The women lay on their bellies, their legs spread out behind them in borrowed camouflage pants, and shot rifles and machine guns at targets as brass casings shot back toward their faces covered in warpaint.
The shooting exercise was one of several activities about 100 women participated in Thursday during Camp Pendleton's Jane Wayne Day. The goal was to get Marine Corps spouses out on the field to show them what it's like to be part of the 5th Marine Regiment, known as the "Fighting Fifth."
Some of the about 4,800 Marines in the Fighting Fifth are set to deploy to Afghanistan this fall, while others are already there. Col. Willy Buhl said Jane Wayne Day is important because the mission starts at home, and when there is harmony there, a Marine can go into a mission with a clear head.
"For us, it's fun; for him, it's for real," said Kadie Mahoney, whose husband is a Marine. The Dana Point resident said she enjoyed shooting the guns, but it is hard for her to think about her husband doing it in dangerous situations. "I try not to think about it."
Many of the women said they knew what their husbands did all day, but by experiencing it, they could better understand it. The regiment is an infantry battalion, which consists only of men.
"It's giving me an understanding of what my husband goes through every day, and I think I'll be more compassionate and sympathetic when he comes home," said Aleynia Lenzmeier of Mission Viejo. Lenzmeier's husband is set to deploy to Afghanistan this fall. He will be leaving her and their 9-month old son behind.
"This lets us bond before he leaves," she said.
The women completed an obstacle course, learned Marine Corps martial arts and rode in light armored vehicles and Humvees along the bumpy roads of the base. Jane Wayne Day has been around for several years and takes place at bases throughout the country, said 1st Lt. Ken Kunze. The Army has a similar event called G.I. Jane. Jane Wayne comes from John Wayne, who Kunze said represented the epitome of a Marine in several movies.
For Mary Hargrove, whose 21-year-old son Justin was killed in Afghanistan by an improvised explosive device, the day was about staying connected to her Marine Corps family.
Hargrove has adopted Justin's Marine friends as if they were her own and often invites them to her Anaheim home. Several Marines took her and her family out for a Christmas dinner. When some came back from Afghanistan last year, she came to greet those who didn't have family nearby with her daughter, who baked hundreds of cookies for them.
"We want to bring everyone home always," said Buhl, who escorted several Gold Star Mothers throughout the different stations. For him, the Marine Corps is a family, and Jane Wayne Day ties families closer together.
"We are constantly deploying and trying to prepare our men for combat, and it's nice every now and then to have some sort of normalcy," he said.
Many Marines were given the day off to either watch their loved ones participate or take care of their children. Lance Cpl. George Carter brought his children to watch their mother, Britney, go through the training. Jazzlene, 1, and Jaylin, 2, waddled in the dirt and held their father's hand as their mother screamed "Sir, yes, sir" after a Marine told her group to put on a helmet and other gear.
"I found out about it and told her it would be cool if she went," said Carter, whose family lives on base. "Hearing first-hand doesn't compare to actually doing it."
