Once in position, Company E unleashed its mortars and rockets. The Marines inflicted numerous casualties, resulting in a hasty retreat of the occupying Japanese infantry from their positions in the target village. The prize of this operation (in addition to its primary diversionary purpose), was the collection of valuable documents detailing Japanese barge traffic, which was the shuttle service for local inter-island reinforcements and supplies (Rentz, 1948/1989).
The larger purpose of detailing the rigorous training of the Ninth Marines and the Choiseul raid is to highlight the necessary intensive training prior to deployment in extreme environments. Additionally, the Choiseul raid is an example of a mission that today’s Marines and Army soldiers will engage in if called upon to meet the Chinese military in combat. They will be deployed in smaller units to conduct reconnaissance, long-range patrols and deadly assaults to deny or evict Chinese land forces.
Preparing Today for Tomorrow’s Fight
Cresson Kearny was a geologist with extensive field experience in Central America. He later joined the U.S. Army and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. He was a pioneer of Jungle Warfare and an advocate for developing proficiency in the jungle prior to World War II. He stated:
Each man must think for himself… Each individual must possess superior physical fitness, initiative, resourcefulness, and aggressiveness; the ability to make long marches; the ability to advance, attack, defend, and maneuver in the jungle, individually and in small units; perfection in scouting and patrolling, and in the use of cover and concealment; and the ability to operate in the jungle for considerable periods of time, conserving and using only his initial supplies and rations. Moreover, he must master the elements, learning how to prevent serious illness and ailments through his own application of preventative measures
(Leiter, 2005, pp. 39-40).
Army Preparations for Jungle Warfare
These wise words of Lieutenant Kearney ring true today as the U.S. military readies itself for a confrontation with the Chinese military. The current training regime for the 25th Infantry Division, the Army’s premier jungle combat unit, consists of a 12-day course comprised of 60 to 95 students with 6 to 12 instructors (Lalor, 2012). The training is conducted at the “Lightning Academy” in Hawaii at the U.S. Army’s Schofield Barracks.
The first week of this training covers such topics as “… land navigation, waterborne operations, rope-based mobility training, and survival skills…crafting ruck rafts for riverine operations and medical evacuations in a jungle environment…” (Lalor, 2012, pp. 5-6).
The second week of training is largely focused on company-coordinated, platoon-level exercises, including raids, long-range patrols, and movement to contact (Lalor, 2012). The latter is designed to initiate or reinitiate contact with an enemy with the smallest unit possible, while the larger force remains on standby, ready to respond once contact is made.
Marine Corps Preparations for Jungle Warfare
The Marine Corps has a similar training regimen to prepare its warriors for the rigors of fighting in the jungle at Camp Gonsalves in Okinawa, Japan. In 2023, approximately 16,000 personnel attended one of the jungle warfare training programs offered at Camp Gonsalves (Ryall, 2023).
Camp Gonsalves offers three courses for Marines or allied partners to sharpen their jungle-combat skills: (1) The five-day Basic Course, (2) the 12-day Infantry Jungle Skills Course, and (3) the 14-day Jungle Tracking Course. The five-day course was created for Marines in noncombat units, and it teaches the Marines about jungle characteristics and provides lessons on patrolling, repelling, and land navigation (Schogol, 2016).
The 12-day Infantry Course builds on the aforementioned course, with intensive lessons in company-level combat tactics and reconnaissance-patrolling techniques, and it peaks with a four-day patrol exercise (Schogol, 2016). Finally, the 14-day Jungle Tracking course is geared towards the leadership of small units. This course develops the individual’s ability to locate an enemy in the jungle over varying distances, utilizing the dynamics of footprint tracking in addition to lessons on antitracking and deception techniques (Schogol, 2016).
Conclusion
Presently, the U.S. military is rapidly preparing to defend its allies in the Aisia-Pacific region and the freedom of navigation in the region from the revisionist, authoritarian Communist Party of China, led by its quasi-emperor Xi Jinping. Under his leadership, the Chinese military, on a daily basis, harasses Taiwan with military aircraft and menacing naval patrols designed to intimidate the island’s democracy. Similarly, the Chinese maritime militia and Coast Guard assault Philippine sailors with water cannons. Additionally, the Chinese ram the Filippino boats on resupply missions to their grounded naval vessel, which serves as a forward outpost. Finally, the Chinese could seize the Japanese Senkaku Islands, which they claim belong to them.
Any of these flashpoints could escalate quickly, requiring the U.S. military to act in defense of these democratic Asian states and U.S. partners. If called to defend these American allies, its Marines and Army personnel would likely have to engage in combat in and around the littoral states of the region, as well as the islands within the South China Sea. Many of these islands contain challenging jungle terrain and possibly entrenched Chinese ground forces. Due to this ongoing Chinese belligerence and American regional commitments, the jungle training that U.S. personnel are undergoing now will prove to be crucial when conducting combat operations in the region.
References
Lalor, M. (2023). The critical role of JOTC in preparing soldiers for combat in a jungle environment. Infantry 112(3), 4–6. https://www.moore.army.mil/infantry/magazine/ issues/2023/Fall/PDF/Fall23_InfMag.pdf
Leiter, J.C. (2005). The soldier must be trained not to fight the jungle: Preparing the U.S. Army for future operations in a jungle environment.
[Master’s Thesis, Northern Michigan University]. Defense Technical Information Center.
Rentz, J.N. (1989). Bougainville and the Northern Solomons. The Battery Press. https://archive.org/details/BougainvilleAndNorthernSolomons-nsia
Ryall, J. (2023, November 15). US Marines on Okinawa ramp up jungle training.
Defense Weekly. https://www.dw.com/en/us-marines-on-okinawa-ramp-up-jungle-training/a-67408879
Schogol, J. (2016, August 28). More Marines are training to fight in the jungle.
Marine Corps Times. https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/pay-benefits/military- benefits/2016/08/28/more-marines-are-training-to-fight-in-the-jungle/
Strobridge,T.R. (1967). A brief history of the 9th Marines. Department of the Navy: Historical Branch, G-3 Division (Original Work Published 1961). http://www.hqco9thmarines.com/History/A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE 9th MARINES.pdf
Torreon, B.S., & Plagakis, S. (2023). Instances of use of United States Armed Forces abroad, 1798-2023. CRS Report R42738. Congressional Research Service.https://sgp.fas.org/crs/natsec/R42738.pdf
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