By Spec. William A. Graves
27^th Public Affairs Detachment

FORT POLK, La. – Soldiers and Marines can be pretty cynical about each other's service when apart, but an Advanced Warfighting Experiment partnership here is proving they can compliment each other like salt and pepper while on the battlefield.

The 2^nd Battalion, 22^nd Infantry Regiment, has teamed up with K Company, 3^rd Battalion, 6^th Marines, to fight the "world-class" opposing force at the Joint Readiness Training Center.

Both are testing state-of-the-art equipment for their respective services, and took part in the JCF AWE grand finale Wednesday morning -- a Military Operation in Urban Terrain Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (MOUT-ACTD) at the mock-city of Shughart-Gordon.

Master Sgt. Thomas M. Gibson, Triple Deuce’s operation sergeant, said the Marines have accounted for themselves well with his fellow soldiers.

"They have their own way of doing things," Gibson said. "That’s what is good about this exercise, you get to see how each other operates. The next time you come together, you start coordinating and say, ‘the Marines like to do things this way, so let’s incorporate that into our planning, and vice versa.’"

Prior to Wednesday morning's exercise, Gibson said he looked forward to working with K Co. during the MOUT-ACTD.

"I think it will go well," Gibson said. "They’re good at it. They practice and train a lot for that, and they ought to add to what we have."

The equipment 2-22 and K Co. are testing should help with the mission too, he said.

"The equipment is working well," Gibson said. "It still has a ways to go, but the initial testing to figure out what to work on next has gone great. We should have enough data to make the next iteration better, based on the lessons learned here."

Marine Sgt. Martin B. Hyson, S-2 analyst, is attached to the Triple Deuce Tactical Operation Center (TOC). He works on an upgraded Raku Sextant three-dimensional-imagery intelligence system that displays Shughart-Gordon and its tunnel system.

"It (the Raku Sextant) works well as far as planning goes," Hyson said. "Scouts can come up and look at it and see what they are up against there."

He said the other pieces of equipment Marines are testing, such as the Thermal Weapon Sights, Night Vision Goggles, and Rifle Launched Entry Munitions, are doing fine.

It has been interesting working with soldiers, Hyson said. The two units are integrating their Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) to help accomplish the mission.

"It’s been fun," Hyson said. "Everyone has been receptive towards me. The mission is going pretty good as well."

The Marines battlefield lethality has greatly enhanced the task force, according to Maj. Reginald L. Sikes, executive officer, 2-22.

"They are highly motivated, have superb marksmanship skills, and have helped turn us into a joint task force that works exceptionally well," Sikes said. "They have very competent leaders and a very thorough understanding of the mission and the commander’s intent. They’ve been a great combat multiplier for the task force."