Marine_ A Guided Tour Of A Marine Expeditionary Unit Part 5

One complaint was that the U.S. military was buying foreign weapons, depriving Americans of jobs. In fact, the contract required production in a U.S.-based factory (Beretta operates a plant in Maryland). But the design did have its share of real problems, for, like any design, this one had its share of teething pains. During endurance testing, for instance, some slides on the test weapons began to crack. This resulted from an extremely hard mounting fixture which put too much strain on the weapons (strengthening the slides was relatively easy). Now, with over a decade of production and operational service behind it, the M9/92F is in its prime, filling most of the combat handgun requirements for the U.S. military. Let me show you how to fire one.

The M9/92F is a large-frame semi-automatic 9mm pistol with a fifteen-round magazine. It is an ambidextrous weapon, equally handy for right- or left-handed shooters. The M9/92F is lighter than the old Colt M1911 .45-caliber that it replaced, weighing 2.55 lb/ 1.16 kg with a loaded magazine. It fits nicely in the hand; my rather large palm and digits make it easy to grip. The M9/92F has exceptional safety features to minimize the risk of accidental firing. These include: * An open slide with an ambidextrous magazine-release b.u.t.ton to speed up and simplify reloading.* A double-action trigger. When you start to pull the trigger, you feel a resistance; the weapon only fires when your finger provides additional pressure.* A visible firing pin block to show the user that a round is chambered.

You have to want to shoot this gun to make it fire. A fumble or mistake is very unlikely to result in accidental discharge. This is critical when you are in a CQB situation.

To show us how to properly handle the M9/92F and several other firearms, Colonel Nance graciously loaned me the expertise of Sergeant Kenneth Becket, an instructor from the High Risk Personnel training course at Quantico. Stepping up to the firing line, he handed me an empty M9/92F with the slide open and the chamber empty. The first thing you are expected to do is look up into the chamber to make sure it is empty. This done, you slide a magazine up into the grip until it clicks home. Now you firmly grasp the slide and c.o.c.k it to the rear. This chambers the first round, and you are ready to fire.

The key to hitting targets with a semi-automatic pistol like the M9/92F is correctly holding, or gripping, the weapon. The subject of proper pistol grip provokes endless debate among shooters, and there is probably no best way to hold a pistol, but the grip currently favored and taught by the Corps works well. Sergeant Becket had me firmly grip the pistol in my right hand, and then grip over the holding hand with the fingers of the left hand, making sure that the palm of the grip hand is on the surface of the pistol grip. The idea is to create a rigid mount for the weapon, as well as to maximize the surface area of your hands in contact with the weapon. Once you have the proper grip, you thumb the safely to the Off position, and are ready to shoot.

As with shooting combat and sniper rifles, the Marine Corps teaches pistol shooters to use the sights to get aimed fire. This is not just to save ammunition. In a pistol shootout, the first shooter to score a hit almost always wins. The USMC theory of pistol shooting requires that every shot be aimed from the sights, even if it takes a bit more time. Even with trained shooters like policemen, pistol shooting is, in a word, hideous. Forget what you see on television and in the movies. Accurate pistol fire from beyond about five yards/meters is almost unheard of. For example, in the last twenty years there are painfully few recorded instances of New York City policemen hitting anything beyond twenty-five feet/eight meters with a pistol. For this reason, the Marines teach pistol shooters to carefully get the proper grip, calmly line up the target through the sights, and then squeeze off one round. Repeat the procedure until the target drops. This procedure will almost guarantee victory and survival in a showdown at close quarters.

With the target in the sights, you gently squeeze the trigger until the weapon fires. This can be a little disconcerting to new users of the M9/92F, because of the double action for safety on the first shot (you have to pull the trigger over a cam to fire). There is a feeling of pulling the trigger forever before the first round fires. But when the M9/92F fires, it is smooth and clean, with the round hitting a white "witness plate" target about 6 in./15.25 cm square placed about 16 feet/5 meters away. Once the M9/92F fires its first round, the trigger becomes single-action (short pull) and the shooting much easier. After each shot, Sergeant Becket coached me to line up and check my grip. And soon I was consistently hitting with round after round. After the fifteenth shot, he had me thumb the magazine release, and rapidly slide in a fresh one. At this point, the weapon is still c.o.c.ked, so all you have to do is check that the safety is Off and fire the first round of the magazine as before. By the time we were done, the white paint of the target witness plate was scarred and worn, testament to the sergeant's coaching skill!

Though there are equally good weapons from manufacturers like Glock, FN, and Colt, I like the Beretta. While 1 personally favor a single-action weapon like the 9mm Browning Hi-Power myself, the safety and reliability of the M9/92F make it an excellent weapon for military use. With minimal training, a shooter can expect to hit a target within killing range. And the 9mm NATO standard ammunition makes it fit well into the logistical chain of almost any nation.

