thedrifter
10-20-03, 06:26 AM
Arming champions
Submitted by: MCB Quantico
Story Identification Number: 2003101715525
Story by Lance Cpl. J. Agg
MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va.(Oct. 16, 2003) -- While glamor and celebrity elude most Marine armorers, the precision weapons armorers of Weapons Training Battalion's Precision Weapons Section have the distinction of enabling the success of the national champion Marine Corps Rifle and Pistol teams as well as the Fleet Marine Forces' elite sniper teams and marksmen at the "tip of the spear."
Since first opening for business in 1968 with a single milling machine and a lathe, PWS has evolved into a world-class gunsmith training facility and is the only shop of its kind anywhere in the Department of Defense. Today, PWS continues its mission to support the Marine Corps Competition in Arms Program as well as the FMF by building and maintaining a variety of precision rifles and pistols including the MEU SOC .45-caliber pistol, National Match M-9 9 mm Pistol, National Match M-16 A2 rifle, Designated Marksman Rifle, and the M-40 A3 sniper rifle. PWS also offers an 18 month training course through which Marine armorers gain the additional military occupational specialty, precision weapons armorer.
Precision Weapons Section production chief Master Sgt. Gary Teicher says that as an opportunity for career advancement for the basic armorer, PWS is one of the best kept secrets in the Marine Corps. Teicher said former PWS armorers are now employed by other agencies and weapons companies including the FBI, Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, Beretta Corp. and Heckler & Koch Inc.
"This is an advanced school for small arms," said Teicher. "No one else does this. The Army buys their sniper rifles, while we build ours."
Just as the Competition in Arms Program suffered during Operation Iraqi Freedom with the cancellation of several division matches, PWS balances its commitment to the success of the rifle and pistol teams with the needs of the Fleet Marine Forces.
"Our primary mission is for the fleet," said Teicher. "One isn't more important than the other, but during time of war one might take a back seat" as precision armorers shift their workload to decrease the time fleet weapons spend at PWS.
Helping to dramatically decrease turnaround time is the PWS machine shop that, Teicher attests, is the most advanced in the Marine Corps. Teicher said state-of-the-art Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing machines allow PWS machinists to finish a barrel for a M-40 A3 sniper rifle in 22 minutes, a task that once took 90 minutes.
"This is the best place a machinist can go in the Marine Corps," said Teicher, whose machinists have more than enough depot-level maintenance work to keep them busy. "We go through drill bits like it's cool."
Seasoned pistol team armorer Sgt. Matt Boozer says it takes a high level of mechanical aptitude to diagnose problems and modify weapons as a precision armorer.
"When you come here as a [precision armorer] you have to have some mechanical knowledge and common sense to troubleshoot," said Boozer. "When doing research and development on a weapons system we may have to manufacture a part or modify a commercial part to make it work."
Boozer says precision armorers for teams should seek satisfaction in the success of the shooters they support and not expect accolades of their own.
"In supporting the team you have to be humble," said Boozer. "The shooters will shake our hands and thank us, but there's not an award for the best armorer. When you have a five-time national champion and you know you were a part of that, you have a lot of satisfaction."
Veteran precision armorer Staff Sgt. Jason Armstrong, who has served at PWS for four years and is preparing to leave for recruiting duty, also contributed to the success of five-time national champion Pistol Team shooter Gunery Sgt. Brian Zins, and relishes the success of the pistol team but also takes pride in the role PWS plays in developing weapons for the FMF.
"We're not going out there for glory, but it's pretty neat when the team goes to Camp Perry and wins, especially when they beat Army. It's bragging rights," said Armstrong. "Everything is developed and standardized [at PWS], they just maintain weapons out in the fleet. New weapons systems have to come through here first for testing and evaluation."
Sgt. Mark Webster, who is currently nine to ten months away from earning the title of precision weapons armorer, and is currently building M-40 A3 sniper rifles for use in the Fleet Marine Forces, appreciates the gravity of his responsibility at PWS. When building each M40-A3, Webster puts himself in the position of the sniper in the field, imagining the potentially deadly consequences for the Marine whose rifle fails in a combat environment and in doing so, motivates himself to strive for perfection.
"When you're snoopin' and poopin', the slightest movement could get you killed," said Webster. "I'm not going to send it out until I would trust my own life with it out there."
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20031017155539/$file/PWS_lowres.jpg
Staff Sgt. James Knight, precision weapons armorer, lifts two M-40 A3 sniper rifle barrels from a tank of stainless steel bluing salts Oct. 9. Weapons built at Precision Weapons Section may be treated either with stainless steel or carbon steel as a preventative measure against rust and corrosion.
