Marine Corps Cpl. Daniel A. Reyes, a joint fires observer with 3rd Brigade, 3rd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, Force Headquarters Group, Marine Forces Reserve, has traveled to places such as New Zealand and South Korea for annual training exercises. In May, he added Canada to the list as he participated in the Maple Resolve 17 exercise.
"I love to travel," Reyes said. "It's great traveling to different countries for exercises and working with people native to the country you're visiting."
Since enlisting in the Marine Corps Reserve in the summer of 2012, Reyes has participated in exercises in New Zealand, South Korea, Germany and Canada. In 2016 he deployed to Afghanistan. As a joint fires observer, Reyes works with allied forces to plan and coordinate fires and close air support.
At Maple Resolve, Reyes and his team worked with the Canadian army's 2nd Royal Canadian Regiment, calling in simulated artillery and mortar strikes on planned targets.
Adapting to Differences
"Working with the Canadians was a great experience," he said. "The way the Canadians and Americans talk on the radio and call for fire is different, but we adapted to the way they do things, because we're integrating with their units and calling in their fire support."
Maple Resolve is a three-week high-readiness validation exercise for Canadian army elements. Increasing interoperability and integration is one of the main goals of the exercise.
The 3rd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company is based in Bell, California, and conducts most of its monthly training and field exercises at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton or Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms.
"Training in a different place shows how American and foreign units can learn to work together," Reyes. "Showing them how we do things, seeing how they do things, makes it easier to adapt in the future, especially when deployed."
It's a common misconception that reserve Marines don't travel or deploy, said Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Romaldo Medina, a forward observer with 3rd Brigade, 3rd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company. Marines in the Select Marine Corps Reserve may attend international training exercises with their unit during their two-week annual training period. Reserve Marines also travel through the Active Duty Operational Support Program or the Individual Mobilization Augmentee Program, which fills billets that augment active-component staffs and missions.