Colt.45-Caliber M1911 MEU (SOC) Pistol The USMC has almost a reverence for the old M 1911 Colt .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol. Its stopping power is legendary: It was designed to take down charging machete-wielding Filipino insurgents. The original M 1911 was replaced by the M 1911A1 in 1925, and nearly all existing weapons in Federal armories were upgraded to the new configuration. After that, the Colt became such a fixture that when the Department of Defense decided to issue the M9/92F in 1985, many Colt .45 users considered it just short of treason. Despite the .45's reputation for kicking like a mule and having the accuracy of a blunderbuss, it was loved by generations of American fighting men, particularly Marines. Thus, in 1986 there was general delight when the USMC decided to bring back a special version of the Colt, the MEU (SOC) pistol. The MEU (SOC) is a rebuilt and modified M 1911A 1 Colt .45, issued as a backup weapon to reconnaissance units equipped with the MP-5N. It was selected over other pistols for its inherent reliability and the greater lethality of the .45-caliber projectile, which weighs about twice as much as a 9mm bullet. Despite the limited inventory of five hundred units maintained by the Corps, the almost spiritual attachment of Marines to the M1911A1 guarantees support for this weapon.

The specially built MEU (SOC) pistol, constructed from an M1911 Colt.45. These unique handgun are issued to Marines for close-quarters battle.

JOHN D. GRESHAM GRESHAM.

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The MEU (SOC) pistols are manufactured from existing Colt M1911A1 .45-caliber pistols (there are thousands in storage). They are rebuilt at Quantico by the armorers of Colonel Nance's Weapons Training Battalion. After each M1911A1 frame is stripped and checked for structural soundness, the following modifications are made: * A commercial compet.i.tion-grade ambidextrous safety.* A precision barrel and trigger a.s.sembly.* Extra wide, rubber-coated safety grips.* Rounded hammer spur.* High-profile combat sights.* Stainless-steel seven-round compet.i.tion-grade magazines with a rounded plastic follower and an extended floor plate.

These improvements make the MEU (SOC) pistol more "user friendly." They also make the MEU (SOC) pistol one of the most comfortable and accurate hand-guns I have ever fired.

I was given the chance to fire one of the MEU (SOC) pistols at the same distance and target as the Beretta. I've fired my share of .45-caliber pistols before, and the M1911A1 has always been a beast. Even with my size and weight, the M1911A1 always left me bruised and battered, with little damage to the targets. The MEU (SOC) pistol is different. Using the same grip and sighting technique as I used on the Beretta, I got a string of hits on my first magazine. A single-action trigger makes it smoother to fire than the Beretta, and the reduced recoil is easy on even small-handed shooters. Seeing the damage .45-caliber rounds were doing to the target witness plates, I could only imagine what they would do to a human target. This weapon is more than accurate and deadly; it is fun to fire, much like the MP-5N. I could have spent the whole day firing it under Sergeant Becket's coaching. Eventually I had to regretfully give it back. The MEU (SOC) is the finest large frame pistol you will never never be able to buy. And I want one! be able to buy. And I want one!

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An M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW). The SAW is a 5.56mm fully automatic machine gun, and one is a.s.signed to each four-man Marine fire team.

JOHN D. GRESHAM.

M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) When the first machine guns appeared in the late 1800s, they revolutionized warfare. Until the introduction of the tank, machine guns ruled the battlefield. For many years infantry leaders longed for a machine gun that a man could carry, to set up a base of fire to support squad-level operations. As early as 1916 Marines used the French M1909 Benet-Mercie, license-built by Colt, in the Dominican Campaign; and by 1917 they had some British Lewis guns. During World War I, the U.S. Army resisted the idea of a light machine gun, fearing that it would lead to excessive ammunition waste. Instead it adopted the famous M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), which entered service in the last two months of the war. This 22-1b/10 kg weapon fired standard .30-06 ammunition from a twenty-round clip. Even though the twenty-round clip limited the rate of sustained fire to about sixty rounds per minute--half the firepower of a typical belt-fed bipod-mounted light machine gun--and the effective range was also shorter, the BAR was robust and reliable. The Marines liked it so much they made it the centerpiece of the fire team. Unfortunately, the BAR stayed in service too long, a problem most often noted by those who had to lug the d.a.m.ned thing around the battlefield.

