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The mission of the Marine security guard (MSG) is to provide security for classified information and protection for U.S. citizens. A react drill is on-the-job training designed to improve the mission's outcome. Scenarios may be an embassy intrusion, a chemical attack, bomb detection or any other circumstance that can pose a threat to the embassy or personnel.
The drill is not a test to see how quickly the MSG can assemble and respond. The Marines have been told the drill at hand is to analyze how the detachment responds to an embassy intruder. Unbeknownst to the Marines, the drill will test their reactions to an unplanned circumstance.
In Bogotá, Senior Regional Security Officer (RSO) Mark Hunter and Detachment Commander Gunnery Sergeant Mark Braun observed a react drill as the detachment responded to a simulated emergency condition.
Hours prior to the actual drill, "Gunny" Braun conducted a walk-through with the detachment. The Marines walked from one floor level to another and were briefed concerning locations of offices and how the Marines should deploy at particular cross sections of the embassy.
As they entered offices, personnel looked up from their desks and exchanged greetings and smiles. For many, the civilian-clad Marines merely were doing their job. For the Marines, the walk-through seemed like giving away answers to an examination.
The Marine at Post 1, Sergeant Emily B. Donigan, notified embassy employees of the drill through a speaker system. Donigan completed her high school education in Edina, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis. "I wanted to see the world, and I'm doing it." Tunis was her first MSG post. MSG instruction at Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Va., taught Donigan the basics of a react drill. But, "you actually learn when you get to your assignment," Donigan said. She remained at Post 1 during the drill and used a remote telephone to coordinate between teams.
The Marines assembled in the react room immediately began to assist one another with the react equipment. The room is organized for safety and efficiency, with each MSG having his or her own equipment and dress area. Everyone knew it was a drill, but strapping on Kevlar helmet, flak jacket with a load-bearing vest and other equipment added to the stress level. The adrenaline ran high, and beads of perspiration formed. They were "good to go."
RSO Hunter gave final instructions, but he threw the Marines a curve. "Ten of you walked through the problem this afternoon. You know the problem: There's a possible intruder. I'm taking one Marine out of the picture; he'll act as observer. You'll operate with one Marine less."
The news changed the dynamics of the intruder drill. They were one less MSG than they had practiced with. "The possibility for an unplanned event during a react is real," said Hunter.
One of the team leaders, Sgt Aloysius C. Villaluz, spent his first tour in Yerevan, Armenia. With his previous MSG and Antiterrorism FAST experience, Villaluz appreciates and understands his responsibility as a react team leader. Those skills materialize into leadership. No doubt the Marine's goal of being a teacher will reward his students.
The teams moved through the embassy halls at the ready with 9 mm Beretta pistols or M870 shotguns. The point man carried a Point Blank Tactical Shield, offering protection against small-arms fire, including shotguns.
The observer was Sgt Douglas D. Kim. Clipboard in hand, Kim accompanied RSO Hunter and Gunny Braun as they shadowed the react teams. Kim, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native, attended the Junior Reserve Officer's Training Corps program in high school. After boot camp he was a member of Joint Task Force, Direct Support Team and Current Intelligence in Okinawa, Japan, and an MSG watchstander in Bujumbura, Burundi.
After being told that his first post was Bujumbura, Kim asked, "Where the heck is that?" Upon reflection of that experience he added, "It was a good post, and I was grateful for what I had and how we lived in the U.S. It was a humbling experience."
Teams moved down embassy hallways, up stairwells and into offices, checking each locked or unlocked office door and space, using hand signals to prompt action. In the absence of Kim, the Marines were forced to be more efficient with their time and performed the search without losing proficiency.
Armed Marines appearing suddenly in office entrances caused some employees to react as though they had not heard the loudspeaker warnings or didn't understand what would take place. Some got out of the way by throwing themselves against walls. Faces reflected surprise and fright. The stern-faced and armed Marines in utilities seemed out of place with the "good morning" they gave employees as they went to work that morning.
Referred to as "hot wash-ups," the detachment reassembled in the react drill room. Braun, Hunter, Kim and every team member shared their observations. So, too, would Donigan via teleconference. Each person offered a critique or evaluation of the drill. In the end, RSO Hunter, who has experienced Marine react drills in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire); Conakry, Guinea; Bujumbura; and Jakarta, Indonesia, said, "It's the best react drill I've seen."
"Drill" may be the operative word, but should the order simply be "react," these MSGs will be ready to answer the call.
—Ed Vasgerdsian
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Sgt Eusebio Vargasmontiel played four years of baseball in high school in Inglewood, Calif., but professional sports do not appear to be in his future. "If I don't reenlist, I'd like to pursue aeronautics," said the honor graduate from Avionics School, Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Fla. Vargasmontiel received his first meritorious promotion after completing his Pensacola training and his second while stationed at Marine Corps Air Station, Miramar, Calif.
