Posted on 06/30/2005 12:12:26 PM PDT by Ramonan
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.(June 30, 2005) -- Even after discovering and processing mounds of enemy weapons caches during their recent deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom last fall, many Marines with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment had never pulled the trigger on an AK-47.
These Marines got the chance to gauge the effectiveness of the enemy's weapon of choice during a live-fire exercise with the AK-47 assault rifle here June 23.
"Learning a new weapons system is just like learning a new language. The more you practice it, the better off you will be in battle when your weapon system goes down or malfunctions, and you have to pick up an enemy's weapon and put it to use," said Cpl. Tim Egnoski, a squad leader with 3rd Bn., 1st Marines.
Before the Marines sent rounds downrange, they first learned the basics of the weapon by practicing loading and unloading it and learning how to activate the safety lever.
The AK-47 is quite different from the M-16A2 service rifle -- the weapon all Marines become intimately acquainted with from the day they enter the Marine Corps.
The weapon's full name is the Avtomat Kalashnikova, 1947. The automatic weapon was developed by the famed Kalashnikov gun works in 1947, at the dawn of the Cold War. The world knows it by its initials the AK-47.
Simple to use and deadly efficient, the AK-47 is one of the most influential guns of the 20th century.
"Almost all the enemy fighters I saw in Iraq were using the AK-47," said Lance Cpl. Daniel O'Brien, a machinegunner with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. "We got to fire a few of them in Iraq, but we weren't able to actually spend some time to learn just how accurate it is compared to our weapons system. Having familiarity with different equipment makes Marines more useful on the battlefield. If you have to, you pick up another one and get back into the fight and that is what is important."
"It has a dinstictive sound when fired"...Gunny Highway
They should have done this 40 years ago........
"KLACK."
Used to be that most Marines knew what that sound was, and what to do when they heard it....
I'm envious.
ME TOO!
Great tagline! I always respected the Marine mentality, even though I prefer "Hooah" to "Oorah"
Heh, ever heard what "Marine" stands for?? (My Ass Rides In Navy Equipment.)
USMC = Uncle Sams Misguided Children.
I really like my WASR-10, it's plenty accurate within a hundred yeards. A lot simpler that my LE/AR-15.
If they want I can show 'em how to bump fire the semi-auto AKM. ;-)
Marine's motto: "Never Leave Your Buddy's Behind".
And the closest anyone's come to a "disposable" firearm.
If you know what you are doing, you can do it from the shoulder too. Belt loop is easiest to learn though.
The first think the DIs taught us in boot camp was to never challenge a sailor to a speed-typing contest. Those guys were deadly on a Smith Corona.
Sounds as if the M-16A2 may have some of the fouling problems that plagued prior variants.
I had a friend that's a Marine. I asked him if it was true that the Marine Corp was part of the Department of the Navy. He said "yeah, the MEN'S Department."
Ever try four hundred yards? I have made hits at that distance on a vertical steel pipe with my AK. But mostly its good for 250 yards or less. Barring that my AK is 100 percent accurate when I swing it like a club. :)
My Daddy explained the way the various services worked to me once.
He said "Son, the Navy transports the combat troops... The Marines take the shore by assault... The Army pushes inland and secures the territory... And the Air Force lands and build the O-Club"
With apologies to all you fine Zoomies out there.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.