In 1957 the BAR was replaced by the M60, a close copy of the World War II German MG42 light machine gun. The Army "improved" that design, which led to frequent stoppages and jams, poor durability, and barrels p.r.o.ne to overheating. It fired 7.62mm ammunition instead of the 5.56mm/.223-in. round used by the M16. Thus, a platoon with both weapons had to manage two separate ammunition supplies, complicating logistics. Also, the M60 was still very heavy (at 18.75 lb/8.5 kg) to be lugging around with 10 to 20 1b/4.5 to 9 kg of ammunition. Thus, M60 gunners dreamed of a lighter weapon which would be easier to carry and operate, use the same 5.56mm/.223-in. ammunition as the M 16, and carry more rounds for the weight.

By the late 1970s, the Army and Marines agreed to procure a non-developmental (i.e., "off-the-shelf") replacement for the M60 in rifle squads. After many models were evaluated, the winner was a weapon from Fabrique Nationale (FN) of Belgium. This became the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), first issued to Army and Marine units in the mid-1980s. Since then a "Product Improvement Program" kit has modified the barrel, grips, stock, buffer, and sights. The M249 is an attractive little weapon, not much larger than an M16A2. With a folding bipod and tool kit, it weighs only 15.2 lb/6.9 kg and is some 40.9 in./103.8 cm long. A sling allows the gunner to fire it from over the shoulder when on the move. It can accept either the thirty-round 5.56mm/.223-in. magazines of the M 16A2, or a two-hundred-round belt (which is preferred). The belted ammunition comes in a plastic box, which weighs only 6.9 lb/3.1 kg. This is a vast improvement over the M60, in terms of the weight a fire team has to lug around the battlefield. Marines issue one M249 to each four-man fire team. The other three team members have M16A2s, and one of these comes with a M203 40mm grenade launcher, so that each fire team has a machine gun, three combat rifles, and a grenade launcher. Quite a lot of firepower for just four men.

For my demonstration, Colonel Nance's instructors had flipped down the folding bipod legs at the front of the M249 so that I could fire from a p.r.o.ne position. This is the most comfortable and accurate way to fire the M249, because it tends to spread the recoil over three points (the two bipod legs and your shoulder), limiting the movement of the weapon. As I mentioned earlier, you can load the weapon either from the bottom with a 30-round M16 magazine or a 200-round belt which feeds across the top of the SAW. To load, you attach a plastic belt box to the left side of the SAW. This done, you raise the receiver cover and pull the belt over and across the receiver feed tray, align the first round over the feed tray, and close the cover. Then you pull back the c.o.c.king handle to load the first round, release the safety, and pull the trigger.

The SAW fires at a satisfying 725 rounds a minute. While you are putting a lot of rounds onto the target, the weapon is not cycling so quickly that you cannot control it. You can fire single shots or short bursts easily, or empty a whole box of two hundred rounds in just over 16.5 seconds. Accuracy of the M249 is quite good. The sights are more complex than those on the M 16A2 (with adjustment k.n.o.bs for elevation and windage), but when properly adjusted, they help you to consistently put rounds on target out to an effective range of about 1,000 meters/3,281 feet. I was able to put a stream of bullets right into the chest of a man-sized target at 200 yards/183 meters without difficulty. When you fire the M249, there is a solid feel with very little kick or travel. Firing the SAW is so nice that before long, you begin to feel invulnerable and omnipotent. As an SAW gunner, you have to deny yourself this feeling, because you are no better protected than any other infantryman, just better armed. If the SAW has a vice, it is the one common to all machine guns, a tendency to jam during long bursts. This is one reason why short bursts are encouraged (the obvious desire to conserve ammunition is another reason). The SAW is easily cleared in the event of a jam, simply by lifting the cover plate and pulling the jammed round clear. The M249 SAW is an excellent light machine gun. Its standard M988 5.56mm/.223-in. ammunition means that every Marine in a four-man fire team now fires the same ammunition, simplifying logistics and maximizing the utility of a team's load. I like it!

M240G Light Machine Gun When the Army and Marines replaced the M60 at the squad/fire team level, they also had to replace it in other medium-machine-gun roles. In its final version, the M60E3, it had been used as a pintle-mounted weapon on vehicles and aircraft (M-1 tanks, trucks, helicopters, etc.), as well as in heavy weapons platoons. In these roles, the 5.56mm/.223-in. round really does not have the hitting power and range required, so the M60E3 with its 7.62mm round was retained well past its prime.

The Army and Marine Corps finally found the ultimate replacement for the M60E3 in the M240G. Gunners like it for its reliability and reduced maintenance requirements. The M240G is basically a scaled-up M249 SAW, firing 7.62mm ammunition. Designed and built by FN of Belgium, the M240G is a lightened version of the original M240. The 240G is functionally identical to the M249 SAW, except for the following features: * It is longer (47.5 in./ 120.6 cm) and heavier (24.2 lb/ 11 kg) than the M249, or for that matter, than the M60E3. This is the main "down" side to the M240G.* The M240G fires the NATO-Standard 7.62mm ammunition instead of the 5.56mm/.223-in. rounds. This makes for better hitting power and greater effective range (out to 1.1 miles/ 1.8 km).* It has three selectable rates of fire, between 650 and 950 round per minute.

