LIMBE, Cameroon -- U.S. Marines and sailors with Africa Partnership Station 13 spearhead their final joint engagement after months of training along the West African coast. The group of warriors embarked on a three-month deployment with a unique mission: strengthen global maritime partnerships through training and collaborative security in Africa.
The last engagement, set in Cameroon, allowed the U.S. Marines and sailors of APS 13 ample time to focus on the basics of combat medicine, assorted combat techniques and tactics, martial arts and more.
Cpl. Stephen Fisher, a Marine Corps Martial Arts Program instructor with the unit, took the lead with the “One Mind, Any Weapon,” program, and focused on basic moves such as lead and rear-hand punches, knee strikes, arm manipulations and more. The Hurt, Va., native, made sure to stress to the Cameroon Marines what the program is all about: physical, mental and character discipline.
“The training is very important, and practical at the same time,” said Fisher. “The whole reason why I became an instructor was to teach other people, and seeing the excitement in their eyes was very rewarding.”
While Fisher and his group of Cameroon Marines were executing throws and strikes, Petty Officer Third Class Dillon Hinsley, a corpsman with APS 13, was teaching a second group the basics of combat medicine. The Plainview, Texas native took his classes a step further and used the environment around him to make and apply different types of life saving instruments varying from tourniquets to arm and leg braces, and more.
Simple things such as bamboo sticks, palm leaves, and strips of an undershirt became basic forms of braces. Small sticks, a weathered stone and a piece of cloth were applied as a tourniquet, and a simple way to keep pressure on open wounds.
Hinsley fed off the enthusiasm of the group of Cameroon warriors which made for what seemed like a very interactive class.
“I didn’t have trouble finding volunteers because they were overly ecstatic at the fact that you were teaching something that only a few people in their company get to learn,” explained Hinsley.
After the medical classes were done, the group of local Marines made their way to the center of the military campsite where they learned different combat tactics and procedures. The classes, led by Sgt. Weston Revak, focused on different subjects such as assaulting objectives, beach landings, defense, observing and reporting, room clearing and more.
The training all led to an amphibious beach landing in which U.S., Spanish and Cameroon Marines assaulted a beach where role-playing enemy forces awaited their arrival. The air filled with the sights of muzzle flashes, smoke and dozens of International military forces emerging from the shores. Gunshots and bellowed commands rang out through the tropical sands of Cameroon.
“The main thing we focused on was assaulting the objective and the beach rehearsals,” said Revak, the lead instructor for the training in Cameroon. “At first, I had to really work with the [Cameroon] Marines, but they stayed engaged and asked multiple questions which made for a successful training cycle. They were really listening to what we were saying, and took it seriously.”
Revak, a New Port Richey, Fla., native, was pleased to learn the landing went as planned, and the landing forces were able to reach their objective nearly two kilometers off the shoreline.
The entire exercise drew to a close with a ceremony in which five different international military forces came together to reflect on the training. The ground combat element for the U.S., led by Commanding Officer Maj. Kyle Andrews, presented each Cameroon Marine with a certificate of completion after a week of rigorous training.
Andrews understood how important this was for the local forces and the country alike, and said he was pleased with the outcome of the entire exercise.
“The Cameroonian leadership was pleased with the training the officers received and the individual training the enlisted Marines received as well,” concluded Andrews. “The leadership also mentioned it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for their Marines, and it was one they will never forget.”