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Marines with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, execute close-quarters battle techniques at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Aug. 28 – Sept. 9, 2022. The training, conducted with Marine Forces Special Operations Command, included static and moving drills, single and multi-room clears, and full team house runs. This allows for better integration between Special Operations Forces and the Fleet Marine Force to unite tactical and operational efforts and create interdependence on the battlefield and for the future operating environment. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jesula Jeanlouis)

Photo by Sgt. Jesula Jeanlouis

MARSOC, V18 Conduct Interoperability Training

29 Aug 2022 | Story by Sgt. Jesula Jeanlouis Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- Marine Raiders with 3rd Marine Raider Battalion hosted close-quarters battle training with Marines from 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, Aug. 29 to Sept. 9, 2022.

This training evolution allowed the Marine Raiders to collaborate with members of the Fleet Marine Force in advanced tactics, techniques and procedures and foster a relationship promoting integration, interoperability and interdependence. The Marine Raiders were also able to use this training evolution to maintain their proficiency in CQB skillsets while developing skills necessary to develop training with a partner nation.

“The level of training that we are able to get, it’s above and beyond what we can sometimes facilitate,” said 2nd Lt. James Durden, a platoon commander with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines. “I think that everybody having a chance to get this training would only take the Marine Corps to bigger and better places.”

During the two-week event, Marines from 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, conducted training at the flat range to assess their marksmanship skills, executed stationary and moving drills to mimic the CQB environment, and were introduced to the new M18 Modular Handgun System to familiarize them with the weapon system.

“All of this [training] compressed into these two weeks, they can take it back to their units and continue to refresh themselves but also carry it to their brothers in other platoons, in other companies, and let their knowledge filter outward and upwards to make them more lethal down range,” said an element leader with the Marine Special Operations Team.
This training fostered an environment that helped break down barriers between Special Operation Forces and conventional force communities, unite tactical and operational efforts, and create a healthy environment of interdependence on the battlefield.

“The only way that we generate efficiency on the battlefield is by working together, doing what we’re doing right now with the Marines from 1st Battalion, 8th Marines,” said an element leader with the MSOT. “Learning as much as we possibly can about each other, and how each entity operates so that when the time comes for us to get the job done down range, we already have a reference point and we can come together, iron out any rough spots, but the foundation is already laid for us to increase our lethality in the battlespace.”

MARSOC will continue to hold collaborative training events to strengthen the collective efforts between SOF and conventional forces and emphasize the importance of combined effects in tomorrow’s conflicts.
“I was very impressed with their fire team leaders and squad leaders and the healthy dynamic of the platoon,” said the MSOT commander. “It was great to see the beginning product and extremely rewarding at the end to see where our Marine brethren came to with the training and the increase of their lethality.”

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