Aside from these differences, the M240G is almost identical to the SAW. Now every medium machine gun in the U.S. military inventory will come from the same basic family. Like its little brother, the M249 SAW, the M240G is popular with the troops, though the Marine recruiters joke that they are looking for bigger recruits to lug it around the battlefield!

Combat Shotguns In really close combat, there is nothing better than a shotgun (except maybe a flamethrower!) for hitting power. Marines use three different though similar commercial shotguns for CQB missions. The Remington 870, Winchester 1200, and Mossberg 590 have all been adapted for combat by adding a bayonet attachment, sling, and a phenolic b.u.t.tplate to soften the recoil. Shotguns are not carried as a primary weapon (like the M 16A2 or MP-5N), but as special secondary weapons for use at close quarters. In addition to the obvious anti-personnel role, they can also be used to blow open a door (by blasting the lock or demolis.h.i.+ng the hinges); and they make a fine "non-lethal" riot-control device. A new family of shotgun sh.e.l.ls from MK Ballistic Systems, called Flexible Baton-12, fires projectiles that look like small rubber beanbags. These deliver enough force to knock down a human being, without the blunt trauma often a.s.sociated with so-called "rubber" bullets.

Colonel Nance and his staff are now preparing to evaluate a more capable combat shotgun. Though the actual weapon has yet to be selected, it will certainly have a large magazine (thirty rounds or more), and provide a semi-/fully automatic firing capability. When the Marine Corps puts its stamp of approval on this new shotgun, it is likely to be procured by law enforcement agencies all over the world.

Foreign Weapons Quietly and discreetly, Colonel Nance's Weapons Training Battalion introduces new Marines to some of the weapons that they may face or capture on future battlefields. The first reason is obvious: Marines in the field should recognize the sound of an enemy weapon being fired, and know to get down out of the line of fire. Many weapons, like the ubiquitous AK-47 combat rifle, have a highly distinctive sound signature, and knowing this can help you locate its firing position. In addition, knowing an enemy weapon allows you to identify its weaknesses, possibly giving you an edge in combat. Finally, Marines have to be ready to fight with what they can get if they are lost, cut off, or even abandoned (remember Wake Island and Guadalca.n.a.l). To this end, new Marines are indoctrinated in the characteristics of weapons used by other nations. Many of the foreign weapons that Marines learn about at Quantico are of crude but effective design like the AK-47. Thus, knowing how to use them will continue to be an important battle skill for Marines.

Grenades, Mines, Explosives, and Breaching Tools While firearms are the primary tools of an infantryman, there are times when a gun will not do. Ordnance engineers like to say that there is no condition in the human experience that cannot be solved by an appropriately shaped, sized, timed, and detonated charge of high explosive. Explosive weapons have had an important place in close combat since the invention of the grenade several hundred years ago. Today's Marines can carry a variety of grenades, mines, and other devices in their rucksacks, and we're going to take a look at them here.

Hand Grenades Shortly after gunpowder reached the West in the Middle Ages, some creative warrior took a handful of the new explosive, packed it into a container, lit a fuse, and threw it at his enemy. This was a good idea when it worked. The problem was that it didn't work all that often. Early grenades were frequently more dangerous to their users than their intended victims. Because of the unreliability of the explosive and fuses, you could never really be sure they were going to go off, or how big an explosion ("lethal blast radius") you would get.

