment for Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, conducted bilateral training with French Marines in Djibouti Aug. 25-27 to integrate and strengthen an allied-nation partnership.

The India Battery Marines used the opportunity to discuss tactics and procedures for the newest addition to the Marine Corps artillery arsenal, the M-327 120 mm Expeditionary Fire Support System, or EFSS, a mortar system with French origins.

Despite the many similarities between the U.S. and French systems, there were comparable differences when it came to certain tactics and overall demeanor between the two services, said Staff Sgt. Adrian J. Rondini, 28, platoon sergeant and Cleveland, Ohio, native.

One of the tactics the French employed in Dibouti was what artillerymen call “direct lay,” explained 1st Lt. Alexander Kowaleuski, India Battery’s Guns Platoon commander. It’s a method in which the unit observes, fires and adjusts each round from the mortar position, instead of having forward observers ahead of the gunline as the “eyes” of the weapons.

“It’s a tactic that we can employ also, and we actually do it exactly the same way,” said Kowaleuski.

Another difference between the two was simply the demeanor of the French Marines as they ran their gunline.

The intensity and fired-up attitudes U.S. Marines are known for was contrasted by the calmer, even quieter French Marines.

The French Marines’ lifestyle is different; everything from the food they eat to their gun-line procedures, said Sgt. Ralph T. Pfeil, 27, an artillery section chief for India Battery.

“They did everything they were supposed to do in a timely manner… it was professional and relaxed,” said Pfeil, 27, from Mount Pleasant, N.C.

Discussing different tactics for employing mortars comprised the majority of the training exercise, but it was the little things that helped forge friendships as they marveled at each other’s everyday items.

“It was nice seeing them interested in something so small, like when they were taking pictures inside the Humvee. To us, it’s just a Humvee, we see it every day. But to them it was something new and different,” said Rondini.

The daily rations, known as Meals-Ready-To-Eat, quickly became a staple of conversation as everybody gathered together to share and trade goods gathered from the meals.

“We were all like little kids, everyone wanted to see what each other had in their MREs,” said Pfeil.

These small moments helped both sides connect quickly and easily.

“Something so small to us was amazing to them,” said Rondini. “It definitely helped foreign relations working with the French military. If we work together again, we’ll know how to work together.”

The training enabled the Marines to learn quite a lot during their short time spent ashore with their French counterparts. Swapping MREs and gun stories laid a foundation for friendship and future training opportunities.

A contingent of the 24th MEU has been in Djibouti for over a month, taking advantage of unilateral, bilateral and joint training opportunities. So far, 24th MEU Marines have teamed with French light armored reconnaissance Marines, conducted desert survival courses with the French, and have teamed with U.S. Air Force personnel to conduct various training events.

The 24th MEU is deployed with the Iwo Jima ARG as a theater reserve force for U.S. Central Command and is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet area of responsibility. They are currently in the six month of a regularly scheduled deployment.

Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Light Armored Reconnaissance platoon, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, hand over a simulated enemy combatant to French Marines during a bilateral training raid in Djibouti, Aug. 27, 2012. A small contingent of the 24th MEU is currently ashore in Djibouti conducting various unilateral, bilateral and joint exercises. The 24th MEU is deployed with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force for U.S. Central Command and U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (USMC Photo)

By 2ND LT. JOSHUA LARSON

24th Marine Expeditionary Unit

DJIBOUTI – U.S. and French Marines from corresponding Light Armored Reconnaissance elements worked together, Aug. 25 – 27, in Djibouti, taking part in route and area reconnaissance and raid training near the coastline of the Gulf of Toujours.

The U.S. Marines are part of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which has a small contingent ashore in Djibouti conducting unilateral, bilateral and joint training exercises. The French Marines are from the French 5th Marine Regiment.

“The overall intent of the training was to create a training opportunity that maximized the capabilities and interaction of both platoons. Our hope was to create a scenario that utilized the strengths of each platoon in a mutually supporting role, and it worked amazingly well,” said 1st Lt. Benjamin Gallo, LAR platoon commander, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th MEU.

The training began when the Marines joined together Aug. 25 for vehicle familiarization, cross-training in tactics, techniques and procedures, and an orders brief where both units discussed the details of the upcoming training mission.

Cpl. Ryan Frick, an infantry rifleman and scout section leader with the 24th MEU’s LAR platoon, said there are not many specific differences between how the Americans and French do business.

“Their vehicles are set up differently; we have seven (Marines) in ours and they have four,” the Atlanta, Ga., native said.
Each unit’s similar tactics allowed for a smooth culminating event – a training raid that took place, Aug. 27.

