MCTAG Marines mentor security cooperation team 

During a 2007 speech, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates expressed, "Arguably the most important military component in the War on Terror is not the fighting we do ourselves, but how well we enable and empower our partners to defend their own countries."
Marine Corps Training and Advisory Group (MCTAG) located at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek - Fort Story spearheads the Marine Corps's efforts of providing conventional training and advisory teams to work alongside partner nations' security forces.
Security Cooperation Team 11-1 is the latest of these teams and it refined its basic urban skills under the guidance and mentorship of MCTAG infantry skills instructors, Jan. 3 – 7.
The team, which is comprised of Marines and Sailors from across III Marine Expeditionary Force, is at MCTAG in preparation for future military advisory missions with foreign military units in the U.S. Central Command area of operations.
"MCTAG provides training opportunities that are available nowhere else in the Marine Corps," said Maj. Russell Buttram, who is the officer in charge of the team. "Because they are narrowly focused on advisory missions, they are uniquely suited to prepare teams to head down range in that role."
During five days of training, MCTAG instructors explained, demonstrated, and mentored Team 11-1 on basic patrolling techniques, counter-sniper operations, detainee handling, sensitive site exploitation, and military operations in urban terrain (MOUT). 
"MOUT and the other skillsets that were taught are an important part of anti-terrorism mentoring," said Sgt. Joseph D. France, an infantry skills instructor and lead MOUT instructor at MCTAG. "Some of the foreign units this team will be mentoring haven't seen techniques like these."
Some of the MOUT scenarios rehearsed by Security Cooperation Team 11 - 1 this week included urban patrolling techniques and intelligence-driven operations, followed by cordon and search.
"The team was given certain scenarios to familiarize them with situations they may encounter during deployments, as well as to enable them to teach certain techniques to the foreign units they will be mentoring," said Cpl. Damien Hall, an infantry skills instructor at MCTAG who coordinated the scenarios that Security Cooperation Team 11 - 1 executed on this day. "MOUT is very complex and is a very crucial skillset that requires a proper mindset in order to be successful. It's easy to send operators into a building, but techniques inside the building are easily forgotten when something happens."
Prior to this week's urban skills training, MCTAG instructors also trained the team on advanced medical procedures, evasive driving techniques, land navigation, foreign language proficiency, and negotiations and mediation.
 "We are excited about this opportunity to work alongside foreign forces to expand on their capabilities," said Buttram. "The training we received at MCTAG was top-notch and we plan on maximizing it to carry out our mission."