The course refreshed the Marines’ understanding of Marine Corps fundamentals. The Marine participants came from a variety of military occupations within Marine Air Support Squadron 2, Marine Air Control Group 18, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force.

According to 2nd Lt. Zachary B. Sanders, an air support control officer with MASS-2, it is essential Marines working with the squadron have a comprehensive understanding of small-unit leadership.

“There is no sure way to know exactly what’s going to happen in the field, but the training the Marines are receiving today will help them make quick decisions under pressure,” said Sanders. “We rely on small-unit leaders to make the right decisions at the important moments when we are not around to advise them.”

Two days before, the Marines attended classes, such as land navigation with a lensatic compass, assembling and operating a PRC-119 field radio, function checks and assembly of a M240B medium machine gun, and basic lifesaving skills. These were the skills they needed to complete the 11 timed challenges staged across the six-mile course.

“It’s always different learning the lessons and applying them in a classroom than taking that knowledge and making it useful in the field, while out of breath and searching for potential threats,” said Cpl. Allen J. Mroz, an armory chief with MASS-2.

The exercise challenged the Marines’ small-unit leadership skills, and brought them out of their physical and mental comfort zones, said Sgt. Demetrius S. Douglas, noncommissioned officer-in-charge of aviation communications systems with MASS-2.

“There are a lot of Marines here who do not get the opportunity to interact with each other as closely as they would if they worked together in the same career field,” said Douglas. “It was up to each small-unit leader to know what each Marine’s skill was and use that to accomplish each challenge.”

During the timed exercise, 11 teams composed of seven Marines each competed to see who could traverse the course and accomplished its challenges the fastest.

“There were times when my pride made me want to push ahead and win, but since we started together as a team, we finished as a team,” said Douglas. “It’s very important to communicate with your Marines because it’s important to keep everyone from arguing with each other.”

“Everyone who came out today for today’s (small-unit) leadership exercise got something out of it,” said Sanders. “Whether physically or mentally, everyone was challenged and pushed through.”