Mountain Warfare Instructors

Mountain Warfare Instructors teach all military mountaineering curriculum. They are organized as the Mountain Warfare Instructor Group. The Red Hat is what the Corps calls them by, and on any range or ridgeline at Bridgeport the Marine in the red hat is the safety authority.

35 DAYS - Each Mountain Leaders Course. The summer course trains on rock and the winter course trains on snow.

9 MONTHS - Arrival to a basic instructor qualification.

3 LEVELS - Basic, senior, master, with avalanche, rock, alpine and ski clinics at each

Civilian Credentials - Avalanche awareness and rescue, swiftwater rescue, Wilderness First Responder, and technical rope rescue, through the Lake Tahoe Community College partnership.

EVERY MOS

The mountain does not care what your MOS is. Communicators learn what compartmented terrain does totheir gear. Engineers learn tree felling and ice breaching.Corpsmen learn cold weather medicine.

The job

Mountain Warfare Instructors teach the Summer and Winter formal schools, and they provide the instruction andsafety structure integral to every Mountain Exercise. Every season opens with weeks of recertification before the firststudent arrives.

MCMWTC also runs formal courses in mountain communications, in mountain and cold weather medicine, and inmountain engineering, each with its own instructor community, plus the stables staff that teaches animal packing toMarines and to special operations forces. Allied mountain troops frequently join formal schools and MountainExercises to expand partnerships and interoperability.

Through the training center's partnership with Lake Tahoe Community College, established in 2022, Marines earnavalanche awareness and rescue qualifications, swiftwater rescue, Wilderness First Responder, and technical roperescue certifications that the civilian outdoor industry recognizes. Many instructors enroll in an Associate's Degreeprogram that builds on their advanced qualifications.

ARRIVAL TO RED HAT

ORDERS - Orders to MCMWTC go to Sergeants and Staff NCOs of nearly any MOS. The conversationstarts with your monitor.

SUMMER COURSE - The Summer Mountain Leaders Course runs 35 training days on rock. Students learn knots,rope systems, protection, rappelling, fixed rope installation, aid climbing, rescues, and cliff reconnaissance. The course closes on a final exercise at altitude.

WINTER COURSE - The Winter Mountain Leaders Course runs 35 training days on snow and ice. Learners finish the over-the-snow mobility phase as a Basic Ski Instructor and conclude the course with acomprehensive, tactical field exercise.

INSTRUCTOR QUALIFICATION - The qualification takes an instructor development course, safety certifications, and acommanding officer's endorsement. From arrival to a basic instructor qualification, the pipeline runs about nine months.

SENIOR AND MASTER - The progression keeps going after the basic qualification. Instructors add avalanchequalifications, senior and master rock and alpine clinics, and ski instruction at increasing levels of difficulty.

FORMAL SCHOOLS: BOTH MOUNTAIN LEADERS COURSES IN DETAIL

requesting orders

The tour is hard, the winters are long, and the qualification standard has not softened since the first class in 1956.

Marines with families live in base housing at Coleville, 24 road miles north of the command post, or in the towns along US-395.
Housing covers the neighborhood and the wait list. Schools and Youth covers the school a mile from the housing area, and the
command FAQ covers the clinic, the commissary, and MCCS Bridgeport.

1. Talk to your monitor.
2. Submit the screening packet.
3. Screening result and orders.

Questions about the instructor tour go to MCMWTC Operations at mcmwtc_operations@usmc.mil
.
The mountain is hiring. It always has been.

BECOMING A RED HAT INSTRUCTOR

The long read on the two Mountain Leaders Courses, what a Mountain Leader takes back to the battalion, andthe path from student to instructor. Written at MCMWTC by MSgt Zach Carrington, 1stLt Damon Crossland, andMaj Joel Sartain.

READ BECOMING A RED HAT INSTRUCTOR