Photo by: Lance Cpl. J. Agg
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/0C21874DEE340E0585256DC20068DDC7?opendocument
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
Submitted by: MCB Quantico
Story Identification Number: 2003101715525
Story by Lance Cpl. J. Agg
MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va.(Oct. 16, 2003) -- While glamor and celebrity elude most Marine armorers, the precision weapons armorers of Weapons Training Battalion's Precision Weapons Section have the distinction of enabling the success of the national champion Marine Corps Rifle and Pistol teams as well as the Fleet Marine Forces' elite sniper teams and marksmen at the "tip of the spear."
Since first opening for business in 1968 with a single milling machine and a lathe, PWS has evolved into a world-class gunsmith training facility and is the only shop of its kind anywhere in the Department of Defense. Today, PWS continues its mission to support the Marine Corps Competition in Arms Program as well as the FMF by building and maintaining a variety of precision rifles and pistols including the MEU SOC .45-caliber pistol, National Match M-9 9 mm Pistol, National Match M-16 A2 rifle, Designated Marksman Rifle, and the M-40 A3 sniper rifle. PWS also offers an 18 month training course through which Marine armorers gain the additional military occupational specialty, precision weapons armorer.
Precision Weapons Section production chief Master Sgt. Gary Teicher says that as an opportunity for career advancement for the basic armorer, PWS is one of the best kept secrets in the Marine Corps. Teicher said former PWS armorers are now employed by other agencies and weapons companies including the FBI, Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, Beretta Corp. and Heckler & Koch Inc.
"This is an advanced school for small arms," said Teicher. "No one else does this. The Army buys their sniper rifles, while we build ours."
Just as the Competition in Arms Program suffered during Operation Iraqi Freedom with the cancellation of several division matches, PWS balances its commitment to the success of the rifle and pistol teams with the needs of the Fleet Marine Forces.
"Our primary mission is for the fleet," said Teicher. "One isn't more important than the other, but during time of war one might take a back seat" as precision armorers shift their workload to decrease the time fleet weapons spend at PWS.
Helping to dramatically decrease turnaround time is the PWS machine shop that, Teicher attests, is the most advanced in the Marine Corps. Teicher said state-of-the-art Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing machines allow PWS machinists to finish a barrel for a M-40 A3 sniper rifle in 22 minutes, a task that once took 90 minutes.
"This is the best place a machinist can go in the Marine Corps," said Teicher, whose machinists have more than enough depot-level maintenance work to keep them busy. "We go through drill bits like it's cool."
Seasoned pistol team armorer Sgt. Matt Boozer says it takes a high level of mechanical aptitude to diagnose problems and modify weapons as a precision armorer.
"When you come here as a [precision armorer] you have to have some mechanical knowledge and common sense to troubleshoot," said Boozer. "When doing research and development on a weapons system we may have to manufacture a part or modify a commercial part to make it work."
Boozer says precision armorers for teams should seek satisfaction in the success of the shooters they support and not expect accolades of their own.
"In supporting the team you have to be humble," said Boozer. "The shooters will shake our hands and thank us, but there's not an award for the best armorer. When you have a five-time national champion and you know you were a part of that, you have a lot of satisfaction."
Veteran precision armorer Staff Sgt. Jason Armstrong, who has served at PWS for four years and is preparing to leave for recruiting duty, also contributed to the success of five-time national champion Pistol Team shooter Gunery Sgt. Brian Zins, and relishes the success of the pistol team but also takes pride in the role PWS plays in developing weapons for the FMF.
"We're not going out there for glory, but it's pretty neat when the team goes to Camp Perry and wins, especially when they beat Army. It's bragging rights," said Armstrong. "Everything is developed and standardized [at PWS], they just maintain weapons out in the fleet. New weapons systems have to come through here first for testing and evaluation."
Sgt. Mark Webster, who is currently nine to ten months away from earning the title of precision weapons armorer, and is currently building M-40 A3 sniper rifles for use in the Fleet Marine Forces, appreciates the gravity of his responsibility at PWS. When building each M40-A3, Webster puts himself in the position of the sniper in the field, imagining the potentially deadly consequences for the Marine whose rifle fails in a combat environment and in doing so, motivates himself to strive for perfection.
"When you're snoopin' and poopin', the slightest movement could get you killed," said Webster. "I'm not going to send it out until I would trust my own life with it out there."
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20031017155539/$file/PWS_lowres.jpg
Staff Sgt. James Knight, precision weapons armorer, lifts two M-40 A3 sniper rifle barrels from a tank of stainless steel bluing salts Oct. 9. Weapons built at Precision Weapons Section may be treated either with stainless steel or carbon steel as a preventative measure against rust and corrosion.
Photo by: Lance Cpl. J. Agg
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/0C21874DEE340E0585256DC20068DDC7?opendocument
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: