USMC II MEF SOTG Anti-Terrorism / Force Protection Reinforcement Sustainment Trainers Sharpen Close Range Subject Control Skills

Camp Lejeune, NC  (July 14-18, 2008)

The blistering North Carolina sun beat down on the U.S. Marine Corps II Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) Special Operations Training Group (SOTG) instructors here at Camp Lejeune as they drilled relentlessly in Controlled F.O.R.C.E.® Close Range Subject Control (CRSC) training during the week of July 14-18. Despite the heat and humidity, and the dustiness of the well-worn grass patch at the SOTG Compound, these Marines trained hard to develop CRSC skills that are easily transferable to other Marines in order to maintain mission readiness for the modern operating environment.

Controlled F.O.R.C.E. executive officers and chief international instructors Tony Grano and Don Roberts delivered Reinforcement Sustainment Trainer content covering Level 1: Mechanical Advantage Subject Control and Level 2: Survival Force Reactionary Defense. Instructors Grano and Roberts also integrated elements of Level 3: Combative Counter Measures to help SOTG Anti-Terrorism / Force Protection (AT/FP) instructor cadre develop drills to help Marines win in a combative situation where the Marine has been taken to the ground.

 CLICK ON PICTURE FOR VIDEO                                                                                                 CLICK ON PICTURE FOR VIDEO
   
Grano teaching Weapon Retention             Grano, Captain Thomas (SOTG), Roberts                   Roberts teaching M.A.C.H. 3 Baton   

Controlled F.O.R.C.E. Mechanical Advantage Control Holds™ (M.A.C.H.) and the M.A.C.H.-based “building block” delivery method, part of Interservice Non-lethal Individual Weapons Instructor Course (INIWIC) training doctrine, have been utilized by II MEF SOTG since May 2005, when they first brought Grano and Roberts in to supplement organic instructor resources.

As Controlled F.O.R.C.E. certified Reinforcement Sustainment Trainers, the SOTG AT/FP instructor cadre can develop the non-lethal skills of Marines using the proven M.A.C.H. System. The M.A.C.H. System as delivered to SOTG instructor cadre teaches operators to turn their strength into skill, enabling Marines to use minimum energy to effectively handle non-compliant subjects and maintain control of their environment.

According to Instructors Grano and Roberts, the SOTG instructor cadre performed beyond expectation. “The hotter and more miserable it got out here,” says Grano, “the more intense these Marines trained.” Roberts concurred, adding “these men and women embody the ‘never say die’ attitude that is necessary to win.”

Far from the comforts of air conditioning and matted floors, these Marines threw everything they had and more into sharpening each other into powerful and effective weapons.

One of the challenges of maintaining mission readiness for the modern operating environment is implementing effective coordination and cooperation in multilateral operations.

As missions in Iraq and Afghanistan transform into peacekeeping and security roles, U.S. Forces and NATO Forces are working with and training indigenous forces in situations where they are reacting to threats rather than being the threat. U.S. Forces in forward areas are trying to gain compliance through show of force. When a motivated enemy does not comply to a show of force, and is in fact instigated to attack that force, standardized training is necessary to ensure that all forces are capable of responding to threats in a unified manner.

Understanding the need for standardized training for all service members, the SOTG instructor cadre opened the door for instructors with the U.S. Navy Seabees to participate in the July session. Marines and Sailors must operate down-range together, so it is imperative that they have a common set of non-lethal skills for handling hostiles, and a common language to communicate those skills in a non-compliant operating environment.

M.A.C.H. ACROSS THE GLOBE
At the same time that Grano and Roberts were developing Reinforcement Sustainment Trainers with II MEF SOTG at Camp Lejeune, AT/FP instructors from III MEF SOTG out of Okinawa delivered non-lethal weapons training to allies in Bangladesh. As part of Non-Lethal Weapons Executive Seminar 2008, a bilateral training seminar headed by U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, the III MEF SOTG Detachment conducted non-lethal training that included the Mechanical Advantage Control Holds™ and M.A.C.H. techniques.
[ See Full Story from Hawaii Marine newspaper ]

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