Modern grenades commonly used by Marines include: * * M67 Fragmentation Grenade-Weighing M67 Fragmentation Grenade-Weighing 14 oz/.4 kg, it carries an explosive charge of 6.5 oz/ 184.6g of Composition B. When you pull the pin and release the safety handle (called a "spoon"), there is roughly a four-to-five-second delay prior to detonation. When it goes off, it spews fragments out to a lethal distance of around fifteen meters/forty-nine feet. The user must either be under cover when it explodes, or throw it far enough to be safe from the blast. 14 oz/.4 kg, it carries an explosive charge of 6.5 oz/ 184.6g of Composition B. When you pull the pin and release the safety handle (called a "spoon"), there is roughly a four-to-five-second delay prior to detonation. When it goes off, it spews fragments out to a lethal distance of around fifteen meters/forty-nine feet. The user must either be under cover when it explodes, or throw it far enough to be safe from the blast.* M7A3 CS Riot Hand Grenade-This M7A3 CS Riot Hand Grenade-This is a "non-lethal" device, designed to deter or incapacitate a rioting crowd. Weighing only 15.5 oz/.44 kg, it is loaded with a mixture of pelletized CS (tear gas) and a burning agent, which helps atomize and disperse the gas. When inhaled, ingested, or exposed to mucous membranes (eyes, mouth, etc.), it incapacitates the victim within fifteen to thirty seconds, with an effect duration of less than ten minutes following exposure to fresh air and, if necessary, water to flush the eyes and mouth. Troops using the M7A3 normally wear a gas mask to avoid exposure themselves. is a "non-lethal" device, designed to deter or incapacitate a rioting crowd. Weighing only 15.5 oz/.44 kg, it is loaded with a mixture of pelletized CS (tear gas) and a burning agent, which helps atomize and disperse the gas. When inhaled, ingested, or exposed to mucous membranes (eyes, mouth, etc.), it incapacitates the victim within fifteen to thirty seconds, with an effect duration of less than ten minutes following exposure to fresh air and, if necessary, water to flush the eyes and mouth. Troops using the M7A3 normally wear a gas mask to avoid exposure themselves.* M18 Colored Smoke Hand Grenade-The M18 Colored Smoke Hand Grenade-The M18 is not designed to kill or wound anyone. It simply marks areas for helicopter landing zones and no-shoot areas during strikes by aircraft and helicopters. Weighing some 19 oz/.54 kg, these grenades come in four varieties: red, green, yellow, or violet smoke. Each M 18 will generate smoke for approximately fifty to ninety seconds, and the volume of smoke is suf ficient for screening squad movements, if the wind is not too strong. M18 is not designed to kill or wound anyone. It simply marks areas for helicopter landing zones and no-shoot areas during strikes by aircraft and helicopters. Weighing some 19 oz/.54 kg, these grenades come in four varieties: red, green, yellow, or violet smoke. Each M 18 will generate smoke for approximately fifty to ninety seconds, and the volume of smoke is suf ficient for screening squad movements, if the wind is not too strong.

There is little research on improved hand grenades, since these do exactly what is required. The Marines maintain a stock of more than 1,138,000 grenades of all types, showing how important they are to the firepower of the Corps.

M203 40mm Grenade Launcher One of the problems with hand grenades is that a human being (even Dan Marino) can only throw one so far. In World War I grenade-throwing attachments were developed for bolt-action rifles to provide more standoff range for the infantry. These were not direct-fire weapons, and they were not terribly accurate; the grenades had to be lofted, like a mortar round. During the Vietnam War the U.S. Army introduced the M79 grenade launcher (nicknamed the "thump gun"). This stubby weapon, resembling an oversized, sawed-off shotgun, fired a 40mm sh.e.l.l, called a grenade, to a range of about 150 meters/492 feet. At this range, a good thump gunner could put a round through a door or window. Each 40mm projectile has about the same lethality as a hand grenade, but with considerably more accuracy and range. There are several different types (smoke, fragmentation, gas, flechette, etc.), with various effects.

The M79 was used extensively in Vietnam, and is still favored by law enforcement agencies for riot control and SWAT teams, but it is an extra weapon the soldier has to lug around that is not useful for anything else. Thus, the M203 grenade launcher was created. The M203 is a "clip-on" device, which attaches to the bottom of the forward receiver of an M16A2 combat rifle. A Marine with the M203 still has full use of his M16A2, but he can also launch 40mm grenades. You load it by pus.h.i.+ng the barrel of the M203 forward, and then sliding a round into the breech. By pulling the barrel tube backwards, you lock the weapon shut and are ready to fire. All you have to do is release the safety, aim the weapon, and pull the M203's trigger, located just forward of the magazine loading chute of the M16A2. Surprisingly, the M203 is quite accurate, and gunners can put rounds through a door or window at quite a good range. Each fire team includes one M203 gunner. It is a deadly little weapon, well liked by Marines.

An M203 40mm grenade launcher attached to an M4 5.56mm carbine. The M4 is the shortened version of the M16A2 combat rifle.

JOHN D. GRESHAM.

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Mines Mines are weapons that wait, sometimes for decades. Combat soldiers both love and hate land mines. They love to sit behind a minefield and watch the enemy blunder into it. But they hate the feeling of helplessness and terror that comes from being caught in a minefield, seeing their friends suddenly and horribly maimed. And then once the war is over, the winners get to pick all the d.a.m.ned things up and disarm them. Unfortunately, this doesn't always happen, and large areas of luckless countries like Cambodia, Angola, and Afghanistan have been rendered uninhabitable by millions of land mines. Although some European countries that profited hugely from the sale of land mines are beginning to ban their export for humanitarian reasons, mines are so effective and cheap that there is little hope of a workable international law prohibiting their manufacture and use.

