CONSTANTA, Romania -- Marines from a Virginia-based reserve unit took their engineering skills to Romania recently for demolitions cross-training for soldiers from the six European nations participating in Cornerstone 03. Also on the agenda was an urban breaching and Military Operations on Urban Terrain demonstration by the Marines.
Military engineers from Albania, Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Greece, Romania and Turkey were on hand for the demonstration June 26-30 near the city of Constanta by Marines from the Lynchburg, Va. - based Company C, 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine Division.
?We?re showing them basic demolition techniques,? said Staff Sgt. Jeff Roosa. "Our goal is to show them how we do demolitions in the United States."
Since most of the servicemembers who attended the demonstration are construction engineers, they are not used to many of the techniques and much of the equipment used by the U.S. combat engineers, according to Capt. Ed Straub, the Marine detachment commander.
"We want to familiarize them with the techniques U.S. Marine Corps combat engineers use," added Master Sgt. Dwayne Washington. "A lot of them don't get to use this equipment or get hands-on training."
But training other nations soldiers is nothing new to the Marines from Straub's unit.
"Many of these Marines have been to South America and other places to provide training like this," he said. "It's something we're very experienced in."
The first several days of the demonstration at the Capu Midia military base were dedicated to familiarizing the other nations' troops with ordnance the Marines use.
First, they gave an overview of the ordnance in a makeshift classroom set up in the woods. After a brief explanation of each weapon?s purpose and ability, the Americans took their counterparts a few hundred yards away to the training range, where they got to see up close just how the ordnance is set up and prepared for use.
The Marines then cleared the area, detonated the charge and brought the troops back to show them the effects the ordnance had on the area.
This combination of classroom instruction and practical demonstration was repeated for each type of explosive the Marines use.
The fourth day of the demonstration featured an example of military operations in urban terrain. Romanian media representatives from local and national outlets had the chance to view the capabilities and skills of the Marines first hand.
The Marines then had the opportunity to demonstrate the practical use of the equipment they had just introduced to the military engineers.
Using four squads, the Marines assaulted several abandoned buildings on the base where an imaginary enemy was located. Blowing holes in walls, doors, and windows, the Marines demonstrated the teamwork needed to accomplish such an operation.
"We try to make it as real as possible," Straub said. "And using live explosive on real buildings was a great help."
Cornerstone 03 is a joint, multinational, engineering exercise which took place in Romania May 15 through July 15. Marine Forces Europe was the lead American organization for this year's exercise, which featured several humanitarian and military engineering projects.
At Capu Midia the main road leading to the range was repaired and upgraded. Meanwhile, military engineers participating in the exercise also repaired, expanded and upgraded a local Romanian air base.
At another military base a new water well was drilled and a new water system was installed.
In addition, servicemembers from the U.S. and several other countries constructed a new school for the children of a nearby village.
The demonstration by the Marines was a welcome change for the group of military engineers in Romania, who had spent weeks designing and building structures. This was a chance for them to do just the opposite, and their excitement at the demonstration was matched by that of the Marines.
Despite their years of experience, the Marines haven?t gotten bored with the training, according to Straub.
"It's still very exciting," he said. "When an explosion happens, it still gets your heart racing, no matter how many times you've heard it."