TBS Gym

[invertedflyer]

How are the radio operators chosen for the platoon?

I know you get to shoot mortars and call in artillery... someone mentioned actually getting to "fire" artillery...? Any truth to this or is it more of the same?

 

[Cordespc]

How are the radio operators chosen for the platoon?

I know you get to shoot mortars and call in artillery... someone mentioned actually getting to "fire" artillery...? Any truth to this or is it more of the same?

I think the billet holders choose their ROs, usually under the criteria of someone can speak and relay info coherently, and won't become a heat casualty humping that MF'er all over the Quantico Highlands.

Never had a chance to do anything with the 60s or 81s, but we did get a little time on the 155 gun line (providing fires for the other guys calling in arty on their targets). I distinctly recall lifting and toting HE rounds (90lbs ?) from a pallet to the loading cradle at the rapid rate for hours. Other guys loaded and seated the rounds, but I don't remember any of us operating the breech or pulling the cord.

 

[invertedflyer]

Its a shame they aren't using the 119 Foxtrots... that thing can fit in a molle pouch and only weighs a few pounds. I'm with LAR right now so we never carry manpacks, but I think I'd volunteer to carry the radio anyway since I know the lingo.

Well hey, thanks for all the info.

 

[USMCMidd]

We did the e-course a few weeks ago. If you literally walk up the hills and light jog the downhills/ rest of the course you will come in with plenty of time left. The mystique surrounding it is way worse than actually running the course. Don't loose any sleep over it.

 

[wrk]

Its a shame they aren't using the 119 Foxtrots... that thing can fit in a molle pouch and only weighs a few pounds.

You've just stumbled on exactly why they DON'T use those radios.

 

[invertedflyer]

Hehe, everything is suddenly clear.

We did the e-course a few weeks ago. If you literally walk up the hills and light jog the downhills/ rest of the course you will come in with plenty of time left. The mystique surrounding it is way worse than actually running the course. Don't loose any sleep over it.

*breathes a sigh of relief* ... everyone goes crazy over this "mythical" TBS E-course. Thanks for setting the record straight.

 

[jamnww]

Hehe, everything is suddenly clear.



*breathes a sigh of relief* ... everyone goes crazy over this "mythical" TBS E-course. Thanks for setting the record straight.

if you are smart about running it then passing shouldn't be too much of an issue but you should try for faster than just passing. That said I know people who had problems making it under the time limit...

Don't worry about it, but don't blow it off either...

 

[invertedflyer]

Well I came in at around 37:00 on the OCS E-course (Max 44:00) ... Whats the Min./Max for the TBS version? Its my theory that if you ever attempt to blow of pretty much any kind of Marine training you end up getting screwed, even a PFT.

Also, how many times to you seriously run the E-course? The Lts. I talked to at TBS claimed to have been running it almost every day for the first month of training...also that it was like twice as long as the OCS version. Any truth to that?

 

[Cordespc]

Five miles +/-, the mile markers seem to be very irregularly placed. 80 min to pass, 60 to max. Girls get 90 and 70 I think. We ran it 5 or 6 times for various reasons.

I think most dudes finish under 70, a lot of people max it. Funny story....we ran what was supposed to be the final "E" course on a very humid day, not really hot, just very muggy. So many people dropped for heat casualties that they had to call it off because medical could not accomodate any more heat cases....I guess all the thermometers were in use. It was a good thing anyway, because everyone seemed to have added 10 min to their time....it was just impossible to breath that day.

 

[invertedflyer]

We did a hump at OCS under similar conditions. It was the 9-miler and our CO (aka Maj. Marathon) had us at a good 5-mph pace going up Danang. By the time we reached the first stop we had something like 9-11 candidates flooding the ambulance humvees, some had temperatures of around 107. To make a long story short, there were around 27 candidates that ended up falling out and the docs didn't know what to do with them all. Unfortunately the record temperatures continued for the duration. Even worse, the Colonel went high and to the right and cancelled our Libo. Our company remained notorious for the rest of the cycle and we were out doing remedial ropes while everyone else was on the town.

5 or 6 times for the E-course doesn't sound so bad... hope it'll be a little more forgiving running it in the cold.

 

[ArkhamAsylum]

E-course: about 5 miles, 60:00 to max, 80:00 to pass.

About navigators/RTO's: I was chosen as one of the two during almost every field exercise, while many guys never had the chance to be either. The unit leader should be backing up the navigator, so if they get lost it's the leader's fault. The unit leader should also be making a majority of the radio calls, not the RTO. If an attack or patrol gets messed up, it's probably because the leader had a crappy plan or didn't convey it well enough to the rest of the guys.
About half of my TBS squad showed up to their unit without ever "tactically" talking on a radio or navigating a unit. In my opinion, that circumvents half the purpose of FEXs - to get tactical experience in a non-combat environment.

 

[invertedflyer]

This appears to be from TBS, any experiences with this?

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=1169526304

 

[wrk]

That's from the artillary/CAS/whatever thing during FEX I. When I was there we were supposed to have a harrier come in and drop a bomb but he couldn't for whatever reason, so we got to see a C-130 fly in a drop a WP flare or something, maybe it was smoke. The harrier did give us a flyby at the live fire range the next day though, that was cool.

 

[invertedflyer]

That'll definitely pump me up I'm sure... The same individual that posted that CAS video clip went ahead and posted videos of almost everything else done at TBS... Helo Inserts, heavy weapons, SAW, O-course, etc. Good stuff.

 

[wrk]

That'll definitely pump me up I'm sure... The same individual that posted that CAS video clip went ahead and posted videos of almost everything else done at TBS... Helo Inserts, heavy weapons, SAW, O-course, etc. Good stuff.

Yeah it looks cool, but TBS has a way of making even the coolest stuff suck.