Year in Review: Camp Pendleton's 2021

Lance Cpl. Andrew Cortez and Lance Cpl. Hope Straley

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

Over the course of the last 12 months, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton has faced many challenges that have pushed the Marines, sailors and service members aboard the installation to become stronger leaders and better warfighters.

Throughout this period, the mission never stopped for the Marines, sailors, and service members, even with the coronavirus pandemic entering its second year.

As the COVID-19 virus continued to spread, the installation started a comprehensive program to provide vaccines for service members, prioritizing mission critical and deploying Marines and sailors. Base officials monitored the local situation and adjusted the installation's health protection condition accordingly, instituting mitigation measures when the situation called for it.

When the Department of Defense made vaccinations mandatory in the summer, the vaccination program stepped up to ensure service members were afforded full vaccination by the deadline.

Camp Pendleton was the first to host the Corps' new infantry training course, known as the Infantry Marine Course. Marine combat instructors with Infantry Training Battalion, School of Infantry - West, worked for over a year to help develop the new 14-week course. It is taught to entry-level infantry Marines and emphasizes freedom of thought and freedom of action. This can help new infantry Marines successfully operate independently as riflemen, machine gunners and anti-tank missilemen.

The course changed the instructor-to-student ratio to one squad instructor for each 14-man squad of Marines. This student-centered approach allowed opportunities for the new infantry Marines to ask questions and create a one-on-one experience. The Fleet Marine Force is still evaluating the IMC graduates before finalizing the course to ensure the new program is creating more lethal infantry Marines.

With dense vegetation spreading across approximately 125,000 acres of training area, Camp Pendleton goes to great lengths to minimize wildfires. This year the Camp Pendleton Fire Department and surrounding communities made multiple firebreaks that stretch for miles along the hillsides of the installation. These firebreaks prevent fires from jumping across to another patch of vegetation. The CPFD also conducted multiple prescribed burns to minimize small brush fires that can be started by live-fire ranges. These fire prevention efforts helped the CPFD fight the Sierra Fire more efficiently, ultimately saving service members and buildings from being hurt or damaged.

To start the second half of the year, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Marines on Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton participated in a three-week long training evolution known as Summer Fury. Components of the training included aerial refueling and gunnery, sonobuoy operations, as well as night operations.

Summer Fury is hosted by the Marines and sailors of 3rd MAW to help refine the capabilities of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force. Since the skills of the Marines and sailors are changing, it improves the chances of success in advanced expeditionary basing operations. This plays into Force Design 2030, which is the Marine Corps' latest effort to adapt and outmaneuver adversaries.

Just a few days after Summer Fury, Camp Pendleton opened a new training range: Range 800. This range was designed to better facilitate the training needs of infantry Marines stationed on Camp Pendleton by integrating machine guns, mortars and rockets into a platoon attack range.

Before the range opened, Marines had to travel to Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms to gain the training now available on Camp Pendleton. By implementing areas on the range that can facilitate high explosives training, it better supports the competitive evolution of the service members at Camp Pendleton.

Camp Pendleton Marines also had the opportunity to train in the new annual rifle qualification course of fire. In 2016, the Marine Corps started to work on the annual marksmanship training, improving the program to increase the proficiency of Marines. Camp Pendleton's range training division trained marksmanship coaches to take shooters through the new course of fire. The course changed from static long range shooting to more technical movements. Today, ARQ is the new standard for all Marines outside of entry-level training.

Camp Pendleton has taken many steps closer to Force Design 2030 this year. Steel Knight is an annual joint training operation 1st Marine Division conducts with the U.S. Navy. Components of this training include live-fire exercises, naval fleet components and high explosives. The training is executed in a realistic combined-arms environment to enhance naval warfighting tactics. As the direction of the fighting forces change, so does the way Marines and sailors train.

New training isn't the only change the installation underwent this year. After 11 years, families will be able to give their children a better opportunity for elementary education on Camp Pendleton. The Mary Fay Pendleton Elementary School had their ribbon cutting ceremony this fall, providing the school campus with updated facilities and classrooms that cater to a more enhanced learning environment.

Camp Pendleton continues to grow and develop as Marines move through the installation's training ranges. Training evolves every day, and so do the combat mindsets of each Marine and service member on the installation. The new year is fast approaching, and training will only continue to advance as Marines get closer to meeting Force Design 2030.