MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU, Romania -- Marines earned their reputation of “always ready” from constant training and sustaining, keeping their skills as fresh as possible in case they are needed.
Marines of Black Sea Rotational Force 14 from Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, conducted sustainment training with oleoresin capsicum spray aboard Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania, March 5, 2014.
BSRF-14 provides a contingent of Marines to the Black Sea, Balkan and Caucasus regions to maintain regional stability and work with partner nations in Eastern Europe.
“This training is important because we could get called to reinforce an embassy or respond to any number of crises,” said Cpl. Christian Doran, a nonlethal weapons instructor with Weapons Co. “This training familiarizes the Marines with possible OC spray (usage) in any of these scenarios.”
The instructors exposed Marines directly to the OC spray, and then guided them through a mechanical arm-control holds course. The course was designed for the Marines to be able to subdue an enemy combatant while being dazed by the burning sensation of the OC spray. This aids the Marines in knowing how to deal with the pain from the spray.
“The training is pretty rough,” said Lance Cpl. Dennis Singh, a machine gunner with Weapons Co. “It didn’t really hit me until the last station. The training helps us prepare for this situation in the future though, since we know how much it burns now.”
“The burning doesn’t go away, but rapidly blinking helps,” Singh said. “You can’t get rid of the pain; you just have to deal with it when you have a job to do.”
All Marines completed the training, regardless of the pain.
“The OC is intense,” Doran said. “It’s a very unforgettable experience, especially if you combine it with the intensity of the sun. It goes away though, and everyone will be fine eventually.”
The contingent of more than 200 Marines is the second iteration of the first full-year rotation of the Black Sea Rotational Force program. Throughout the rotation, the Marines will conduct military-to-military engagements with partner nations to bolster military capacity and interoperability while providing the capability for rapid crisis response, as directed by U.S. European Command and U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa.