ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE BASE TINDAL, Australia -- Marines deployed to Southern Frontier received a rare invitation recently to witness firsthand, the destruction caused by their hard work.
Twenty-two Marines boarded a bus for a trip over to the Delamere Range Facility, where their aircraft were dropping ordnance during the exercise. The day’s itinerary had Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 212’s pilots dropping four 2,000-pound bombs and firing 16 rockets.
After the Marines received a safety brief by RAAF Sgt. Adam Griffiths, Delamere Range Facility officer in charge, they were taken out to a viewing tower for the show.
“The range has four targets to aim for, and the targets are only large mounds of dirt that can be seen easily from the air,” said Griffiths. “From this distance the Marines will have a nice show, while also being safe from flying debris.”
As the visitors climbed the tower and got their cameras ready, Griffiths announced a five second countdown before each bomb and rocket was fired. Bombs soared through the air, thundering with noise after impacting the targets and proceeding with a dirt mushroom cloud peering into the sky, much to the delight of the picture-taking Marines. Rockets came next followed by a few close flybys by the pilots, impressing the cheering onlookers.
“This was my first time at a bombing range and it was awesome,” said Cpl. Brandon Coleman, Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 533 administrative clerk. “I have always wondered what the impact of our bombs would be like and it was amazing. It was better than I imagined.”
After the bombing display was over, the Marines ate lunch and were given a tour of the scoring tower where the RAAF personnel keep score of the ordnance dropped. Two cameras set out at different angles display the bombing area and let the pilots know if they have hit their target.
“They explained the whole scoring system to us and the use of the camera system,” said Lance Cpl. Jeremy Turnipseed, Marine Wing Support Squadron 171 tactical data network specialist. “I was surprised how accurate they score it, it must be very helpful to the pilots to know how close they came to their targets.”
According to Griffiths, this is the first time he had given a tour to the Marines and he enjoyed their enthusiasm.
“Having the Marines over is always interesting and since we see this stuff everyday, it’s nice to see the excitement again.”