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U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Craig Finnerty, a mortarman with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Africa, maintains a low profile as he maneuvers over a wall during a stress event held by U.S. Army Special Forces in Germany, Apr. 12, 2016. The stress event consisted of a timed firing course, an urban agility course and a squad log run to test the Marines’ speed and endurance under stressful conditions.

Photo by Sgt. Tia Nagle

Crisis response Marines, Army execute joint capabilities

29 Apr 2016 | Sgt. Tia Nagle The Official United States Marine Corps Public Website

U.S. Marines and soldiers met during a training exercise in Germany to defeat enemy combatants fighting from inside city buildings and houses, April 7-13, 2016.

This joint training exercise gave the Marines an opportunity to pick up and hone essential training techniques with the Army unit composed primarily of Special Forces soldiers. Aspects of urban warfare such as shooting around barriers and firing on the move were focused on by the crisis response forces.

“I think it was good [training] especially the barriers and weak side shooting because if we were actually going to combat, that’s something that there’s a high possibility of us doing,” said Sgt. Ryan Cyrus, first squad leader with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. 

As a culminating event, the Marines worked side by side with the CRF soldiers to clear out an abandoned housing area and seize an enemy target. The training helped build proficiency and capability among participants in executing their crisis response mission sets. 

“It was good hands on experience getting to throw flash bangs and actually use [simunition] rounds which was definitely the type of training the Marine Corps loves getting involved in,” said Lance Cpl. Michael Battaglia, a team leader with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment.


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