Sgt Vargasmontiel arrived in Bogotá in May from his first posting in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The 22-year-old Marine was in Haiti during the March 2004 rebellion, and he felt well-trained for what he had to do. "It's a good program," he said of his MSG schooling. "Too bad more people don't know about it. With the exception of a family trip to Mexico, Port-au-Prince was my first trip [outside the United States], and I'm eager to see Europe before I leave the program. Here I am in Colombia, and I'm not as bilingual in Spanish as I'd like to be. There's a ton of places to go to here."
The June 2004 announcement that Marines were needed from existing MSG detachments for duty in Afghanistan resulted in Sgt Vargasmontiel volunteering to be among the first. His tour at the American Embassy in Kabul will be for six months, and upon completion he will return to Bogotá.
While most young men and women join the Marine Corps at 17 and 18 years of age, Robert L. Thibodeaux III joined when he was 22, thereby earning the nickname Old Man by fellow boots at Parris Island, S.C. "Formal education wasn't giving me what I wanted," Thibodeaux said, nor was his job as assistant manager at a video store.
As a Marine sergeant, MSG duty has been his ticket to seeing and doing things he would not have otherwise been able to do. The 0612 field lineman participated in Operation Cobra Gold in Thailand, and after graduating from MSG School at Quantico, he was assigned to his first post in Seoul, South Korea. For Marines posted abroad for the first time, Thibodeaux offered this advice: "Whether the post is Bogotá, Seoul or anywhere else, respect the country's culture, and you'll be rewarded with kindness."
Serve and Learn
Texas-born Sgt Hector G. Ramos never played soccer until arriving in Bogotá in May 2003, but now plays on an embassy league team. Soccer, the national sport of most Latin American countries, has become a pastime with embassy employees. Sgt Ramos gives credit to former Bogotá MSG Corporal Francisco Sanchez. "Sanchez got a league started and people interested," he said.
Bogotá has instituted car-free days. The Environmental News Network said that Bogotá's Sunday car-free days help "to raise civic awareness... Nearly 200 miles of streets, alleys and other pathways are reserved for bicycles and pedestrians." Every year more than 1,000 people are killed in road accidents in Bogotá. For Ramos, car-free days are ideal. "I spend my free time either playing soccer on Saturdays or bicycling through the city," he said.
Cpl David A. Landymore went to Bogotá in March. "It's busy here," he said. "[MSG] battalion trains you for all posts, not one specific [one], and, like the Marine Corps, you have to be ready to adapt to any situation. ... I traveled to Mexico and Spain before enlisting, so I had some foreign living experience."
Despite his excellent physical condition, Landymore found the high altitude took adjusting to, but said, "We still do our PT." His one goal before leaving MSG duty is "[to] go on safari to Africa, not to take pictures—I want to really hunt something."
Sgt Michael S. Allston-Williams' introduction to his first post was unusual. He was met at the airport in Istanbul, Turkey, and within minutes of his arrival was rushed to the consulate where a mob had gathered to protest the war in Iraq. Hearing the word "react" from the detachment commander, Allston-Williams knew that his tour would be a busy one from the very beginning.
As with every MSG reporting for duty in Bogotá, Allston-Williams met with RSO Hunter on security issues and with Ambassador William B. Wood for a "welcome-aboard" chat. "I'm eager to get to work so I can learn the post procedures here, and I'm encouraged to hear from the RSO that my point of view as an MSG is regarded as important," he said.
Cpl Mathew D. Suhr arrived in March. He has a brother in the Army serving in Iraq and a Marine cousin who plays in "The President's Own" United States Marine Band. "I want to see as much of this part of the world as I can," Cpl Suhr said.
Although Bogotá is his first MSG assignment, he served in Afghanistan in a Marine Mobile Training Team, setting up makeshift runways for evacuations and communications. He also served in Uzbekistan for six months. "People kiss each other on the cheek, and that takes getting used to, and it's a far cry from Far Eastern cultures," said Suhr.
Be Cautious, Be Safe
During rainy days, officials clad in bright-blue ponchos hold large printed signs encouraging motorists to slow down and drive safely. At first glimpse their warnings seem too dramatic, too colorful to be taken seriously. The sight of those people standing causes motorists to reflect on the seriousness of their efforts.
Embassy bulletins and the MSG weekly Guard School often address information about areas where there may be a security concern. The headline of one such bulletin read, "Several killed in roadside bomb attack." Although the content of the bulletin did not indicate Americans were targeted, the information still served as a warning.
Exercising caution may mean imposing temporary restrictions on clubs or areas where Marines visit, so as not to set a pattern for exploitation. Post 1 is always informed as to the whereabouts of all Marines. They go out in pairs or with approved people. Whether it's Colombia or Haiti, Marines look after each other. But a tour of duty in Bogotá doesn't mean being confined to the embassy compound or having a fear of shopping or dining out. It simply means exercising a higher degree of caution.
Editor's note: Ed Vasgerdsian, a retired law-enforcement officer and former Marine security guard who served in the Corps from 1953 to 1959, is a freelance writer and contributing editor to Leatherneck. He is the executive director of the Marine Embassy Guard Association.
© 2004 Leatherneck Magazine. All rights reserved.
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