The US Marine Corps Special Reaction Team (SRT) has conducted multiple weapons sustainment and tactical training at Marine Corps Installations Pacific (MCIPAC) Headquarters and Support in Japan.
The exercise trains soldiers to respond to hostage-taking, active shooters, and other barricaded subjects.
“We shot from a tower structure to simulate engaging a hostile target from a sniper position. Afterward, we moved to a short range to practice static fire, multiple hostel engagements, and team movement drills,” SRT-MCIPAC Team Commander Gunnery Sgt. Russell Harned said.
The soldiers went through a familiarization course with weapons including the Colt M45A1 Close Quarter Battle Pistol, M40A6 rifle, and P320-M18 pistol.
The SRT also participated in weekly team tactics and range firing practice, enhancing their skills with dynamic and psychological approaches during high-risk emergency operations and apprehensions.
“The way we execute the mission at hand has drastically changed,” Harned explained. “We still enter structures in a dynamic style, referring to kicking down doors, but we now take into account a psychological approach, to understand what the individual inside is thinking and what we can do to help them.”
The Special Reaction Team
The SRT’s main goal is to “contain, control, and dominate a threat psychologically or physically” to neutralize the subject.
They work on an emergency basis and are usually deployed whenever a situation or threat in a camp or headquarters is considered high-risk for the installation’s patrolman.
“Our job as a team is to protect all service members, Status of Forces Agreement Personnel, and local nationals on base. When we arrive at a site, we resolve the situation promptly, with minimal property damage,” SRT-MCIPAC Team Leader Cpl. Dylan Diamond said.
The team is “continuing to move positively by adapting to the new situations and developing new tactics to protect bases across Okinawa further,” the team leader added.