The following is a release from Lance Cpl. Timothy Valero, 1st Marine Division:

The calm of the room was broken as a pair of Marines entered with rifles at the ready. One Marine spotted an insurgent hiding in the room. “Put your hands up. Put your hands up,” yelled the Marine. The startled insurgent, with little hesitation, raised his hands high in the air. A Marine moved quickly to detain and search him as a fellow Marine stood guard. “Well done, well done,” said an instructor as he walked into the room, “let’s reset for the next team.”

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Marines of Company A, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, honed their skills in a close quarters tactical battle team trainer at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. March 8, 2016.

The training focused on room clearing techniques and close quarter marksmanship training with the M4 carbine and the M45A1 close quarters battle pistol in a series of fire-and-maneuver drills.

After completing some familiarization and remediation, the Marines furthered their knowledge and developed their skills by working with the Expeditionary Operations Training Group, which provides training in select special skills and conducts and evaluates collective training in order to prepare units prior to deployment.

“We teach Marines everything they need to know about conducting close quarter tactics, reconnaissance and urban sharp shooting,” said Gunnery Sgt. Michael Wilkinson, an EOTG instructor.

Following the EOTG training, the Marines worked through realistic urban training, and concluded with a maritime interoperability training exercise. Those packages provide the Marines a common set of skills they can use to work with other components of the U.S. Armed Forces, as well as other maritime partners.

“Once they [the Marines] have completed and pass the maritime interoperability training portion of the exercise they are then certified and ready for deployment with (Marine Expeditionary Units),” said Wilkinson.

The training the Marines received to become ready for a deployment is crucial to their readiness and offers MEUs an additional capability.

“The MEU commanders will have the option to employ a precision raid force when needed,” said Wilkinson.
The Marines of 1st Reconnaissance stand ever ready to answer the call to duty, swiftly and silently.