FORT STORY, Virginia -- Marines with Alpha Company, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion,
2nd Marine Division, conducted soft-duct insertion operations aboard Joint
Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia, June 16, 2015.
The company was flown from Marine Corps Air Station New
River, North Carolina, to Fort Story on two CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters.
From there, they were taken 18 miles off the shore of Virginia, where they then
inserted four Zodiac inflatable boats.
“There were two CH-53Es with the Marines on board and two
AH-1Ws (Cobra) helicopters as escort support,” said Capt. Thomas Wallin, the
company commander. “Once out of the bird, the Marines had 20 nautical miles to
navigate before they got to shore.”
Once at the insertion site, four Zodiacs, two on each
helicopter, were kicked out the back, followed by the Marines. The Marines then
swam to the boats and boarded them.
“Once they were inserted, the Marines had to navigate
through international shipping lanes and then to shore, where they would carry
on the rest of their reconnaissance and surveillance mission,” said Wallin.
The Marines conducted the insertions in the late hours of
the day, with little natural light, to help conceal them.
“One of the advantages of doing the insert at night is that
there is less visibility, therefore making it harder to detect us,” said
Wallin. “Our boats are small enough as it is, we can shut our engines off and
paddle in.”
Adding to the cover and concealment, the Marines were
inserted in international waters to reduce the threat of being picked up by
radar. International waters range anywhere from 12-24 miles off the coast of a
country.
“We insert and offset far enough away to be safe,” said
Wallin. “It allows us to go in undetected and get to the objective.”
The insertion was part of a four-day reconnaissance and
surveillance mission. Throughout the four days, the Marines were responsible
for observing and gathering intelligence from three separate sites, all while
staying undetected.