Date: Tue, 06 Jul 1999 16:20:56 -0700

By Sgt. Art Geahr COMMANDER, U.S. NAVAL FORCES MARIANAS, Guam (June 25) -- The Marines of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) have begun the training and testing required to earn the Special Operations Capable (SOC) designation ? but they won't do it alone. They will be tested, coached and assisted by the Marine instructors at the Special Operations Training Group (SOTG) on Okinawa, Japan. A SOC certification attests that the MEU has the training and experience needed to conduct special missions including humanitarian assistance/disaster relief, non-combatant evacuations, tactical recoveries of aircraft and personnel, amphibious raids, and show-of-force operations. The training comes in the form of numerous realistic scenarios the MEU must react to, such as the Training in an Urban Environment Exercise recently conducted on Guam and Saipan. The execution of all corresponding missions is set up, monitored and evaluated by the SOTG staff. Special Operations Training Group Marines know what it takes to plan and execute successful special operations missions because they've been there. The majority of the instructors at SOTG have served in the Marine Corps' reconnaissance community and have deployed with other MEU (SOC) units. They come to SOTG as sergeants or above to pass along their experience from training exercises and real-world operations. "Experience counts," said Staff Sgt. Monroe A. Stueber, an SOTG dynamic assault instructor. In addition to all their experience, the instructors also need to be good teachers. "You may be confident and know what you're doing, but articulating that to someone else can be a challenge sometimes," said Stueber. But the SOTG instructors are up to the challenge. From rescuing hostages to storming beaches, SOTG instructors prepare 31st MEU Marines for the special operations missions they may be asked to perform. When the Marines of the 31st MEU earn their SOC qualification and deploy to various regions around the world, the training and instruction they received from SOTG will help them effectively deal with the challenges of training exercises and real-world operations.