Exercise keeps Marines, Senegalese Commandos on their toes 

As the smoke begins to clear, the gunfire starts back up. Blank ammunition covers the ground as the Marines of second platoon, Ground Combat Element, Security Cooperation Task Force, Africa Partnership Station 2011 and Senegalese Commandos execute military operations in urban terrain, a sure sign of lessons learned these past few weeks here. 

Brass rained from trees, rooftops and riverboats as mock opposing forces took on a squad of Marines and Commandos as they patrolled through a valley. Using the basic infantry skills the Marines have demonstrated the last few weeks, the squad reacted to the ambush with haste.

“The ambush happened very fast,” said Senegalese Air Force Commando Mamadou Dia. “I’m glad that I knew how to react when I saw the smoke and the (opposing forces) started shooting.”

Once all the riverfront buildings had been cleared and the patrol regrouped to assess potential losses, phase two of the exercise was in the works to begin. About half a kilometer from the ambush site, Pfc. Eli Steele and other OpFor role players hid in an island mangrove, waiting for the beach assault to begin. In the prone, among tall grass and deep inside the swampy mangrove, the opposition waited until the right moment to make their move on the invaders.

 The sound of the raiding crafts coasting onto the shell covered shore was a sign to those in hiding that a firefight was soon to ensue. 

“Practical application is a great way to demonstrate to the Senegalese how to react to enemy ambushes,” said Steele, an acting squad automatic weapon gunner and Norfolk, Va. native. “They ended up taking the objective point we were defending, so they have obviously learned quite a bit.”

The invading cadre of Marines and Commandos moved to the high ground as they swarmed the island. Though today’s objective was only to capture a tree on a hill, a more serious scenario may one day arise for the Commandos, who should at that point be prepared for an amphibious raid, using the skills practiced the last few weeks here.

“Training makes perfect,” said Nigerian Navy Special Boat Service operator Umaru Usmar, who over the last few weeks helped in leading several periods of instruction on ‘riverine warfare’ and combat marksmanship from watercraft. “You cannot just do this once a week,” he added “You have to do it every day if you want to become proficient.”

Though the close of this chapter of the military-to-military exchange is marked by the finale of the exercise, the experiences here are not ones easily forgotten.

 “In these last weeks I have made friends and learned many things,” said Dia. “I hope I get the chance to work with Marines again in the future.”

Africa Partnership Station 2011 is a U.S. Africa Command maritime security engagement program that is designed to strengthen participating nations’ maritime security capacity through multilateral collaboration and cross-border cooperation. Marine Corps Forces, Africa is supporting APS-11 with a Security Cooperation Task Force based out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. The SCTF began its deployment in Ghana in March and is slated to continue its follow-on mission at Gabon in June.