The Marines deploy a variety of different mines, including the following, which are man-portable: * M16A1 "Bouncing Betty"-- M16A1 "Bouncing Betty"--This is a "bounding" anti-personnel mine. When someone steps on one of the firing p.r.o.ngs (which are left exposed when the M16A 1 is buried), a small propelling charge fires it about 6f/1.8m into the air, at which point it detonates. The M16A1 contains a 1-1b/.45-kg explosive charge, which produces a lethal fragmentation range of around 88f/27m.* M18A1 "Claymore"-- M18A1 "Claymore"--This is a flat curved plate filled with steel b.a.l.l.s embedded in plastic explosive. It has folding metal p.r.o.ngs that stick into the ground and a chilling label embossed on the housing: "This side toward enemy." It functions like a huge shotgun sh.e.l.l. Once the M 18A1 is emplaced, it can either be fired by a trip wire or command-detonated from a distance. When detonated, the 1.5-1b/.68-kg C-4 charge fires a 60deg fan-shaped pattern of fragments, each the size of a ball bearing. The fragments are lethal out to a range of around 328f/100m. The Claymore is primarily used for ambushes, but it can also function as a "silent sentry," covering ground that cannot be brought under direct observation and fire.

Anti-personnel mines are effective against opposing infantry, and Marines can carry them in sufficient numbers to make them a real threat. Though there are larger mines like the M15 and M18 used against tanks, they are too heavy to be man-portable.

Explosives and Breaching Tools In addition to grenades and mines, Marines frequently carry supplies of plastic explosives and detonation gear for demolitions. They may use explosives to breach doors and other obstacles. In most cases, these are improvised devices, tailored to a particular situation. Today, C-4 is the most common explosive used by U.S. forces. With the consistency of modeling clay, it is extremely powerful, clean, and quick-burning. Another common explosive tool is detonator cord, which burns so hot and fast it can cut through metal. These explosives are usually detonated electrically, with a positive control whenever possible. Explosives experts hate time fuses, because they are just one more thing to fail, or to be disarmed later.

The growing menace of domestic terrorism raises legitimate concerns about showing people how to build homemade explosive devices. For that reason I will not give you specifics. That said, explosives have some positive uses; they are not always used to kill or injure people. Consider a door. Any cop will tell you that going though a door with a perpetrator on the other side is a good time to have your insurance policy paid up and your sins confessed. Door-busting quickly and safely is vital, especially in the tricky business of hostage rescue. So consider this little improvised device.

Cut a large coffee tin or other inst.i.tutional food container in half, down the long axis. You now have a concave container, into which you loop a length of detonator cord and a detonator. On top of the detonator cord, you pack the remaining s.p.a.ce with soft plastic packages of saline solution from the medical supplies carried by your Navy corpsman. Once this is done, the open side is sealed with duct tape. Now apply double-sided sticky foam tape over the duct tape. Then slap the sticky side onto the door you want to go through and step back. When the detonator is fired, it drives the saline liquid forward with such force that the door is knocked off its hinges. Since the explosion is quick and clean, and the area is drenched with the saline solution (its just salt water, remember), there is virtually no danger of fire.

Marines learn dozens of such tricks for taking down different kinds of structures. To a properly trained Marine, explosives are another tool, like a saw or bulldozer, to get a job done. In the arts of combat, Marines are world-cla.s.s masters of creative improvisation.

Tools of the Trade "We must not be lulled into complacency because we have always been ready, relevant, and capable. What might be ready, relevant, and capable today may be less so the day after tomorrow. We must antic.i.p.ate change, adapt to it, and foster it. We shall remain relevant only if we are willing to meet future challenges and adapt to new needs. "

--General Charles C. Krulak, Commandant of the Marine Corps

Even though the Marines focus on building better personnel and giving them superb personal combat skills, the Corps still lugs around a fair amount of stuff. Perhaps not as much per capita as an armored unit or an Air Force wing, but even a small Marine Expeditionary Unit--Special Operations Capable--MEU (SOC)--must operate in many environments and roles. On one day, you might see an MEU (SOC) staging an emba.s.sy evacuation or rescue. On another day, the mission might be disaster relief or peacekeeping. Meanwhile, a MAGTF still has to be able to perform traditional combat missions, such as amphibious and helicopter a.s.saults. A battalion landing team (BLT) like that in an MEU (SOC) might operate about two dozen armored vehicles, while an equivalent Army unit like a cavalry squadron would own three times that many. The difference is like the one between a draft horse and a thoroughbred. You can ride both, but the draft horse can also pull a cart or plow. The MAGTF is a shock unit (a thoroughbred), which requires reinforcement to conduct really long-term operations.

