WEBVTT 00:00.230 --> 00:02.423 - I'm 1st Lt. Barbara Sophia Ripa. 00:02.423 --> 00:06.810 I am with CLR 27, I'm the Motor T officer, 00:06.810 --> 00:09.390 and I'm an 0402 by trade. 00:09.390 --> 00:12.700 So, we did 916 miles from Fort Drum, New York, 00:12.700 --> 00:14.660 to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, 00:14.660 --> 00:17.783 stopping through A.P. Hill in Virginia. 00:18.790 --> 00:22.420 It's one of the longest movements we've done at least here 00:22.420 --> 00:25.180 in training in the United States with the Marine Corps. 00:25.180 --> 00:27.890 The purpose of the movement was to establish 00:27.890 --> 00:31.210 a mobile communication asset coming down all the way 00:31.210 --> 00:34.330 from our primary position back to home base 00:34.330 --> 00:37.100 as well as testing our transportation limits 00:37.100 --> 00:39.190 with the Motor Transport platoon. 00:39.190 --> 00:41.210 The purpose of the convoy was to test 00:41.210 --> 00:43.990 our mobile communication capabilities 00:43.990 --> 00:46.160 from all the way from Fort Drum, New York 00:46.160 --> 00:49.100 down to here in Camp Lejeune, home base, 00:49.100 --> 00:50.630 as well as testing the limits 00:50.630 --> 00:52.888 of our transportation equipment. 00:52.888 --> 00:57.050 So, we had communication assets on the convoys, 00:57.050 --> 00:59.500 so it was kind of to test what it would be like 00:59.500 --> 01:04.094 to have a mobile communication asset over a long distance. 01:04.094 --> 01:08.100 So, as the regiment starts to retrograde, 01:08.100 --> 01:10.170 we are here establishing home base again 01:10.170 --> 01:13.490 in order to coordinate our return to base. 01:13.490 --> 01:15.600 And at the same time, this serves as a way 01:15.600 --> 01:20.040 to test how far vehicles can go, as well as our drivers. 01:20.040 --> 01:22.270 So, especially for the Marines at the regiment, 01:22.270 --> 01:23.870 we're in a non-deployable unit, 01:23.870 --> 01:26.670 so we don't always get training opportunities 01:26.670 --> 01:27.790 here at the regiment. 01:27.790 --> 01:30.030 So, this is a one in a lifetime opportunity 01:30.030 --> 01:32.450 for many of them, kind of a reminder 01:32.450 --> 01:35.080 that even if we are in a non-deployable unit, 01:35.080 --> 01:36.670 we still have to be mission capable 01:36.670 --> 01:38.290 and ready at any point in time. 01:38.290 --> 01:41.817 So, for me, I think my biggest goal 01:41.817 --> 01:44.359 was to see their confidence grow 01:44.359 --> 01:46.809 in themselves and in the vehicles. 01:46.809 --> 01:48.978 I think they get a little "Debbie Downer" 01:48.978 --> 01:52.350 when we're working at the shop, doing runs every day, 01:52.350 --> 01:54.620 so this was for me, a chance, I guess, 01:54.620 --> 01:57.570 as their platoon commander, to push them, 01:57.570 --> 02:02.107 to push their confidence, and to further train them 02:02.107 --> 02:04.980 in a way that they've never been pushed before 02:04.980 --> 02:06.310 in their careers. 02:06.310 --> 02:10.601 So, I think the easiest part was 02:10.601 --> 02:14.192 probably just the long stretches in on the road. 02:14.192 --> 02:16.340 The Marines actually know really well 02:16.340 --> 02:19.930 how to maintain pace, distance between each vehicle. 02:19.930 --> 02:22.560 I think the hardest part was preparing, probably. 02:22.560 --> 02:24.310 That was going to be our hardest part. 02:24.310 --> 02:26.780 And then for the Marines themselves, 02:26.780 --> 02:28.840 like the actual drivers, going through 02:28.840 --> 02:31.270 the Shenandoah mountain range, I think a lot 02:31.270 --> 02:34.870 of them did not think they were prepared for it, 02:34.870 --> 02:36.558 but they absolutely were. 02:36.558 --> 02:38.700 Yes, definitely a small unit leadership, 02:38.700 --> 02:40.710 you know how to lead your peers 02:40.710 --> 02:42.010 is I think one of the hardest things 02:42.010 --> 02:43.990 we can do - being patient with each other. 02:43.990 --> 02:45.370 I hope the Marines learned from this 02:45.370 --> 02:48.168 how to have some better peer leadership, 02:48.168 --> 02:51.030 how to be patient with each other, how to get along 02:51.030 --> 02:53.090 even when times are a little bit hard. 02:53.090 --> 02:56.913 And I hope this, more than anything, 02:56.913 --> 02:58.660 really grows their confidence 02:58.660 --> 03:01.383 in that they can do anything they set their minds to.