September 1, 2015 --
The smell of gas, the roar of loud engines, and the weight
of mud-covered desert Marine pattern uniform were just some things to expect
for Marines with Alpha Company, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, on Sept. 1, 2015,
at Mile Hammock Bay on Camp Lejeune, N.C.
More than 20 Marines with the company are taking the basic
recreational off-highway vehicle training qualification course to ride the
Polaris Razor, a two-seater, all-terrain vehicle, weighing 1,200 pounds.
“By using these assets for the Marine Corps, they are going
to have fresher boots on the ground,” said Jesse Turner, the safety instructor
for the course. “The Marines won’t have
to hike as far to get to where they are going because they can take the razors
or load them into a helicopter and drop them off on scene.
The vehicles are agile, narrow and can easily traverse
terrain which other vehicles cannot, explained Turner.
“As far as forward deployment, they are going to be
operating these vehicles in towns, villages, narrow wooded areas and rock
out-crops in mountainous areas,” Turner said.
The qualification courses are designed so the Marines can
become familiarized with the machine and understand the use and safety of it
before they are deployed.
“These vehicles are very [complex] and have a lot of
capabilities,” Cpl. Dylan Burke, a radio telecommunications operator with Alpha
Company, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion.
“So learning how to operate them now will ensure we properly do it in
the future.”
Turner made sure all of the Marines properly demonstrated
safety operations during the course, so when the unit is conducting an exercise
outside the country the Marines can have all personnel and gear make it to the
fight and back safely.
“They have got to be able to operate these machines safely,”
said Turner. “If a Marine goes out there
and gets hurt while riding he is no good to the unit and the operation.
By safely operating the all-terrain vehicle, Marines with
the unit can carry out a mission more effectively if the area or terrain is too
harsh for other vehicles.
“Using the razor increases our operational distance,” said
Burke. “We can insert them via helicopter and go a lot further than we can on
foot and carry a lot more gear. It
increases our range and capabilities as a unit much more.”