Veterans tour Combat Center
By Kelly O'Sullivan
| | November 20, 2013
Veterans tour Combat Center
Retired and former Marines from the Victor Valley High Desert Marines group watch as members of Marine Unmanned Vehicle Squadron 3 from the Combat Center make their way out of a rollover simulator and take up defensive positions during training at the Battle Simulation Center at Camp Wilson on Nov. 20, 2013.
Veterans tour Combat Center
Members of the High Desert Marines organization from the Victor Valley listen as Range Sustainment Branch work leader Jay Jones shows off a shell casing that will be processed into brass pellets and sold as part of the Combat Center's range recycling program. In addition to paying workers and covering facility expenses, proceeds from the program are used to improve quality of life here and at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport.
Veterans tour Combat Center
Michael Glover of Apple Valley, who served in the Marine Corps from 1960 to 1964, shows off two pairs of brass pellets he received during the High Desert Marines' visit to the Range Sustainment Branch while touring the Combat Center on Nov. 20, 2013. The second pair will go to his son, who works at the U.S. Army's National Training Center at Fort Irwin.
Veterans tour Combat Center
Katy Daley of Victorville, who served in the Marine Corps during World War II, surveys the landscape at Ranges 200/215 with fellow High Desert Marines members during a tour of the Combat Center on Nov. 20, 2013.
Veterans tour Combat Center
Tour guide Michael King explains to High Desert Marines tour participants how instructors create combat convoy scenarios at the Battle Simulation Center at Camp Wilson. The group of former and retired Marines from the Victor Valley toured the center Nov. 20, 2013.
MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. -- Retired and former Marines from the High Desert Marines organization of the Victor Valley toured the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center with family members Nov. 20, 2013, as part of the Commanding General’s Tours Program.
During their tour, the visitors observed Marines from Unmanned Vehicle Squadron 3 from MCAGCC participating in simulated rollovers and combat convoys at the Battle Simulation Center at Camp Wilson. They also spoke with field training instructors at the Range 200/215 Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) complex and learned how the installation recycles range residue at the Range Sustainment Branch, and shared a meal with Marines and sailors at Phelps Hall.
High Desert Marines formed in 2007 to promote Marine Corps values and to provide a social setting for retired and former Marines, and Navy corpsmen attached to Marine units during their service. The group hosts a monthly breakfast and organized events including a Marine Corps Birthday ball. It also supports residents of the Barstow Veterans Home through special events at the facility, collects toys for the Marine Corps Reserve’s annual Toys for Tots drive for needy children and supports other charities serving veterans.
For more information on the tours program, call G-5 Operations Officer Michael King at (760) 830-3735.