Missing ingredients for combat prep
By Cpl. Aaron Rooks, 2nd Marine Logistics Group
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — Recipe for pre-deployment training: Add one hour rules of engagement, one hour law of war, two days combat marksmanship, and more than 100 hours of basic infantry training. This may seem like a lot, but it’s just the beginning for Marines preparing to go overseas.
Most Marines know this. They understand that when they are called upon to deploy to other countries around the world, especially during a time of war, these hours of training are the norm.
Yet there are still some topics many individuals tend to overlook. These topics don’t have as much to do with combat prep although they are equally as important. Instead, they deal with personal matters unique to each individual Marine.
The Corps identifies four major areas, which deal with financial, legal, practical and personal matters. These areas, unlike they’re warfare-related counterparts, can in some cases be viewed as more trivial than say participating in a Basic Urban Skills Training course. These matters, if left unresolved, can all have a lasting, powerful effect on the individual Marine and his effectiveness on the frontlines.
Marines usually won’t see these issues posted on the average pre-deployment training calendars within their commands. It’s rare to see emergency information worksheet under combat stress brief, or property worksheet above combat lifesaver. These various individual matters are just that: individual matters. Because these preparations aren’t mandatory, they are sometimes not covered at all.
“If Marines have their personal, practical, financial and legal matters in hand before they deploy to combat, they will have more focus on the tasks they’re given while they’re over there,” said Sgt. Jonathan Hackworth, the noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the Corporal’s Leadership Course at the Camp Lejeune Staff NCO Academy. “Plus they will have peace of mind knowing that their family, bills and finances are all taken care of while they’re gone.”
The 24-year-old Carey, Ohio native has taught readiness classes to his students for more than a year now. To add to his resume, he’s an infantry rifleman by trade and has gone through three combat deployments, once to Afghanistan and twice to Iraq. During this time he has seen the true effects that come from lack of planning.
He used a past experience involving one of his junior Marines to show how not taking care of financial and legal matters can turn a person’s life upside down. He said the Marine gave a power of attorney to the wrong people before he left for Iraq, which he didn’t realize until he returned months later.
“He found a $100,000 house that he owned here in Jacksonville that he knew nothing about, plus a new sports car as well,” Hackworth explained. “He had no choice but to either sell the property or file for bankruptcy. He was later able to get his life back on line, and he learned a life-long lesson.”
Hackworth views financial and legal stability to come hand-in-hand, and that there are many different aspects to the two that Marines must look into. He said there are allotments that should be setup, medical, dental and life insurance policies to update, bills to organize, which only scratches the surface of the many issues that must be solidified. He added that if these are not handled properly, legal repercussions can be found, much as his former Marine discovered.
He said that there are a lot of other legal issues to consider aside from legal repercussions due to financial problems. Marines must determine estate plans, designate legal guardians of children and store important documents, just to name a few. He said these seemingly small matters can have drastic long-term effects on not only the individual Marine, but also on their family and friends as well. He views practical and personal issues in the same light.
For example, Marines are advised to ensure all of their home security measures are working and in place. One security measure, the smoke detector, is often times overlooked. So if a Marine fails to check the alarm, they’re house could burn down, possibly harming that individual’s family in the process. And that easily, a practical issue just became a personal issue.
The practical and personal matters, just like financial and legal matters, are in abundance. Hackworth uses the examples of appliances, vehicles, moving arrangements and health care as primary topics to convey their importance. He said that while Marines are gone, their family members need to know how to handle these different types of issues.
Now leaning more towards the personal issues, if a Marine gets injured or killed while in-country, his or her families might not get what they are entitled to simply because the information wasn’t updated.
Luckily a group of Marines currently participating in combined pre-deployment training at the 2nd Marine Logistics Group’s Battle Skills Training School are well aware of these issues, and understand the necessity of handling these matters. They have either solidified those issues, or are currently handling them.
“There’s a lot of focus toward it as far as deploying to ensure that we and our families are prepared,” said Sgt. Dan Clark, a field military policeman with MP Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 27, 2nd MLG. “Everything is important leading up to the deployment, there’s just two sides: the combat side and the personal side. We do a lot of training, but when it comes time to handle those personal matters, we get it done.”
Clark, a single male Marine from Quincy, Mass., has endured one deployment to Iraq so far in his career, and works with junior Marines on a daily basis ensuring they are taken care of. This greatly attributes to Clark’s unit’s success.
Like Hackworth, Clark uses his lessons learned to pass on to junior Marines, who are naturally the largest group affected by this issue.. Clark is a prime example of this; an NCO doing what’s necessary to take care of his Marines and helping them remain in good financial, legal, practical and personal standing.
“The NCOs are the individuals who must ensure that their Marines are prepared,” Hackworth said. “By setting goals and counseling sessions, every Marine will be better off (during deployments).”
Sgt. Russell Chastain, a platoon sergeant with security company, 2nd Supply Battalion, 2nd MLG, has a particular focus different from the average that only adds to the effort of preparing his Marines. He is married and has one daughter who’s just over a year and a half old. Because of the family he has waiting back home, he must put forth even more of his time to ensure they’re are taken care of after he leaves.
“I have to put a lot of focus into my family,” the Hampton, Va., native said. “I have to make sure I’m good, but I also have to ensure that they’re good. They are going to look to me for support.”
Chastain said that he has a comfort inside because he knows that he’s completed 75 percent of his personal preparation for himself and his family, and is confident that his family, as a whole, will make it through his upcoming deployment Ok. He said he could not say that he knows all other Marines are this confident, but he said he hopes that’s the case.