Marines trains hard at the Rock

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Regina Agoha
  • 19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE. Ark. --  "C-130 rollin' down the strip,
CNATT Little Rock gonna take a little trip!
Mission top-secret, destination unknown!
Don't even know when we're comin' home!
Stand up, buckle up, shuffle to the door,
Jump right out and shout Marine Corps!
If that chute don't open wide,
I've got a reserve by my side
If that one should fail me too,
Look out devil I'm a'comin' for you!
A kickin' and a jabbin'
Punchin' and a stabbin"...

Loud and strong they chant as they jog through the dark, foggy morning mist. Though it's 5:30 a.m., they have long left the warmth of their bed. "OOH-RAH" they shout in unison, being led through tough physical training.

Two hundred thirty-six years ago on Nov. 10, their Corps was born, living by a set of core values, which form the bedrock of their character: honor, courage and commitment. They are known as one of the physically toughest groups in the military. Not only is their reputation reflected by their performance, it's reflected by their training.

These initial-accession students are at Little Rock Air Force Base. Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., has a detachment here for training Marines and the utilization of the base's equipment.

"Our primary mission is maintenance instruction for the KC-130J platform in all military occupational specialties for the Marine Corps," said Master Sgt. Joseph Cutolo, the detachment's senior enlisted advisor. "All Marines that are going to ultimately perform maintenance on Marine Corps C-130s come through Little Rock Air Force Base to train."

"We do have loadmaster training, he said. They were, for some period of time, doing the flight portion of training. That is limited to fleet returning Marines. Fleet returning Marines are Marines that are already in the fleet for the flight portion. Our initial-accession students that come here just do the classroom portion of that loadmaster training. And they are actually a separate entity from us here. They were already here at Little Rock before we brought our maintenance here."

Initial-accession students come here for tech school from their boot camp location. Depending on one's military operation specialty, a Marine could stay here for training from two to four months. There are six MOS's that Marines are trained for here. They are: airframes, powerline, safety and survival, crew chief, communication and navigations technician and electricians.

They have roughly 40 permanent personnel and 80 to 120 students at any given time, including the loadmaster students.

This training for Marines began Oct. 1, 2009. Since then, Cutolo said he's seen a lot of construction and destruction on the base. "We have seen the opening of the new Base Exchange and the remodeling of the floors in the gym. We have also seen destruction in base housing from the tornado and the reconstruction of it."

Clearly Marines and Airmen are two different types of service members, with different ways of doing things. Though Gunnery Sgt. Victor Mancini, squadron gunnery sergeant, says that Airmen are more laid back than Marines, he is impressed with the amount of Airmen he observes doing PT in the morning.

Cutolo is impressed with the initiative he feels the Marine's PT efforts give to young Airmen.

"We know that you guys are watching us. We know that a lot of your "higher ups" are using us as a standard to try and compare their Airmen to, to push themselves a little bit more; we kind of like that," Cutolo said with a smile.

Their pride is also shown through the discipline of their school training. For the two years the Marines have been training here, each class has had an average grading score of 94 percent.

"Without discipline, there is no Marine Corps," said Sgt. Zach Dotson, a crew chief instructor.

Mancini agrees with Dotson, stating that the Marine Corps is a force of readiness, whether C-130 or Infantrymen.

Being a small number of Marines on an Air Force base has its challenges at times, Mancini, Cutolo and Dotson all expressed. Finding certain items in clothing sales can be an issue here, while more convenient on a Marine base. Observing Airmen wearing their PT gear off base was an adjustment for them because that is not allowed for Marines.

Marines here do train separately from Airmen, but they are a part of Team Little Rock. They have participated in base events such as the 9/11 "Run to Remember" and also play recreational sports together. They also volunteer in the community. Their biggest ongoing volunteer service is cutting the grass at the Arkansas Veteran Cemetery, said Cutolo.

"Being a small group on an Air Force base, Col. Mike Minihan, 19th Airlift Wing commander, is always happy to see us," Mancini said. "He calls us his Marines. He says, 'I love my Marines. My Marines do this. My Marines do that.' He's been an awesome support, and the base has taken us in."

Cutolo said they feel really welcomed here; they're glad to be here, and the equipment is top notch.