War lessons: small unit leaders need better training.

QUANTICO, Va. -- Marine Corps planners have begun a series of combat experiments designed to sharpen the skills of dismounted troops.

The intent is to better equip and train Marines to fight in small units--platoons and squads--particularly in situations when they have to make tough decisions on the fly.

The experiments are shaped around an emerging concept in the Marine Corps, called "distributed operations. " As it further explores the concept, the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory is looking at new ways to enhance the capabilities of small units when they are widely dispersed.

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"These are skill sets, and in some cases, technologies, but more often tactics, techniques and procedures, that enable them to do better on that battlefield," says Vince Goulding, head of the lab's experiment division.

One major focus of the experiments is how to better prepare dismounted Marines to identify targets accurately and call for fires.

With troops distributed in open areas and out of range of artillery, platoons and squads need the ability to facilitate the delivery of indirect and air-delivered fires, says Capt. Steven "Shaft" Craig, a Huey pilot who flew missions in Afghanistan and served as a forward air controller on the ground in Iraq.

Aircraft are not permitted to drop bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan unless there are joint terminal air controllers on the ground with eyes on the target to help guide them in. But not all units have JTACs, which could be a problem should danger arise for a platoon or squad out on its own.

"There might be times when the survival of a unit might depend on air delivery of fires," says Goulding. "We're going to put a lot more trained eyeballs out there at the squad level to enable the JTACs to better employ air and surface fires in this mature theater."

Craig, program manager for the squad fires experiments, is leading efforts to develop a simulation to train squad leaders on the basics of close air support.

Squad leaders will learn how to designate a target and communicate through the JTAC, says Goulding. "He provides an extended set of eyeballs through that joint terminal air controller."

Capt. Adam Rickenbach, an artilleryman, admits that direct fires will not always be able to support the infantry. Training squad leaders to assist in calling for air support is the way to go, he says.

Capt. Sharif Sokkary, an air officer in the experiment division, agrees. As an aviator responsible for dropping ordnance from his aircraft, he is aware that he can cause great destruction to the troops calling in support if the person designating the target is not properly trained. "It's a trust issue," he says. "I know that if I'm talking to a guy who's been in the backseat of an F-18, or a Night Cobra or a Huey, he knows what I can see, and he knows my perspective. When I'm in Iraq, that doesn't happen. I'm talking to platoon sergeants and squad leaders in convoys in the middle of town. My issue is that I don't know that he understands everything about that."

The squad leaders will learn close-air support skills in simulators.

"I think we've demonstrated to ourselves and to the operating forces that you don't need live airplanes and bombs to train these guys," says Goulding.

That marks a shift in Marine Corps education. While aviators for years have been training in advanced simulators, ground forces have been lagging behind, says Lt. Gen. Keith Stalder, commanding general of 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force.

"There's so much more to be done in simulation with ground combat forces," he tells a conference in Virginia Beach. If simulators were available for infantry missions, "A Marine or soldier who's on the streets of Ramadi has already walked the streets of Ramadi in a simulation ... before he ever goes out there," he says.

In its new science and technology strategic plan, the Marine Corps is emphasizing training simulations, says Jim Lasswell, technical director at the lab.

The lab is developing a simulation to help Marines learn how to spot improvised explosive devices and snipers in urban environments--the top two causes of casualties in Iraq.

After the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force identified a pattern of direct-fire injuries to troops in Ramadi, Fallujah, and other urban areas, the lab conducted a war game with Marines, African game hunters and inner city police officers to search for ways to improve training, says Maj. Jim Martin, program manager of Combat Hunter, an instruction course that resulted from the war game.

The team learned that Marines were not properly trained to operate binoculars and other observation tools. Troops below the officer level rarely received instruction on how to use the equipment.

A set of experiments conducted in California in March, April and June showed that Marines could drastically improve their performance once they were comfortable operating the hardware.

"Teaching them how to use the gear and the equipment, giving them the confidence to use it, really was a combat multiplier," says Martin.

Combat Hunter includes a 15-minute CD titled "Every Marine a Hunter," which teaches Marines how to observe the urban battlefield with binoculars and other optics.

Another initiative that the lab is pursuing as part of the "distributed operations" concept is to lighten the combat load of dismounted troops.

"A lot of things we've done has actually made the load heavier," says Lasswell.

Body armor, communications gear and surveillance devices have aided Marines in their jobs, but also have weighed them down with 70 or 80 pounds of additional equipment.

"We're carrying around more weight than the Romans and Greeks did," says Goulding.

One of the options being considered is to deploy a robot to carry equipment. The lab is testing a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency prototype called "Big Dog," a quadruped robot that can carry an 81mm mortar and can operate in rugged terrain.

To minimize combat injuries and reduce stress and fatigue from carrying gear, the lab also is experimenting with ways to improve the physical conditioning of Marines.

"We're not properly training our Marines, and that's what's leading to a high preponderance of battle injuries during training work-ups and while deployed," says Capt. Justin Jordan, project manager for function fitness and combat conditioning in the experiment division.

The Corps lacks a standard physical training program, and that's part of the problem, he says. Every commander is given latitude to measure a unit's physical fitness level.

Jordan says when he went to Iraq the first time, he came back a shell of his former self because he wasn't eating properly and not exercising because of the heat.

The program his team is working on will allow Marines to keep fit without relying upon gyms that are hard to come by under combat conditions.

"It can be done with sand bags and ammo cans, and your rifle and flaks. You don't necessarily need equipment, so you can do this while you're in the field and not lose physical make up," says Jordan. The program consists of 35- to 40-minute workouts.

Marines--particularly platoon and squad leaders--also can expect to get better training in how to interact with civilians in a war zone. They learn that snap decisions can have far-reaching consequences.

Recent cases of alleged crimes committed by Marines in combat have sparked efforts to better teach Marines how to apply the rules of engagement, especially in volatile situations when civilians are involved. The lab will produce DVDs for distribution throughout the Corps.

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