Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan

Service members with Marine Wing Support Squadron 171, Motor Transport Company conducted convoy and mounted patrol training at the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s Haramura Maneuver Area in Hiroshima, Japan, during Exercise Haramura 1-15, April 14, 2015.

Haramura is a weeklong company-level training exercise focused on honing the skills Marines learned during Marine Combat Training and their Military Occupational Specialty schooling.

As part of the training, Motor-T operators and mechanics participated in patrols that placed them face-to-face with a variety of scenarios in which members would need to take the proper steps to conduct the appropriate actions.

“Out here Motor-T has a few Marines that are new to the company, as well as a few that haven’t had the opportunity to drive outside of (Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan),” said Capt. Kevin Wheeler, the Motor Transport Company commander with MWSS-171. “So being out here gives us as a Motor-T Company the chance to show these young Marines some of the possible challenges that may await them if they were deployed to an austere environment. It also allows my (staff noncommissioned officers) and me to see what areas our Marines need more training in.”

During each patrol Marines faced different challenges from the previous one ensuring they are on their toes, everything from assessing a group of individuals along their route to engaging enemy combatants and the proper procedures needed when a vehicle is struck by an Improvised Explosive Device.

“It was definitely a challenge any time we went out of the motor pool because we never knew when or what was going to happen,” said Cpl. Matthew Mitchell, a Motor-T mechanic with MWSS-171. ”But it’s because of all the unknowns that this is great training. It keeps you guessing and it helps with being able to make those immediate decisions that can save some one’s life.”

Mitchell said that he did see some of his Marines get stuck, not knowing the proper actions to take, but added that this is one of the main focuses of the training, to give the Marines the chance to make mistakes and then improve upon them.

According to Lance Cpl. Jayson Coss, a Motor-T operator with MWSS-171, who received the opportunity to assist in setting up and conducting an ambush for a patrol, it is very important to act with speed because that moment of hesitation may give the enemy the opportunity to get the upper-hand in a fight.

Coss said he wished more of his fellow Marines could see both sides of the convoy training, adding that seeing both points of views as the aggressors and the convoy allowed him to see some of the mistakes and quick thinking of the Marines that helped him improve his skills.