The Special Missions Training Center (SMTC), also known as Joint Maritime Training Center (JMTC), is a joint

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

, and

Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...

training facility located on

Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune ( or ) is a United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for amphibious assault training, and its location between two deep-water ports ( ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. SMTC's mission is to provide relevant and credible Maritime Security Training and Operational Testing and Evaluation in support of

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

and

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...

missions. SMTC comprises four main divisions: Weapons, Port Security, Engineering / Logistics, and Fast Boat.

History

The origins of the Special Missions Training Center lie in the Coast Guard Deployable Specialized Forces,

Port Security Unit The U.S. Coast Guard's Port Security Units are Deployable Specialized Forces organized for sustained expeditionary security and anti-terrorism. They perform Anti-Terrorism Force Protection (ATFP) missions, which include harbor and port defen ...

Training Detachment (PSU TRADET). Originally located in Port Clinton, Ohio, the PSU TRADET was tasked with improving the mission effectiveness, unit readiness, and providing pre-deployment support for the Coast Guard PSU's. In November 1998 PSU TRADET relocated to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and by the summer of 2001 its mission had expanded to include

non-lethal weapons Non-lethal weapons, also called nonlethal weapons, less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be lethality, less likely to kill a living target than c ...

and the Fast Boat Center of Excellence, as well as conducting training for cutter small boats over-the-horizon tactics designed to enhance interdiction abilities in counter narcotics operations. After the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the PSU TRADET began training the newly created Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Teams (MSSTs). The unit grew and evolved to accommodate the broadened responsibilities and growing inter-agency and international training requests. In August 2002, the name of the command changed to Coast Guard Special Missions Training Center (SMTC) to better incorporate its multi-faceted capabilities. SMTC was commissioned as a Headquarters unit on 29 July 2003. In 2003, the U.S. Navy established a training detachment within SMTC to train Mobile Security Force (MSF) personnel as Tactical Coxswains and Crewmen, and in 2004 added crew served weapons training. The Marine Corps also established a small boat training detachment (SBTD) to support USMC operational requirements. In 2006, the NAVDET and MARDET commenced a two-year training surge for the Navy's new Naval Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) Riverine Forces. In 2008, SMTC completed the move to four new buildings within Courthouse Bay, and the unit was renamed for the second time as the Joint Maritime Training Center (JMTC) to more accurately reflect the unit's diverse range of multi-service military personnel and training center. Currently, Coast Guard Deployable Specialized Forces (DSF) members and select specialized Navy units attend training at Special Missions Training Center. All Coast Guardsmen who have been selected to serve in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

in support of Patrol Forces Southwest Asia and

Operation Inherent Resolve {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Operation Inherent Resolve , partof = the international military intervention against the Islamic State and the War on terror , image = , caption = U.S. Navy B ...

also attend pre-deployment training at SMTC.

Training

Coast Guard courses

* Non-Compliant Vessel Pursuit Course (NCVP) * Port Security Unit Basic Skills Course * Opposing Force Tactical Coxswain Course (OPFOR) * Tactical Coxswain Course (TCC) * Tactical Boat Crew Member Course (TBCM) * Tactical Bow Gunner Course (TBGC) *

Crew-served weapon A crew-served weapon is any weapon system that is issued to a crew of two or more individuals performing the same or separate tasks to run at maximum operational efficiency, as opposed to an individual-service weapon, which only requires one pe ...

, Mk 19, 40mm Machine Gun Course * Basic Tactical Operations Course (BTOC) * Close Quarters Combat Instructor (CQCI) * Advanced Tactical Operations Course * Advanced Marksmanship Instructor Course (AMI) * Precision Marksman Course (PMC) * Precision Marksman Instructor (PMI)

Navy courses

* Riverine Combat Skills Course (RCS) * Riverine Crewman Course (RCC) * Riverine Unit Level Leaders Course (RULL) * Riverine Security Team Trainer (RSTT)

Marine Corps courses

* Small Craft Mechanics Course (SCMC) * Combat Rubber Reconnaissance Craft Repair Course (CRRC-RC) * Small Boat Detachment Maneuvers Course

Divisions

Weapons Division

The Weapons Division is responsible for providing

less-lethal weapon Non-lethal weapons, also called nonlethal weapons, less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than convention ...

s testing for the US Coast Guard. The Weapons Division identifies, tests, evaluates and develops tactics, techniques and procedures for maritime delivered weapons technologies. Additionally, the Weapons Division provides weapons training and support to both Fast Boat and Port Security Divisions. Training includes various service small arms, such as the M240B,

M2 Browning machine gun The M2 machine gun or Browning .50-caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chamber ...

and the

Mk 19 grenade launcher The Mk 19 grenade launcher (pronounced Mark 19) is an American 40 mm belt-fed automatic grenade launcher that was first developed during the Vietnam War. Overview The Mk 19 is a belt-fed, blowback-operated, air-cooled, crew-ser ...

crew-served weapons system. JMTC also operates Fire Arms Training Simulator IV (FATS), which supports crew served weapons training and tactics development.

Port Security Division

The Port Security Division provides

(PSU) and

Maritime Safety and Security Team A Maritime Safety and Security Team, or MSST, is a counter-terrorism team of the United States Coast Guard established to protect local Marine (ocean), maritime assets. It is also a harbor and inshore patrol and security team that includes Anti ...

(MSST) training in

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to co ...

and

force protection Force protection (FP) is the concept of protecting military personnel, family members, civilians, facilities, equipment and operations from threats or hazards in order to preserve operational effectiveness and contribute to mission success. It ...

tactics, techniques, and procedures. Courses include

chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

biological Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...

, and

radiological In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'' consisting of photons, such as radio waves, microwaves, infr ...

Explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An ex ...

defense, basic combat skills courses,

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

and vehicle searches, and military operations in urban terrain ( MOUT). The Port Security Division also maintains a group of cultural guides and charts, maps, imagery and publications of strategic ports worldwide.

Engineering/Logistics Division

2nd Maintenance Battalion hosts open house 150423-M-TA826-194

The Logistics Department, part of the Engineering and Logistics Division, provides the support, supplies and maintenance for all activities at JMTC. Procurement and contracting are done through various sources including those used by

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune ( or ) is a United States Armed Forces, United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for Amphibious warfare, amphibious assault training, an ...

as well as UNICOR,

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. G ...

and commercial vendors. The Engineering Division handles all of the aspects of the vehicle and boat maintenance from routine preventative maintenance to ordering parts for vehicles used during training.

Fast Boat Division

The Fast Boat Division provides standardized, safe and relevant fast boat tactics and training to U.S. and foreign forces. Inherent in this mission is the requirement for knowledgeable instructors, who maintain proficiency in the most up-to-date fast boat tactics, techniques and procedures for all US Coast Guard, US Navy, and US Marine Corps small boats. Within the Fast Boat Division, there are two sections: the Tactical

Coxswain The coxswain ( or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the wiktionary:cockboat, cockboat, a ...

section, which instructs Navy Mobile Security Forces (NMSF), Maritime Special Purpose Force, Maritime Safety and Security Teams (MSST), and Port Security Unit (PSU) coxswains, and the Cutter Boat Over-the-Horizon (CB-OTH) section, which teaches counter-narcotic operations to the cutter fleet.

Notes

FATS (Firearms Training Simulator)

References

External links

{{US Navy navbox Uniformed services of the United States United States Coast Guard schools and training United States Navy schools and training United States Marine Corps schools Deployable Operations Group