APRIL 20, 2022 – U.S. Marines with the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni Special Reaction Team and the Provost Marshal’s Office conducted a barricaded suspect exercise at the Iwakuni Naval Family Branch Clinic on April 8, 2022.
This type of training is held annually, however this is only the second time it has been conducted in the Branch Health Clinic. The most recent event was acknowledged by participants as being larger and more successful than the previous.
“This time around there was more coordination and a lot more planning, I felt as if the execution was a lot better,” said U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Darien Chan, the SRT team leader.
The exercise was made up of many moving parts, with different teams assessing and taking care of separate threats simultaneously. One of these threats included an armed shooter simulation in which the individual had to be identified, found, and apprehended.
“As Marines, we train as we fight. So it’s great to be put in a high- stress environment like this so when we need to put our skills to the test, we will be ready.” Sgt. Darien Chan, SRT team leader
PMO and SRT work together regularly in these types of exercises to ensure that they can operate side-by-side and sustain the capabilities necessary to handle such high risk incidents, should they take place in a real-world situation.
As the suspect was being apprehended and taken away at the end of the armed shooter simulation, the K-9 team continued with their sweep of the building, coming across a scenario in which they had to apprehend an armed man in possession of drugs who had also barricaded himself inside of a room.
Exercises like these are conducted so that Marines have the know how to respond efficiently and perform well in high stress environments. This gives the Marines involved in the exercises the opportunity to act out these scenarios in a highly realistic manner, helping them to develop more accurate skills and equipping them to handle potential real life situations.
“As Marines, we train as we fight. So it’s great to be put in a high- stress environment like this so when we need to put our skills to the test, we will be ready,” explained Chan.
By Lance Cpl. Calah Thompson
Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan