I found some cool links on How Stuff Works, a sight I remember from several years ago. It is pretty much just like it sounds, descriptions of how stuff really works, with lots of dynamic, moving diagrams. Now it seems it also has videos, but that's better than nothing. Hopefully those of you with slow connections can still watch.
Writing about the different weapons is part of my own personnel learning process, but hopefully the links to these videos will make it more entertaining for everyone.
This week I will concentrate on the M9 pistol and the M16 rifle. I call these small arms to distinguish them from the crew-served weapons, though technically all the weapons we use out here are small arms. Only the M240 and .50 caliber machine guns are considered 'crew-served.'
M16 Rifle
The M16 is a lightweight, 5.56 mm caliber, air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed, assault rifle. The M16 replaced the much heavier M14 back in the 1960s. The Navy also uses a derivative of the M16 called the M4 carbine, which has a shorter barrel and a collapsible stock, which makes the weapon even smaller and lighter. The 5.56 caliber rounds at a NATO standard, so the magazines even work in weapons used by many of our allies.
I still have yet to qualify on the M16 since I started this mobilization way back in San Diego. Because of that, they didn't issue me one to bring to the NAG. We've been trying every week to shoot the M16 during a live fire, but we can never got a good range ... there are always dhows in the way.
In the meantime I'm just doing the PQS on the weapon. Yesterday I went over all the fundamentals, and today I was hoping to finish up the systems. With the help of my studied, and the articles and videos below, at least I finally have a better understanding of what gas-operated means, what the bolt does, and the cycle of operation to include.
Link to M16 Rifle on Wikipedia.
Link to M16 Rifle video from the Military Channel.
Links to How Stuff Works:
- Machine Guns: Gas Systems
- Machine Gun Feeding: Spring and Hopper System
- Machine Gun Feeding: Belt System
9M Beretta Pistol
M9 pistol, formally Pistol, Semiautomatic, 9mm, M9.
This is the pistol I qualified on back in San Diego, and was issued to come up to the NAG. I carry it with me everywhere here in a shoulder harness. I could turn it in to the armory, because you don't really have to carry it on the platform. However, you have to have it for a lot of missions out on the water, so I just keep mine with me.
I haven't studied up on the M9 very much yet. Probably because I've already shot and qualified.
Link to M9 Berreta Pistol on Wikipedia.
Weapons Training
The Security Detachment here is really started to do some interesting training. They schedule two live fires a week, but frequently can't get a clear range so they can shoot. In those situations, they switch over to dry fire practice. Which means they practice transition drills and more advanced courses of fire, just without bullets. The pictures below are from Saturday morning.
Rest of Week
I got to host our Boat Detachment OIC and one of our boat coxswains for a couple nights here on KAAOT while the afloat forward staging base (AFSB) was away. They just spent a week up in Umm Qasr with Coalition Naval and Advisory Training Team (CNATT). I went up there for one night a while back, and this was for the same reason. We will be teaching the Iraqi Navy some small boat tactics out here at the OPLATs. So they went up to observe the level of training the Iraqi coxswains and crews have received to date.
Next week will be spent getting ready for this training, to be hosted on the AFSB. That will probably be a good weekly blog subject.
We're getting ready for a visit from the Discovery Channel. They are going to come up here and film a bunch of footage for a special, a series, and some recruiting spots for the Navy. They want to get video of KAAOT, ABOT, small boats, and training.
No comments:
Post a Comment