Marine Pfc. Fernando Espinosa, from Marine Wing Support Squadron 171, drives a construction grader while working on resurfacing the coral runway on Ie Shima. (Fred Zimmerman / S&S)
Marine Pfc. Fernando Espinosa, from Marine Wing Support Squadron 171, drives a construction grader while working on resurfacing the coral runway on Ie Shima. (Fred Zimmerman / S&S)
Military construction graders level a portion of the tactical military coral runway on Ie Shima island. (Fred Zimmerman / S&S)
Pfc. Benjamin Whelan motions to Pfc. Fernando Espinosa, both from Marine Wing Support Squadron 171, to lift one side of the grader while leveling out the new surface of the coral runway on Ie Shima. (Fred Zimmerman / S&S)
IE SHIMA — More than 230 Marines have spent the past month on this small island off the northwest coast of Okinawa and will stay about another two weeks as the coral runway on the military training grounds is resurfaced.
Marines from Marine Wing Support Squadrons 172 and 171 and troops from 9th Engineer Support Battalion are performing the task during an exercise dubbed Coral Tiger 04. Squadron 172 is providing the bulk of the manpower with more than 200 Marines; 9th ESB provided about 10. The remainder of the Marines are from MWSS-171, and traveled from their home base of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni to take part in the exercise.
The airfield last underwent minor surface repairs in June 2003 and major fixes in 2000, said Capt. James A. Curtis, Squadron 172 assistant operations officer. He said it was time to overhaul the runway, which is 5,456 feet long and 168 feet wide.
Debris comes up off the airfield’s surface and hits aircraft, Curtis said. “Hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage has occurred as a direct result of the poor condition of the airfield. The current condition makes it difficult to train and has caused some units to use Guam instead of the training facilities in our own back yard.
“So, conducting the repairs will lower the cost of repairs that both the Air Force and the USMC pay and reduce (temporary duty orders) and other associated costs.”
Curtis said using the Marines to complete the project not only saves money but also provides valuable training.
Marines who operate the heavy equipment don’t often get to use one piece of machinery that has been vital in the project: the grader. Cpl. Jasman L. Duque, a heavy equipment operator with MWSS-171, said many of the Marines haven’t operated the grader since they went through training. He said they’ve steadily rotated the newer operators in and out of the graders to give them more experience.
Each day, truckloads of crushed coral is brought onto the runway. The Marines use the graders to spread the new material, making it as level as possible.
In the afternoon, the area worked on that morning is “conditioned,” said Staff Sgt. James Hatchell, resurfacing project manager. After it’s soaked with roughly 35,000 gallons of water, heavy rollers compact the moist mixture. The surface then is checked for any major dips or holes.
Also, the runway’s drainage system is being improved to decrease weather-related damage and prevent runoff from damaging nearby farm fields, Curtis said. Marines also are repairing and recertifying a vertical and short take-off landing pad, which simulates an amphibious assault ship deck.
While the project has provided the almost 50 Marines working on the runway an opportunity to train, living in the small tent city has provided training opportunities for the units’ other Marines. Hatchell said Aviation Ground Support Marines have been able to train for security missions, for example, while cooks have been able to whip up meals in the field mess tent.