The money that buys Marine weapons and equipment comes from three sources. First is "Blue" (Navy) money, which buys landing craft and amphibious s.h.i.+ps, operated and maintained by sailors. Second comes "Blue" Navy dollars which buy "Green" equipment for Marines, like aircraft, helicopters, and communications and electronic equipment. Finally, there are "Green" Marine Corps funds, to purchase tanks, uniforms, missiles, etc. Marines only control the last category; they have to request the other two from the Navy. The Marines are technically part of the Department of the Navy, after all.

In Fiscal Year 1995 (FY-1995), the Marines only received about $554 million in "Green" dollars. Even with the other "Blue" dollars from the Navy, the total Marine Corps procurement budget is under a billion dollars a year. This level of funding will have to increase if procurement of new systems like the tilt-rotor MV- 22B Osprey transport helicopter and Advanced Amphibious a.s.sault Vehicle (AAAV) is to begin in the next few years. The Corps still enjoys a strong base of public and legislative support, and it is lobbying hard for what it needs.

Most Marine equipment is not designed specifically for the Marines. The Corps must depend on technologies and systems developed by other services, such as the Army and Air Force. The Air Force might define its key technologies as stealth, airframe structures, jet power plants, avionics, and precision guided weapons. The Army knows all about armor systems, ordnance, vehicle power trains, and command and control networks. By comparison, the Marines have only a few limited areas of technical specialization. These include tilt-rotor aircraft propulsion technology, high-speed water-planing hull designs, and lightweight man-portable anti-armor systems. By taking advantage of other services' technology investments, plus a few key investments of their own, the Marines have become the world's most capable sea soldiers. Remember, though, that the Marines have been on the cutting edge of technology since before World War II. Precision weapons delivery (dive bombing) and vertical envelopment (helicopter warfare) are Marine Corps inventions. Systems like AAAV, the MV-22B Osprey, and the Predator anti-tank rocket may represent the shape of the future for the other services as well.

In reviewing the heavy equipment of the Corps, we'll look closely at only those that are Marine specific. For others, like the M 1A1 Abrams tank and the TOW ant.i.tank missile, you can refer to Armored Cav Armored Cav and and Fighter Wing. Fighter Wing. Unlike the other services, the Marines are not defined by the equipment they use. They are defined by how they use the tools that they have, and the missions they perform. Unlike the other services, the Marines are not defined by the equipment they use. They are defined by how they use the tools that they have, and the missions they perform.

Personal Equipment and Sustenance The best personal weapons are of little value to the soldier without food, clothing, navigation equipment, and the like. Many such items used by the Marines are developed in Army laboratories and centers. For this reason, many Marines sometimes feel their requirements are held captive by their "big brother" the Army. Let's take a look.

Clothing and Sleeping Gear The dress uniforms of the Marine Corps may be the smartest and best-looking of all the services, but the basic Battle Dress Uniform (BDU), or "Utilities" as they are known, is nearly identical to what the Army wears. BDUs come in a variety of camouflage patterns, including Woodlands (greens and browns), Desert (beige, brown, and gray), and Urban/Arctic (white, black, and gray), which doubles as a good winter/mountain uniform. BDUs come in various weights, from light knit (a fifty-fifty cotton/nylon rip-stop mix) to quilted high-technology fabrics (Gore-Tex, Supplex, Thermex, and FiberFill) for cold weather. They can be also treated with a waxy substance so that they do not absorb or pa.s.s chemical agents onto the skin of the wearer.

Boots are a big problem. Though this situation is changing, the Corps has traditionally had inferior boots for the all-important feet of its Marines. New boots are finally being evaluated and fielded for the Marines. These include the Dannon desert boot, popular in the Persian Gulf in 1990 and 1991, as well as a new winter /wet boot system designed to keep feet dry in the worst conditions. The helmet is still the Kevlar "Fritz" design used by the Army, though the first new lightweight Kevlar-29 units are beginning to arrive.

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The Trimble Navigation Miniature Underwater GPS Receiver (MUGR), which utilizes a floating antenna to allow swimmers and divers to obtain highly accurate surveys and tactical positions.

JOHN D. GRESHAM.

