The Raider Training Center

[Sidebar (page 24):]The Raider Training CenterTheRaider Training Center got its start in late 1942, when the Major General Commandant authorized a slight increase in the table of organization of the newly formed 4th Raider Battalion. These additional two officers and 26 enlisted men became the cadre for the center, which formally came into being at Camp Pendleton, California, on 5 February 1943. The purpose of the center was to train new men up to raider standards and thus create a pool of qualified replacements for the battalions overseas. Prior to this, each raider unit had solicited fresh volunteers from other organizations in rear areas and then incorporated them directly into their ranks. Since most of these young Marines had only rudimentary training in weapons and tactics, the raiders had to expend considerable effort on individual instruction. Worse still, that old system provided no means to replace casualties during prolonged combat operations. Lieutenant Colonel Samuel B. Griffith II had been a prime proponent of the improved setup.The course was eight weeks long. Carlson’s vision of the raiders initially influenced the training program, probably via Lieutenant Colonel James Roosevelt’s part in setting up the center. Their hands were obvious in the selection of classes on guerrilla warfare and “individual cookery.” The latter was a fetish of Carlson’s—he thought regular infantry relied too heavily on bulky field kitchens. There also was a week-long field problem in which the students divided into a main body and two guerrilla bands acting as aggressors. Rubber boat operations occupied a significant block of the schedule. Otherwise, the course focused heavily on traditional individual skills and small unit tactics: marksmanship, scouting, patrolling, physical conditioning, individual combat, and so forth.Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 54683While other raiders watch, two instructors demonstrate the dexterity required for hand-to-hand knife fighting.Clad in camouflage utilities and fully combat equipped, a raider vaults a barbed-wire obstacle while in training.Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 55237Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 55234Shown here is one aspect of raider training, crossing a river on a two-rope bridge, not often encountered in combat.Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 54686ANegotiating an obstacle course while TNT charges explode nearby, this raider carries a folding-stock Reising gun.Hiking was a major training component for raiders, considering their primary mission as light infantry in combat.Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 54678

[Sidebar (page 24):]

TheRaider Training Center got its start in late 1942, when the Major General Commandant authorized a slight increase in the table of organization of the newly formed 4th Raider Battalion. These additional two officers and 26 enlisted men became the cadre for the center, which formally came into being at Camp Pendleton, California, on 5 February 1943. The purpose of the center was to train new men up to raider standards and thus create a pool of qualified replacements for the battalions overseas. Prior to this, each raider unit had solicited fresh volunteers from other organizations in rear areas and then incorporated them directly into their ranks. Since most of these young Marines had only rudimentary training in weapons and tactics, the raiders had to expend considerable effort on individual instruction. Worse still, that old system provided no means to replace casualties during prolonged combat operations. Lieutenant Colonel Samuel B. Griffith II had been a prime proponent of the improved setup.

The course was eight weeks long. Carlson’s vision of the raiders initially influenced the training program, probably via Lieutenant Colonel James Roosevelt’s part in setting up the center. Their hands were obvious in the selection of classes on guerrilla warfare and “individual cookery.” The latter was a fetish of Carlson’s—he thought regular infantry relied too heavily on bulky field kitchens. There also was a week-long field problem in which the students divided into a main body and two guerrilla bands acting as aggressors. Rubber boat operations occupied a significant block of the schedule. Otherwise, the course focused heavily on traditional individual skills and small unit tactics: marksmanship, scouting, patrolling, physical conditioning, individual combat, and so forth.

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 54683While other raiders watch, two instructors demonstrate the dexterity required for hand-to-hand knife fighting.

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 54683

While other raiders watch, two instructors demonstrate the dexterity required for hand-to-hand knife fighting.

Clad in camouflage utilities and fully combat equipped, a raider vaults a barbed-wire obstacle while in training.Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 55237

Clad in camouflage utilities and fully combat equipped, a raider vaults a barbed-wire obstacle while in training.

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 55237

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 55234Shown here is one aspect of raider training, crossing a river on a two-rope bridge, not often encountered in combat.

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 55234

Shown here is one aspect of raider training, crossing a river on a two-rope bridge, not often encountered in combat.

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 54686ANegotiating an obstacle course while TNT charges explode nearby, this raider carries a folding-stock Reising gun.

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 54686A

Negotiating an obstacle course while TNT charges explode nearby, this raider carries a folding-stock Reising gun.

Hiking was a major training component for raiders, considering their primary mission as light infantry in combat.Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 54678

Hiking was a major training component for raiders, considering their primary mission as light infantry in combat.

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 54678

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