Marines from Company C, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, based in Okinawa, roll into a fake town to conduct Military Operations in Urban Terrain at Camp Fuji, Wednesday. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
Marines from Company C, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, based in Okinawa, roll into a fake town to conduct Military Operations in Urban Terrain at Camp Fuji, Wednesday. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
A Marine from Company C, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, based in Okinawa, enters a room at the ready as part of the Military Operations in Urban Terrain training at Camp Fuji, Wednesday. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
A Marine stands guard while another carries an injured team member during Company C, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion's Military Operation in Urban Terrain training at Camp Fuji, Wednesday. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
Marines from Company C, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion scope out their objective before entering - during training at Camp Fuji, Wednesday. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
Marines from Company C, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, based in Okinawa, tend to an injured member of their team during Military Operations in Urban Terrain training at Camp Fuji, Wednesday. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
Oct. 20, 2010 A Marine from Company C, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion cautiously proceeds through a doorway during Military Operations in Urban Terrain training at Camp Fuji, Wednesday. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
Marines from Company C, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion carry out the evacuation of a fellow Marine during Military Operations in Urban Terrain training at Camp Fuji, Wednesday. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
A Marine from Company C, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion pulls security while his battle buddies clear the room. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP FUJI, Japan — With an Afghanistan deployment in their sights, Okinawa Marines are hitting the training grounds of the Combined Arms Training Center here to sharpen their skills.
For the next couple of weeks Marines from Charlie Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, based at Camp Schwab, are conducting raids and room-clearing drills, as well as honing their skills in combat marksmanship, sniper training and basic infantry.
Charlie Company is spending a lot of time conducting urban terrain training in town settings similar to what they would encounter in the war zone.
“We don’t have these facilities in Okinawa,” Capt. Colin Boynton, 1st Platoon commander, said Wednesday. “Training here is vital to the current fight in Afghanistan.”
The pre-deployment training is particularly important for the new Marines in the battalion, according to Sgt. Ivan Cherry.
“The guys see how difficult the situation is – how tight the spaces are – and how challenging it is to patch up their buddies,” he said.
