Marines wrapping-up Exercise Guahan Shield

by Jolene Toves

Guam - On island since February Lima Company 3rd Battalion Marines in the Infantry Division are wrapping up Exercise Guahan Shield. Utilizing all the skills they have been practicing in various simulations over the last couple months has boiled down to applying them in today's final exercise.

Marines from Infantry 1, 2, 3, and Weapons Platoon carried out a defensive positions simulation which included jungle patrolling operations, urban assaults and urban defenses at Andersen South since Sunday.

Armed with M16s, mortars and finding strength in numbers, Captain Byron Johnson laid out the mission. "We are going to take marine rifle company consisting of about 160 Marines we are going to do an attack on an adjacent urban area straight off to our west over here," he said.

"Marines maintained both defensive position and offensive positions to simulate assaulting force attacks as well as holding position. You're going to have enemy OPT 4 sourced by CLD 49 about a platoon's worth of Marines playing our opposition forces and we are going to attack and clear six large buildings and destroy the enemy in place."

Guam's unique terrain and urban environment offered the Marines invaluable training opportunities. "We were able to practice tactics techniques and procedures that we haven't practice for awhile being in the urban environment and then having an opposing force actually come probe our defense and attack us and then actually give us somebody to patrol against as very successful," he said.

Carrying out their mission since Sunday the platoon took a full day to overtake and push the opposing force back the next two days were spent seeking them out in the surrounding areas...leading up to today's simulated attack.  "Training as they would fight today's exercise is a culmination of all the training under Guahan Shield. Tactics and techniques are an integral part of the units training package," he said.

Marines in the Infantry Division will be leaving island by next week followed by logistics leaving in mid-May.