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Rolling Thunder 21.2 - Rocket Like I Talk It
by U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. Sarah Pysher
May 9,
2021
U.S. Marines and Sailors with 10th Marine Regiment (10th
Marines), 2d Marine Division (2d MARDIV) participated in Exercise
Rolling Thunder 21.2 from April 19-29, 2021 at Fort Bragg, N.C. and
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C. Rolling Thunder is a live-fire
exercise that takes place in a dynamic scenario where Marines
employed distributed fires through Expeditionary Advanced Base
Operations (EABO).
This iteration of the exercise has unique
components that affected every subordinate unit in 10th Marine
Regiment. This is the first time the Regiment was able to conduct
fire missions with High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).
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U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Autumn Becker, a native of Douglass, PA and a field artillery cannoneer, with 1st Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division (2d MARDIV), awaits dictions during Exercise Rolling Thunder 21.2 on Fort Bragg, NC
on April 18, 2021. This is a live-fire artillery exercise where 10th Marines employed distributed fires via simulated Expeditionary Advanced Bases (EAB’s). The training increased 2d MARDIV’s combat readiness against a peer competitor. HIMARS are an advanced long-range and mobile rocket system that allow 2d MARDIV to employ precision fires onto a target. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Pfc.Sarah Pysher)
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This weapon system gives the Marine Corps a competitive edge
against peer threats by providing longer-range and more precise
fires capabilities than what is usually scene from the M777
Howitzer.
HIMARS has been in use with 1st and 3d Marine Division, but 10th
Marines was able to temporarily acquire this system for Rolling
Thunder 21.2, which allowed them to gain more familiarity with
employing HIMARS as the force continues the modernization effort
that will result in a large increase in precision fires assets
across the Marine Corps. Romeo Battery HIMARS crew explained that
they are rockets on wheels and they will make 2d MARDIV and the
Marine Corps more flexible.
“Currently we are shooting in
support of the 23rd Marine Regiment as they execute EABOs against
the 9th Mechanized Infantry Brigade,” said 1st Lt. Cordel Frovarp,
field artillery officer with 1st Battalion, 10th Regiment. “This
training is in line with the Marine Corps Force Design 2030, as we
start to prepare for combat in anti-area access denial environments.
This training allows the Marines to try new things that will prepare
them for fights now and into the future. ”
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U.S. Marines with 1st Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division (2d MARDIV), fire a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System during Exercise Rolling Thunder 21.2 on Fort Bragg, NC
on April 26, 2021. This is a live-fire artillery exercise where 10th Marines employed distributed fires via simulated Expeditionary Advanced Bases (EAB’s). The training increased 2d MARDIV’s combat readiness against a peer competitor. HIMARS are an advanced long-range and mobile rocket system that allows 2d MARDIV to employ precision fires onto a target. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Pfc. Sarah Pysher)
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In addition to the use of HIMARS, this is the first time
Exercise Rolling Thunder utilized an Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS).
These systems provide the unit expanded capabilities in aerial
reconnaissance and fires observation. Which increases situational
awareness and act as a sensor for expediting decision making.
“We use an R-80D
SkyRaider drone,” said Lance Cpl. Jacob O’Toole, an intelligence
specialist with 1st Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment. “Marines should
train with them more. They have a lot of capabilities such as
plotting points, locating attacks and targets, and it can record and
take pictures for briefings.”
Exercise Rolling Thunder is
conducted twice a year for 10th Marines and its subordinate
battalions to gain confidence and increase proficiency operating in
austere environments. This year, 10th Marines was complimented by
heliborne, fixed-wing, and unmanned aerial system support to provide
expeditionary fires capable of rapid maneuver and employment in
support of apex battalion task forces.
"This iteration is the
first time 10th (Marine) Regiment has the ability to work with
engineers and have them establish berms and cover that integrate
with our battery defense.” says Cpl. Xavier Ortiz, a field artillery
cannoneer with 1st Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment.
Marines
received data from an observer that was extensively processed in a
very short period of time. This process will result in the right
prioritization of targets, the accurate and timely delivery of the
right munitions to that target so the desired effect is achieved,
and the assessment of those effects after the fire mission is
completed. This process is critical to all forms of military
maneuver, extensive training scenarios like Rolling Thunder 21.2 are
crucial for preparing Marines.
“We are just part of a
working body system,” Ortiz said. “The forward observers are the
eyes, the fire support are the brains and we, the 0811s, are the
muscle.”
Effective training and mission readiness were the
end goals of the exercise. Exercise Rolling Thunder 21.2 is just
another tool in 2d MARDIV and the Marine Corps’ tool belt to achieve
a more lethal and capable warfighting organization that is ready to
fight against peer threats.
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