Recording History Part V – Hollywood comes to the Marine Corps

Welcome back!

Lieutenant Colonel Pat Malay did everything he could to prepare his Marines for their deployment to Iraq in 2004. When the Marines of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment arrived in Iraq, they were as prepared as any unit before, or after. Read on to hear the story of 3/5s unusual preparations for deployment.

Richard S. Lowry is the author of The Gulf War Chronicles and Marines in the Garden of Eden.

In early 2004, Lieutenant Colonel Pat Malay knew that his battalion would soon return to a hotbed in Iraq. He wanted to prepare his Marines as thoroughly as possible for what he knew would be a difficult deployment. But, the Marine Corps’ training centers were strained to capacity. The Darkhorse Marines could not find a facility to conduct their urban warfare training or MOUT.

So Pat Malay turned to Stu Segall Productions, San Diego’s only full-service TV and movie studio. Stu’s studio almost went under after the 9/11 attacks. Hollywood producers no longer had an interest in producing “shoot-um-up” pieces, which his studio specialized in. Stu had special effects experts, actors and make-up artists who were masters in simulating violent explosions and wartime scenarios for the camera.

Stu Segall Productions was only one of many businesses that had to re-invent themselves or perish after al-Qaeda’s terror attacks on America. It took some time, but Stu managed to attract the attention the Drug Enforcement Agency. The DEA contracted with Stu to use his 20-acre facility as a training ground for its agents. Stu began by supporting search and arrest training for the federal agents.

Some of the DEA agents who trained at Stu’s studio were Marine Corps reserves. Pat Malay heard about this TV studio turned training ground through some of these Agent/Marines. Malay met with Segall and soon 3/5 Marines were attending training exercises in Stu’s “Mean Arab Street” facility. Shockingly, Stu’s actors started out beating Malay’s Marines in the faux urban fights. A handful of actors and truck drivers repeatedly won the firefights.

The shock of Stu’s actors defeating Malay’s Marines could have caused a lesser leader to discontinue the exercises, but it only made Malay and his staff stand up and take note. The Darkhorse Marines could learn much in this environment. So Colonel Malay expanded his Marines’ training at the studio. Soon, everyone in the battalion was included.

Stu broke out his make-up artists and amputee-actors. He found Iraqi immigrants who lived in the San Diego area and together they put together Hyper-Realistic environments where the Marines had to deal with distressed civilians, gruesome casualties and enemy fighters, all at once. Some of the Marines did not do well under the pressure of the exercises, others excelled. Assignments were adjusted, Marines who excelled were given additional responsibilities and those who didn’t get it were moved to where they were better suited.

Soon, the Darkhorse Marines were running scenarios and winning. Squads and fire teams were moving through the urban environment on “muscle memory.” They were dealing with insurgent fighters, civilians and casualties in a professional manner. They could adjust to situational changes with little or no conversation. The squads and fire teams worked in concert with only a nod or hand gesture commanding a change in focus. Stu Segall’s facility provided the venue to hone Malay’s Marines into an urban fighting unit. Malay credits this training for saving uncountable Marine lives in the street fighting through Fallujah.

When Stu Segall is asked if he served in the military his answer is: “I was never in the military but I am serving with the Marines right now.” He continues to provide the most realistic training anywhere in the world. Visit Stu’s website for a detailed look at the training services he provides to our men-in-arms.

And, Don’t Forget to leave me a comment below.

In Part VI we will start talking about the writing process and I hope you will all provide me with feedback on the most important sentence in the entire project. It is the hardest sentence to write. It must convey the heart and soul of the project in a single thought. Tune in next time, when I will write about “The Hook.”

Richard S. Lowry is the author of The Gulf War Chronicles and Marines in the Garden of Eden.