APS puts to test ‘any clime, any place’ 

Though it was a reprieve from a training emphasis on desert warfare and improvised explosive device countering, none of the Marines who visited the Jungle Warfare School in Ghana will tell you that JWS was easy.

Alongside service members from the Ghanaian military, the Marines of third platoon, Ground Combat Element, Security Cooperation Task Force Africa Partnership Station 2011 were recently introduced to a type of combat foreign to the U.S. desert warfighter- on a battlefield surrounded by a thick humid jungle and booby trapped wilderness.

Just outside the town of Akim Achiase, the Marines and their Ghanaian counterparts actively engaged in the exclusive facets of jungle warfare that brought them all closer to being able to boast the title “jungler.”

A jungler, or jungle warfare expert like any of the instructors at JWS, is a master of warfare in regard to survival, navigation, tactics and movement through the tropical forest. A jungler understands and can execute patrols, ambushes and raids while minding the natural obstacles of heat, humidity and wildlife in the jungle.

For the Marines who visited JWS, the partnership in learning to become a jungler was more than just a bragging right- it also ensured the Marine Corps’ foothold as an effective expeditionary fighting force that can adapt to fight in any environment.

“It’s important for Marines and corpsmen to be well-rounded in warfare,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Jeff Salyer, a hospital corpsman and combat veteran attached to third platoon. “You never know what conflict will arise and where it will take you, and history has shown time and time again that we can fight at any time in any place.”

Though the military-to-military exchange allowed the Ghana Army and U.S. Marines to observe and learn from one another in a tactical setting, the distinctive nature of the hands-on partnership also offered a unique cultural perspective to the Marines, who would have otherwise not had a similar opportunity to work alongside such allies.

“I really liked working with the Ghanaian soldiers,” said Lance Cpl. Jacob Kaplan, a Marine with second squad, third platoon. “We are two totally different cultures- where else would I be able to do this? Experiences like these are the reason I joined the Marine Corps,” he added.

As the partnership between the two allies developed and observance of one another continued in various areas around the JWS, the Marines of third platoon also provided some of their own perspective in topics such as noncommissioned officer development, small unit leadership, Marine Corps Martial Arts Program basics, counseling subordinates and operational risk management.

“This was an exchange of ideas and personalities,” said 1st Lt. Benjamin T. Held, platoon commander for third platoon. “It’s important that we continue to build relations with our allies and expand our awareness of how each other operate.”

The platoon’s commitment to APS-11’s partnered theater security cooperation mission aimed to set a high standard for prospective partnerships between Ghana, other West African nations and the U.S.

“Building these relationships creates the foundation for the Marine Corps to be able to experience unique exchanges in the future with our allies,” said Held.