CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – The rumbling sound of explosives detonating and the motivated shouts of Marines yelling to their peers to take cover permeate the air as the Marines with 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division conducted their Marine Corps Combat Readiness Evaluation, April 4-8, 2016.
The Marines with 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, and 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division provided support for the Marines of 2nd CEB, which allowed the engineers to work in conjunction with units that they would support in a real combat situation.
The MCCRE consisted of multiple scenarios, including route clearance exercises in between operations, survivability training, an urban breaching exercise, and their culminating event which consisted of a company breach with the support of 2nd Tank Bn. and 2nd AA Bn.
Throughout the scenarios, the Marines’ performance was evaluated. [The evaluation] allows the Marine Corps to give us feedback, whether positive or not, so that we may improve for the better of the unit and the mission, said Capt. Curtis Register, the unit’s operations officer in charge.
This training helped reinforce the battalion’s mission to provide close-combat engineer support to the 2nd Marine Division in order to enhance their mobility, counter-mobility, and survivability.
“We train like this to be ready. The MCCRE is about evaluation and it will let us know if we are ready to deploy. It’s important that the Marine Corps is ready when the country is least ready,” said SSgt. Matthew Monteforte, a platoon sergeant for Charlie Co. “We do what we have to. Working with these different units to accomplish a mission is what the Marine Corps is about.”