MIERCUREA CICU, Romania -- Marines and sailors from Black Sea Rotational Force participated in exercise Platinum Lynx 14.6 from Sept. 29 to Oct. 3 in Miercurea Ciuc, Romania, alongside the 61st Mountain Troops Brigade from the Romanian Land Forces in the Carpathian Mountain range.
The Romanian forces held a variety of safety classes for the service members, teaching numerous rope and knot systems and instructing on the proper techniques for rock climbing and rappelling.
“A lot of Marines were scared of heights, or had fears of hanging from a rope with a knot that they tied themselves,” said 1st Lt. Steven Pickett, 5th Platoon Commander. “I believe a lot of Marines overcame those internal fears [during the exercise].”
The service members completed multiple climbs and rappels, and a zip line portion of the training.
Romanian and U.S. forces were then integrated into teams and donned their heavy gear to complete the hike portion of the exercise. the troops were pushed to their limits while ascending to a height of 1,790 m, deep into the Carpathian Mountains.
“The hike went through some pretty rugged terrain,” said Gunnery Sgt. Steven Ramga, Golf Co. Company Gunnery Sergeant. “It gained some pretty substantial elevation early on, some of the terrain going down was equally as steep as going up. It was definitely a hard hike to make.”
After the hike, a live-fire range was conducted to demonstrate proper use of Romanian Land Force’s and Marines’ weapons systems. This allowed the two forces to increase each other’s capabilities if they ever were forced to use each other’s weapons.
“The live-fire exercise was a unique opportunity for the Marines,” said Ramga. “We allowed the Romanians to shoot our weapons and get a little bit of familiarity with the operation of the weapons systems.”
Platinum Lynx 14.6 promoted knowledge and understanding of skills and tactics in mountain regions between the Marines and Romanian Land Forces on the small-unit level.
“We learned a lot of great things form the 61st Mountain Brigade,” said Pickett. “It helped train my Marines and it will help us in future operations in mountain environments.”