Hollywood magic prepares Marines for combat

Story by Lance Cpl. Heidi E Loredo

SAN DIEGO (Aug. 6, 2004) -- Arabic music echoes through the narrow trash-strewn streets of a mock Iraqi village on a sunny afternoon. Saddam loyalist posters and raggedy clothes for sale are posted on shacks built on dirt-paved roads plagued with donkey droppings and broken glass. A mock Iraqi family stands outside their home shouting anti-America slogans while Marines patrol the area.

A bomb explodes and sends fragments in every direction and for a brief moment the Marines seem paralyzed by the shock. What do they do next?

Marines from 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines, from Chicago, participated in military operations in urban terrain July 27-28 to prepare for their upcoming deployment to Iraq. The training placed the Reservists in a simulated Iraqi town inside Strategic Operations, a training site located on the 11-acre lot of Stu Segall Productions, San Diego's only TV and movie studio.

"Strategic Operations is a training facility that prides itself for being different than any other facility," said Stu Segall, owner. "We use the magic of Hollywood to simulate a real-world training environment for tomorrow's threat. We combine movie-making techniques with the realism for training needs."

Sergeant Jonathon Welms, squad leader, 1st squad, 1st Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines, said the facility sets itself apart from the training sites Marines used prior to their recent deployments. March Air Reserve Base, old Marine Palms housing, and the MOUT facility located at Camp Pendleton, Calif., don't compare to Strategic Operations' lot.

The 12,000 square foot tactical training area includes a drug lab, school house, bomb lab, alley and adjacent MOUT facility. Some rooms are equipped with interchangeable floor plans to provide variety in the training scenarios. The lot is specifically designed for law enforcement and military training and is not open to the public.

The shoot house, also called the "kill house," is another feature the facility offers. The "kill house" is a simulated residence fully furnished complete with front yard and security door used for repeated breeches. The home is equipped with furniture, operating lights and real-life surroundings like the laundry on the floor and the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink. The rooms offer overhead viewing catwalks and are available in each scenario. There is also a bomb lab with a complete display of interactive simulated improvised explosive devices.

"We've installed doors that open the wrong way to trap the Marines when they storm a building," said Segall.

The highlight of the lot is the MOUT facility. The facility sits on a four-acre lot. Both the exterior and interiors of these moveable buildings can be easily changed to simulate urban areas in various parts of the world.

"We tried to simulate an Iraq village exactly how it is, from the items they sell on the streets to the animals that are loose and running around in the streets," said Segall. "We provide role players to add to the experience forcing the Marines to react to every little thing they do. All personnel in the unit are free to participate in the training evolution instead of being role players."

Strategic Operations also provides professional wound artists that create grotesque and convincing wounds.

"We had Marines who lost limbs in the war come help us," said Segall. "They would go out on patrol with their squad, a bomb would explode, and we'd pretend they lost a leg. The rest of the Marines had to learn how to quickly react to the gushing blood and screams, but at the same time they had to be constantly aware of what was going on around them."

Segal and his team aimed to re-create the fog of war whether it was sound, smell, smoke or explosions from the rocket-propelled grenade to the Arabic writing on the wall.

"When a squad is out on patrol and an improvised explosive device explodes in front of a Marine, the rest of his Marines experience a shock," said Segall. "Here we train them to quickly react and automatically think of what they must do next. When it's all done it takes around two minutes to set up again."

"This is more realistic than March Air Reserve Base," said Sgt. Jonathon Welms, a Chicago, native. "Despite the narrow space, this setup is more productive than any training we've received. I'd rather do this since it is real-world training that is more believable. Having rounds come back at us compared to the cinderblock MOUT facility at Camp Pendleton makes it more real. We're going to be new combat-efficient leaders. The simulations build the privates first class to be better leaders so they are not afraid to stand up and take charge."