Marines practice mock terrorist raid in North Carolina

Posted 8:13AM on Friday 25th January 2002 ( 23 years ago )

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. - Marines practised raiding a "terrorist" camp Thursday in a flood-damaged apartment complex as part of a training exercise for troops who will replace Marines now stationed in Afghanistan. About 60 members of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit at Camp Lejeune struck the mock camp quickly, arriving with machine guns blazing and smoke grenades billowing. In 20 minutes, the Marines and their 10 vehicles were gone. The Marines had killed or wounded most of the "terrorists," who were played by other Lejeune Marines, and rescued three captured scouts. Planners at Camp Lejeune will meet Saturday to dissect the exercise and grade it to help prepare Marines for future operations. "It was a successful mission," Col. R.W. Holm said. "Twenty minutes. That's a quick in and out. They came in with overwhelming combat power." The original mission was to raid the camp and take back a laptop computer stolen from a State Department courier. When the scouts were captured, the mission changed to a rescue operation. The rescuers discovered that the computer had been moved to a mock terrorist training camp set up in the coastal town of Aurora. The apartments were condemned after flooding from Hurricane Floyd in 1999. Lance Cpl. Bryan Cole, 19, of Springfield, Pa., was one of the captured scouts. He said the training was so realistic that when he was captured "my heart was pounding pretty good." The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit comprises 2,200 Marines and sailors aboard three ships that also carry helicopters, Harrier jets, tanks, eight-wheel light armored vehicles and other vehicles. Next month, the unit will sail from North Carolina to relieve the 26th MEU, now on duty in Afghanistan. The 26th sailed in September for its usual post in the Mediterranean Sea, but was diverted to the Arabian Sea as the United States began military operations in Afghanistan.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/1/203245