Rumble in the Jungle

5th Marines Tackles Jungle Warfare Endurance Course

Story by Lance Cpl. Terence L. Yancey, OKINAWA, Japan

OKINAWA, Japan – Marines, covered in mud, carry a simulated casualty up the final hills of the Jungle Warfare Training Center’s endurance course after battling through thick mud and extreme exhaustion. The Marines spent six days at JWTC learning how to survive in the jungle.

Photo by Lance Cpl. Terence L. Yancey

2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, must be prepared to operate in any environment as the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Battalion Landing Team.

Members of the BLT traversed the Jungle Warfare Training Center’s three and a half mile endurance course as the final challenge of their weeklong training at Okinawa’s most northern camp.

During their training, they learned jungle survival skills like finding food and evading capture before facing one of the Marine Corps’ most demanding endurance courses, said Staff Sgt. Jason Drobish, the JWTC’s operations officer.

The endurance course is designed to test and build teamwork in a harsh jungle terrain, said Drobish. By the end of the course the Marines are tired, frustrated and struggling to keep their teamwork from breaking down as high tensions lead to arguments.

Throughout the course the Marines tackled obstacles such as rappelling and navigating harsh jungle while carrying a casualty through Peanut Butter Alley, a 200-meter trench full of mud resembling peanut butter.

OKINAWA, Japan – Lance Cpl. Sean Carolla trudges through stagnant water, narrow tunnels and barbed wire during endurance course training at the Jungle Warfare Training Center. Marines currently serving as the Battalion Landing Team for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit recently tackled the course. Carolla is a rifleman with 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

Photo by Lance Cpl. Terence L. Yancey

“We learned a lot of teamwork and esprit de corps,” said Cpl. Paul Weibert, a rifleman with E Company, 2nd Bn., 5th Marines. “We definitely improved our ability to support each other and work together.”

After a week in the jungle, the Marines had a newfound appreciation for the harsh environment.

“This training has given me a lot more respect for the jungle,” said Lance Cpl. Louis Flores, an infantry assault man with E Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines. “I’ve never been in the jungle before and its amazing how long it can take to cover a very small distance.”