Combat Weapon Choice

[GavinL91]

Does anyone in combat know what weapon they have you handling.I know everyone uses the M16,but how do you get the guys who use the SAWS and the Shotguns,and the M4s,and different weapons.Do you volunteer or is it you try it out and if you arent swimish with it you got it.

And what weapons do Security Force Marines use,since that is what i want to do.

[MarinesFTW]

My friend, and LCpl of the Marines, said at SOI people just voulenteered for the SAW. Once they found out no one else wanted to hump more weight they just started to give it out lol..

[Capital M]

I asked a friend of mine in real life, who actually just got back from Iraq with 2/9 2nd Mardiv I believe, this question and he kinda gave me the answer. He said there is no real universal way of assigning the SAW, it varies by unit. Squad Leaders and Officers get the M4 in his regiment, again, don't know if that's universal throughout Infantry. He didn't mention anything about shotguns. Hope this helps

[MarinesFTW]

Yeah, only ones who got M4's were NCO's and the best shots got the SAW when they woudln't voulenteer. (All according to LCpl Boostron.)

[ArtyOps]

I had an M4 and an M9.

[deBeer]

Well security forces will train with the M1014 shotgun from what I understand. My friend who is in Army infantry just got back from Iraq not even a week ago said the way it worked was all the new guys pick up the 249 but he loves it so he never traded it for the M4 whenever a new guy joined. He said you get used to the extra weight and when it comes time to use it, its great. Now keep in mind this is the Army so pretty much everyone that doesn't use the 249 gets an M4 basically and things could be a little different.

Also, can someone explain the logic behind the best shots get the 249. I've heard this before too as well. From my understanding grunts who use the 249 shoot in a general direction of the enemy and give suppressing fire. Can anyone comfirm/deny this?

[Capital M]

A better shot can probably control a light machine gun better, therefore being able to deliver more rounds down range with more accuracy. e.g. A Marine (or anybody for that matter) that isn't the best shot, probably won't improve when he gets a SAW. So when suppressive fire is desperately needed, somebody with better marksmanship can put all of those rounds where they are needed, with greater efficiency

[Achped]

Psh, guys they give the SAW to the boot. The new guy. Thats how it works in the turd units. The squared away NCOs give the SAWs to the Marines they know they will be effective with it. But even then it still depends.

As for M4s almost all combat arms mos's have M4s now. I know every 0811 in my battalion has an M4, and nearly every 03 I saw with 3/3, 1/3, 2nd LAR, and 3/7 in Iraq had M4s.

M16A4s are for the pogs in those units, and if you somehow manage to end up doing aviation anything, you'll be that cool guy with the 90's relic M16A2.

[JWDevilDog]

My friend, and LCpl of the Marines, said at SOI people just voulenteered for the SAW. Once they found out no one else wanted to hump more weight they just started to give it out lol..

Is that a new billet that I am unaware of? Well, for those who care, the only billets in the Marine Corps that have the words "of the Marine Corps" in them are as follows:
Commandant of the Marine Corps
Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps
Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps
Color Sergeant of the Marine Corps

There is no "LCpl of the Marines"


Also, I love how this is a pretty clear-cut Marine question, and catered more towards infantry even. Yet we are getting all these poolees with "my friend said" and "I heard" type answers.

I AM a Marine, yet I cannot fully answer your question, as I have never been to combat, nor am I a grunt.

[Fubar5812]

MP's we use the m1014 alot,you qual with it at school too.I'ts a bad ass shotgun IMO

m4's are usually reserved for NCO's and MOS's that require a smaller,lighter weapon (corpsman,dog handlers,drivers,etc) but it's all in the unit,3/3 out here it looked like almost everyone had an M4 when I was working with them.

[ArtyOps]

Psh, guys they give the SAW to the boot. The new guy. Thats how it works in the turd units. The squared away NCOs give the SAWs to the Marines they know they will be effective with it. But even then it still depends.

As for M4s almost all combat arms mos's have M4s now. I know every 0811 in my battalion has an M4, and nearly every 03 I saw with 3/3, 1/3, 2nd LAR, and 3/7 in Iraq had M4s.

M16A4s are for the pogs in those units, and if you somehow manage to end up doing aviation anything, you'll be that cool guy with the 90's relic M16A2.

What artillery battalion are you with?

[commdog7]

It all depends on your unit and mission. M4's and pistols are ideal for room clearing, while .50 Cals and M240G's are preferred for convoy ops. SAW's are the easiest machine gun to carry and therefore the grunts usually have one handy.

JWDevilDog- I noticed as well how most of the responses were based on rumors. Why don't they leave these questions for real Marines to answer?

All you poolees should be concerning yourself with preparing for boot camp, not asking irrelevant questions. You will fire what the Marine Corps gives you, period.

[TJR1070]

Hey Cpl. Achped maybe you would like to identify some of these "turd units" so that proper steps can be taken to improve their combat readiness. Maybe you should go to these units and teach them what it is like to be in a real Marine Corps unit. You are full of opinions and stupid comments, try keeping them to the Marine only threads so you don't poison these poolee's with your ridiculous statements.

[KawiGunny]

A better shot can probably control a light machine gun better, therefore being able to deliver more rounds down range with more accuracy. e.g. A Marine (or anybody for that matter) that isn't the best shot, probably won't improve when he gets a SAW. So when suppressive fire is desperately needed, somebody with better marksmanship can put all of those rounds where they are needed, with greater efficiency

Makes sense if the SAW was a single shot weapon. It doesn't matter how good of a marksman you are with a rifle, when you squeeze the trigger on the SAW, it's all "spray and pray" from there. The SAW gunner will get better with time. Besides, would you rather have someone that can shoot off a nat's azz at 500 yrds with a rifle on a SAW and someone that cant hit the droad side of a barn with a rifle?

[ArtyOps]

I love the title of this thread. "Combat weapon choice". It reminds me of the movie "The Matrix" when they say 'We need guns' and the rows and rows of walls of weapons appear. Then they get to choose what they want.

I'll tell you what Gavin, If you go to bootcamp you'll be given an M-16 and a bayonette. When you go to MCT they'll give you an M-16 and a bayonette. When you go to MOS school you may or may not get a weapon depending on what your MOS is. When you get to the fleet you'll get what they give you based on the needs of your squad leader, platoon sergeant, platoon commander, shoot maybe even the company commander. It all depends on what you'll be doing. What kind of unit you'll go to. What you want has extremely little to with the decision making process of what weapon you will be assigned to.

What kind of weapon you have needs to be the least of your worries right now.