thedrifter
12-07-03, 09:14 AM
Marines fire rounds, loosen trigger fingers
Submitted by: MCB Camp Pendleton
Story Identification Number: 200312521235
Story by Cpl. Jose L. Garcia
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Lance Cpl. Mary F. McCue crouched down behind the monstrous machine gun. She gripped the vertical handles of the M-2 .50-caliber weapon, ready to send downrange half-inch-thick chunks of lead.
She just couldn't keep from smiling as her thumbs mashed down the butterfly trigger.
"This was my first time firing the '.50-Cal,'" said 22-year-old McCue, an ammunition technician with Combat Service Support Battalion 12, 1st Force Service Support Group. "We should do more of this just for the reason we could be deploying soon."
That was the point of Combat Skills Training School's machine gunner's course. Marines from 1st FSSG took to the field to refamiliarize themselves with the notion of every Marine a rifleman ? or, in this case, a machine gunner.
"The course teaches noninfantry Marines the basic combat skills," said Sgt. Jason N. Gravem, 25, an instructor for CSTS. "So if they get deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan or other hot spots that we're operating in, they can defend themselves and handle their business as Marines."
Live-fire day came at the end of a week's worth of instruction. The students fired the M-2 .50-caliber machine gun, MK-19 automatic grenade launcher and the M-240G machine gun.
Throughout the week, students are given classes on weapons use, breakdown, employment and nomenclature. The Marines also learned basic team leader concepts, such as gun team leadership, where to place the guns and how to engage enemy targets.
"The Marines need to know what type of target it is and what type of ammunition to use," Gravem explained. "This is a more in-depth course for the Marines. It's a good opportunity for the Marines that come from different MOSs (military occupational specialties) who don't get this type of training."
The training is important not just because Marines face the possibility of deploying to combat zones, but also because many of them haven't fired the weapons since entry-level training.
"A lot of the Marines haven't had this type of training since MCT (Marine Combat Training), so this is something we need to touch them up on," said 24-year-old Sgt. Kevin L. Carr, an instructor for CSTS.
The majority of the instructors have combat experience from Afghanistan and Iraq. They used their real-world experience to train the Marines in situations they might experience.
"Every Marine is a rifleman first. He is an infantryman, regardless of specific military occupation," Gravem said. "So if you get involved in a situation where you need to fight, you need to know how to handle yourself in combat and how to handle these weapons systems."
Marines taking the course said others from their unit should follow suit.
"I think units should attend as one," said Lance Cpl. Jamond C. Crawford, an ammunition technician with CSSB-12. "With everyone getting ready to go back to Iraq, units should know what to do when operating these weapons."
"I know more now about the .50-cal., than when I went to Iraq," said 20-year-old Cpl. Toby J. Boggart, an automotive diesel mechanic with CSSB-12.
Gravem, an OIF vet, stressed the importance of the machine gunners course.
"There was a lot of times when I was out there in the war and came across support Marines who were noninfantry," Gravem added. "They did not have the skills needed to operate these guns that they were put behind."
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200312521451/$file/machinegunlr.jpg
Lance Cpl. Franklin A. Shaw, with Marine Expeditionary Unit Service Support Group 15, 1st Force Service Support Group 15, 1st Force Service Support Group, adjusts the rear sight of the M-240G machine gun. Photo by: Cpl. Jose L. Garcia
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/E4CE90A0BF0AA09E85256DF4000B3924?opendocument
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
Submitted by: MCB Camp Pendleton
Story Identification Number: 200312521235
Story by Cpl. Jose L. Garcia
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Lance Cpl. Mary F. McCue crouched down behind the monstrous machine gun. She gripped the vertical handles of the M-2 .50-caliber weapon, ready to send downrange half-inch-thick chunks of lead.
She just couldn't keep from smiling as her thumbs mashed down the butterfly trigger.
"This was my first time firing the '.50-Cal,'" said 22-year-old McCue, an ammunition technician with Combat Service Support Battalion 12, 1st Force Service Support Group. "We should do more of this just for the reason we could be deploying soon."
That was the point of Combat Skills Training School's machine gunner's course. Marines from 1st FSSG took to the field to refamiliarize themselves with the notion of every Marine a rifleman ? or, in this case, a machine gunner.
"The course teaches noninfantry Marines the basic combat skills," said Sgt. Jason N. Gravem, 25, an instructor for CSTS. "So if they get deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan or other hot spots that we're operating in, they can defend themselves and handle their business as Marines."
Live-fire day came at the end of a week's worth of instruction. The students fired the M-2 .50-caliber machine gun, MK-19 automatic grenade launcher and the M-240G machine gun.
Throughout the week, students are given classes on weapons use, breakdown, employment and nomenclature. The Marines also learned basic team leader concepts, such as gun team leadership, where to place the guns and how to engage enemy targets.
"The Marines need to know what type of target it is and what type of ammunition to use," Gravem explained. "This is a more in-depth course for the Marines. It's a good opportunity for the Marines that come from different MOSs (military occupational specialties) who don't get this type of training."
The training is important not just because Marines face the possibility of deploying to combat zones, but also because many of them haven't fired the weapons since entry-level training.
"A lot of the Marines haven't had this type of training since MCT (Marine Combat Training), so this is something we need to touch them up on," said 24-year-old Sgt. Kevin L. Carr, an instructor for CSTS.
The majority of the instructors have combat experience from Afghanistan and Iraq. They used their real-world experience to train the Marines in situations they might experience.
"Every Marine is a rifleman first. He is an infantryman, regardless of specific military occupation," Gravem said. "So if you get involved in a situation where you need to fight, you need to know how to handle yourself in combat and how to handle these weapons systems."
Marines taking the course said others from their unit should follow suit.
"I think units should attend as one," said Lance Cpl. Jamond C. Crawford, an ammunition technician with CSSB-12. "With everyone getting ready to go back to Iraq, units should know what to do when operating these weapons."
"I know more now about the .50-cal., than when I went to Iraq," said 20-year-old Cpl. Toby J. Boggart, an automotive diesel mechanic with CSSB-12.
Gravem, an OIF vet, stressed the importance of the machine gunners course.
"There was a lot of times when I was out there in the war and came across support Marines who were noninfantry," Gravem added. "They did not have the skills needed to operate these guns that they were put behind."
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200312521451/$file/machinegunlr.jpg
Lance Cpl. Franklin A. Shaw, with Marine Expeditionary Unit Service Support Group 15, 1st Force Service Support Group 15, 1st Force Service Support Group, adjusts the rear sight of the M-240G machine gun. Photo by: Cpl. Jose L. Garcia
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/E4CE90A0BF0AA09E85256DF4000B3924?opendocument
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: