Whyte Rabbit
Marines....to practice urban warfare
Thu Nov 6 17:08:47 2003
64.140.158.215

Marines to land at the Bleachery
Troops from Camp Lejeune, N.C., to practice urban warfare in Rock Hill

By Jason Foster The Herald
(Published November 6‚ 2003)

2nd Lt. Daniel Allen of the Marine Corps special operations training unit from Camp Lejeune, N.C., discusses plans for Friday's military training exercise in Rock Hill, as Capt. Eric Dent, public affairs officer with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, listens during a press conference at Rock Hill City Hall on Wednesday.
http://www.heraldonline.com/local/story/3003701p-2749657c.html

It's a long way from the streets of Baghdad, Iraq, but Rock Hill is apparently as good a place as any to practice urban warfare.

City officials, along with military representatives, announced Wednesday details of a military training exercise to happen Friday morning at the old Rock Hill Printing & Finishing Co. property, also known as the Bleachery.

About 100 Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit are scheduled to rappel from helicopters onto a building at the Bleachery to conduct a mock assault around 10 a.m. The Training in an Urban Environment Exercise, or TRUEX, is part of required pre-deployment training for the unit, which will deploy in February to the Mediterranean. The stop in Rock Hill is part of 14 days of training for the unit in and around the Columbia area.

"A lot of our fighting now is not just in the desert. It's now involved in the cities, among buildings, among homes," said 2nd Lt. Daniel Allen with the special operations training group in Camp Lejeune, N.C. "We have to be able to come to a town, and we've got to be able to take that town."

Though major fighting in Iraq has been declared over, military personnel still must navigate urban areas where hostilities exist, Allen said. It's important to train for this to minimize the loss of innocent lives, he said. Recent military history also has shown the need for such skills during operations in Lebanon, Haiti, Somalia and Kosovo.

"It's the ugly reality of war, but we hope we don't have to see war," said Capt. Eric Dent, the unit's public affairs officer.

The most noticeable part of Friday's exercise will be the arrival of several helicopters as the Marines rappel down to the Bleachery, Dent said. Nearby residents also may hear "small explosions," he said, but the exercise shouldn't cause a major disturbance.

The military has canvassed surrounding neighborhoods to distribute information to ensure no one gets taken by surprise. The exercise was originally scheduled for today but was pushed back a day to give Marines more pre-exercise training.

Safety concerns prohibit the public from watching the training inside the Bleachery, where the Marines will attempt to secure the building by going room to room in what Dent described as "precision raids."

TRUEX training has been held in other cities, including Atlanta, Charleston, Miami and Savannah, Ga. The military chose Rock Hill because it offers a dynamic environment for training, Dent said. Military-built training areas designed to mimic urban landscapes can lack variables, he said.

"Rock Hill is a good environment for us," Dent said. "Rock Hill is a very patriotic and supportive community."

The exercise will be conducted with cooperation from Rock Hill officials. City police will oversee the closing of White Street between Stewart Street and the Family Trust Credit Union during the training. The street will be closed from 9:30 to 11 a.m. The Fire Department also will be on hand to handle any emergency that may arise.

City officials said they're happy to help. Officials aren't expecting any major inconveniences for residents, but should any arise, they will pale in comparison with what the country asks of military personnel every day, Mayor Doug Echols said.

"I think we all recognize that those who serve our country in the military should have the best available training," Echols said.

The Marines want to leave a good impression, Allen said. They appreciate the city's willingness to cooperate.

"If we leave Rock Hill and we've messed up somehow, we failed in our mission," he said. "We want to be invited back."

Contact Jason Foster at 329-4066 or jfoster@heraldonline.com .
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-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Urban Assault Exercises to be Conducted near College in SC.
Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 00:28:32 +0000
From: "Whyte Rabbit" whyterabbit@centralpets.com
To:

Urban Assault Exercises to be Conducted near College in SC, Thursday Nov 6th

Liberty wire, Charlotte, NC.

A Marine MEU detachment of about 100 Marines will be conducting urban assault exercises only one block from Winthrop University in Rock Hill SC on Thursday, November the 6th at an undisclosed time. The goal of these exercises will be to help train Marines for urban combat, civil disturbance and domestic terrorism. Even though city officials and the military were expected to inform the college neighborhood of this exercise, as of 7:00 PM on Wednesday, November the 5th, no one on the street interviewed has heard of the planned assault. The operation will be conducted at the Bleachery, an old abandoned mill network right next to the college and directly next to the student residential area, is expected to be torn down shortly. This building complex is located at the corner of Main St. and Stewart St. in Rock Hill. Even though no time was given, usually these types of civil disturbance drills are conducted at 5 to 6 in the morning or earlier.

Per the Herald: 2B, Wednesday, November 5, 2003 - The Herlad Newspaper Rock Hill, SC

“A military training exercise to help Marines operate in urban areas will be held in Rock Hill on Thursday. About 100 Marines are scheduled to rappel from helicopters onto a building near the Bleachery to conduct a mock assault. City officals, along with members of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), are expected to annouce aother details of the exersice today to let residents know what to expect. This type of training has been held in other cities, such as Atlanta, Charleston, Miami and Savannah, GA.”

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