“The scouts were the assault and they (the French) were the security for us,” said Frick as he described the raid, in which other U.S. Marines role-played as an enemy force.

As the force came in, they took initial fire from a far building, so the 24th MEU Marines took action and engaged that building while moving forward as the French, in constant support, moved forward with them. A few minutes later, the Marines took fire from the left flank, which played perfectly into the unit’s set-up, and they were able to immediately return fire on the aggressors, Frick explained.

Gallo discussed how the French were able to take the lead in certain situations when their superior range and firepower were beneficial, and each force was able to easily switch roles from being the unit providing support to the one taking the lead.
“We both worked off each other,” Frick added, while other 24th MEU Marines echoed Frick’s statements, saying they were impressed with the shared professionalism of the French Marines.

“The Marines greatly enjoyed getting to know their counterparts, most especially during their down time at the joint bivouac,” Gallo said. “I watched the Marines swap stories and MREs, listen with interest at the capabilities brief given by the French, and come together during execution to accomplish the mission.”

The U.S. Marines have been training with the French for the past few weeks and have scheduled future training, which helps each country’s military learn how to operate in different environments and prepare for potential real-world scenarios.

“Ultimately, it was an opportunity to gain a greater appreciation of the joint planning process and get the Marines out training in an austere environment with harsh terrain that they wouldn’t have experienced anywhere else,” concluded Gallo.

The 24th MEU is deployed with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force for the U.S. Central Command and 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

USS NEW YORK – Across eight time zones and 7,000 miles Lance Cpl. Rodman Charlesworth was able to have a face-to-face conversation from the middle of the Gulf of Aden with his pregnant wife.

He and other fellow Marines and sailors of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard the USS New York contacted their family through a video teleconference system, Aug. 25, 2012, to meet their new babies and talk to their pregnant wives.

Charlesworth, a field artillery cannoneer with India Battery, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th MEU, was able to see his wife, Kristina Amber Charlesworth, and talk to their future son, Adrian, still growing inside Kristina’s belly. Their conversation brought some encouragement about their long separation over this deployment.

“She’s doing well,” he said. “She heard stories about how hard deployments can be and she said being pregnant while I’m gone is as bad as it can get, and she said it’s still not hard.”

Long deployments come with many obstacles trying to stay in touch with loved ones. Telephone calls, letters and e-mails are the main method of communicating, but video teleconferencing allowed for a more personal contact.

Even with programs like Skype and Facetime available throughout the world, the ships do not have the bandwidth to support such internet programs. For some of the Marines and Sailors this was the first time they have seen each other since deploying in March.

“It feels good to be able to connect our Marines and Sailors with their loved ones by allowing them to be able to talk to each other through the VTC. I’m glad I get to be a part of that,” said Gunnery Sgt. Andre McKay, communications chief for the 24th MEU aboard the USS New York, who coordinated the VTC with the 24th MEU’s family readiness networks at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

This VTC capability on ship has helped bridge that technology gap for Marines like Charlesworth who expressed his pride for his wife’s strength and how she’s dealing with the trials of pregnancy while he’s deployed. His excitement was evident when he spoke of coming home as a father.

“She’ll be at 8-months next week … I can’t wait, it’s going to be cool. I always wanted to be a dad,” he said. “It was nice to see her and talk to her. I call as much as I can because I worry about her,” he said.

They’ve talked many times over the deployment, but those phone calls couldn’t compare to finally seeing her pregnant with their son.

“I really wanted to see her belly and it was really great to finally see it,” he said.

In June, the 24th MEU set up a similar VTC opportunity for Marines and sailors aboard the USS Iwo Jima. This is where Cpl. David Rohrer met his first born son, Eugene, merely ten days after he was born.

“When I heard that we were going to get this opportunity I was extremely excited, and so was my wife,” said Rohrer, of Louisville, Ohio, who is assigned to the combat cargo detachment aboard USS Iwo Jima.

His wife and nine-year-old step-daughter arrived just minutes before their scheduled meeting time on the VTC after making the hour long drive from their home to Camp Lejeune, which added to the anxiety and emotion of being able to meet through the VTC, said Rohrer.

“It was great to see my family. My son was a little fussy but I think he was just hungry. I can’t wait to be home and just spend time with them,” said Rohrer who explained his wife would probably make the hour-long drive every day if they could meet like this.

For many of 24th MEU’s service members this deployment has allowed them to plan for the future and think about the direction they want to take. Small things like these VTC meetings are reminders for all of them about what is waiting for them back home, while their focus now is getting through the long days remaining on this deployment.

“I take this deployment one day at a time and focus on bettering myself now while I’m out here,” said Charlesworth.