MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Provost Marshal’s Office Marines can be seen patrolling the station every day, and to some people, this may seem as though it is all they do.
Residents, however, may not be aware of the “less publicized” PMO Marines who make up the Special Reaction Team.
“Our primary mission is to take care of any high-risk incident aboard the air station,” said Sgt. Kyle C. Hill, PMO SRT team leader. “SRT Marines aboard the air station have secondary roles such as customs and immigration officers and animal control officers.”
The SRT, which can be compared to a S.W.A.T. team, handles incidents such as hostage negotiations, hostage rescues, acts of felony, traffic stops and dangerous subjects.
“When we’re not actively engaged in any high-risk incidents, we conduct our own training and do a lot of support and training with other units aboard the station,” said Hill. “We provide a wide range of specialized tactics when it comes to law enforcement. The majority of us have been to different schools, making us more proficient at what we do.”
Basic requirements for a Marine to qualify for SRT are: first class on the physical fitness test, expert qualified with a rifle, sharpshooter qualified with a pistol and at least one year of service in the fleet.
“To be SRT is to be the best of our MOS,” said Lance Cpl. Paul J. Halter, PMO, SRT and customs Marine.“To be SRT, you have to be a good, responsible Marine. You have to be confident enough to accomplish what you know needs to be done.”
Before a Marine is selected for SRT, they must complete an indoctrination process with the SRT Marines here, further testing their abilities. Upon passing their indoctrination, Marines are sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. for basic SRT training.
“Once they graduate their basic school, they’ll obtain the (military occupational specialty) 5816, basic SRT member,” said Hill.
After completing basic school, SRT Marines can go to additional schools such as SRT sniper, master-breacher, non-lethal weapons instructor and other secondary MOSs within their field.