MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- For those who have seen Marines driving forklifts around the station, they may think this seems like an easy job and the Marines must have plenty of down time.
But this is not the main responsibility for these Marines; their job actually has little use for forklifts. They are heavy equipment operators. When deployed, these Marines are usually the first on the scene, building berms, ditches, roads, vehicle security check points and combat outposts.
They build these not with forklifts, but much larger equipment such as bulldozers and graters. Being stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni the Marines only get to hone their skills about twice a year during different deployment exercises to Camp Fuji or Korea, but the heavy equipment Marines were finally afforded the opportunity to sharpen their skills during a five-weeklong exercise Oct. 18 - Nov. 19 in a remote location here.
At most bases stateside, heavy equipment Marines are provided with a training pit, enabling them to practice their skill in the art of moving dirt and building these deployment necessities.
Along with perfecting their skill trade Marines took this rare opportunity to gain licenses on other equipment, such as a compacter, multi-train loader or a bobcat and a grater.
The Marines weren’t put on time constraints for the training evolution, but the exercises changed every week.
The first week, the Marines practiced with back-hoes, becoming once again familiarized with the heavy equipment.
“We don’t usually have a place to dig so being out here the 1345s lose proficiency,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Damon M. Hines, heavy equipment platoon commander. “The first week out here the Marines were moving slow but have since improved.”
The second week was spent digging a hull defilade. A hull defilade is a 9-foot drop in the ground with an entrance and exit ramp a tank may use for protection.
“If the tank gets mortared or comes under fire it will be safer under ground,” said Staff Sgt. Alexander C. Snay, heavy equipment staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge.
Also during the second week, Marines dug an anti-tank ditch, a ditch formed as a protective measure to prevent enemy tanks and vehicles from advancing into their position.
The third week, the HEO Marines built approximately 400 meters of berms, a long barrier made of dirt approximately 8 feet high and used if there is a need for a forward operating base or combat outpost.
At a new site, berms are what will be built first for protection. An anti-vehicle berm is 3- to 4-feet tall and with an anti-tank ditch to control vehicle access.
The fourth week was spent building military roads and a vehicle check point. Vehicle check points are usually set up in front of a base or a town and enable the military to check everything that comes in and out of the area.
The fifth and final week, the Marines used the multi-terrain loader to clear out rocks from the job site. They built a 90 by 90-foot helicopter landing pad.
The culminating event for the training exercise was the building of a combat outpost, which is a large square berm with vehicle check points at both ends and entrance and exit points.The combat outpost was built with an area for parking and a road through the forward operating base.
“We’re training to do different things that we would normally do if we were deployed to Afghanistan,” said Lance Cpl. Bradley R. Robinson, a Marine Wing Support Squadron 171 heavy equipment operator. “It’s exciting to be out here and do what we were trained to do.”
Through this training, the heavy equipment operator Marines were able to experience a full evolution of what would be built during a deployment.
After the exercise, everything that was built was leveled out. The dig site returned to what it had been before — empty land.