The biggest current challenge for outfitting Marines is clothing for cold- and wet-weather conditions. Historically we a.s.sociate Marine operations with tropical weather, or more recently, with Middle Eastern deserts, but the Corps has faced arctic missions for over half a century. Since the U.S. occupation of Iceland in 1941, Marines have operated in high lat.i.tudes and alt.i.tudes. Even today, a Marine brigade's set of equipment is prepositioned in caves around Oslo, Norway, for operations on NATO's northern flank. The Corps is upgrading its mountain and cold-weather equipment, with new pants, parkas, mittens, socks, underwear, and balaclavas (hoods). There is a new four-part sleeping bag system, with inner and outer bags, liner and bivy sack (outer cover), certified for temperatures as low as -40deg F. Along with special cold-weather rations, these make combat operations in alpine regions and cold weather both possible and livable for Marines.

Navigation In the last few years, navigation has been revolutionized by the NAVISTAR Global Positioning System (GPS). A constellation of twenty-four satellites in medium Earth orbit (about 11,000 mi/17,700 km in alt.i.tude) transmits calibrated signals that generate accurate three-dimensional positions. GPS receivers are increasingly portable, rugged, and cheap. Those receivers saw their first military use in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, where more than five thousand such systems in aircraft, s.h.i.+ps, vehicles, and even handheld units contributed to victory over Iraq. Marines used GPS receivers in aircraft like the F/A-18 Hornet fighter bomber and landing craft like the LCAC, and handheld units in the air-ground liaison control (ANGLICO) teams that controlled artillery fire and airstrikes. GPS gave U.S. forces a major advantage on the battlefield, where knowing the exact time (from the satellite's...o...b..ard atomic clocks) and your own position is critical. GPS has emerged as a new kind of public utility, with ever-increasing military and civil applications. While the baseline civilian version is limited to 3-D accuracy of about 100 ft/30.5 m, military GPS signals are accurate to about 9.8 to 16.4 ft/3 to 5 m. Utilizing a code which must be punched into the receiver each day (called P(Y)-code), the military signals have proven so accurate and reliable that guided missiles and bombs can use them for guidance.

Marines have embraced GPS with excitement and antic.i.p.ation, as systems with embedded GPS arrive in greater numbers each year. Because the Corps is always interested in what technology can do for individual Marines, to make them more dangerous to enemies and safer to themselves, the Marines have worked hard to deliver P(Y)-code man-portable GPS receivers down to the squad level. This is a tough objective, because it requires procuring and fielding tens of thousands of such receivers. There are two current models: the Small, Lightweight GPS Receiver (SLGR, built by Tremble Navigation) and the Portable, Lightweight GPS Receiver (PLGR, from Rockwell International). The "Slugger" and "Plugger" are about the size of portable stereos. Combined with a radio, they enable every Marine (theoretically) to call in artillery and air strikes with accuracy. By the dawn of the new century, every USMC aircraft and vehicle will have a GPS receiver, many of them embedded in navigation and fire-control systems. The eventual goal is to give every Marine an individual GPS navigation capability. General Krulak likes to talk about building a GPS receiver into the b.u.t.t of every M16, and he is serious about it.

One top priority is a new rescue radio for combat aviators. Current rescue radios a.s.signed to U.S. combat flyers frankly stink. During Desert Storm, by simply direction-finding on their radios, Iraqi forces captured downed pilots before rescue forces could reach them. In the short term, there is a modification of the basic PRC-112 radio, called the Hook-112. The Hook-112 involves the addition of a GPS receiver and a burst transmitter to the basic PRC-112, beaming coordinates to rescue forces without betraying the position of the downed flyer. Further on, there is a system known as the Combat Survival/Evader Locator (CSEL), which will combine a GPS receiver with an almost undetectable satellite terminal into a small, handheld package.

In addition, the Marines will soon deploy a mobile survey system based around a GPS receiver to a.s.sist expeditionary units in emplacing artillery sites and other position-critical units. Designed and produced by Trimble Navigation, 40 of these systems have already been bought, with an additional 203 planned for future buys. Trimble is also supplying the Marines with a new generation of super-rugged, P(Y)-code GPS units for use by reconnaissance forces. Called the Miniature Underwater GPS Receiver (MUGR), it is about the size of a Walkman radio. MUGR is fully waterproof, and can actually operate underwater! By using a floating antenna attached by a wire tether, the MUGR allows a reconnaissance force to survey a beach or harbor covertly. These systems represent only the tip of the GPS iceberg. In the near future, expect to see the "Fritz" Kevlar helmets of American troops sporting flat satellite antennas with the ability to send and receive signals.

Communications By the fall of 1996, the Marines will finally begin their long-awaited move to the Army's Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS). SINCGARS utilizes "frequency hopping" to make its signals difficult to intercept or jam. The 2nd MEF will get the entire suite of SINCGARS radio systems for aircraft, vehicles, and personnel in FY-1996 and FY-97. SINCGARS will be taken to the field by 26th MEU (SOC) during their 1996/97 Mediterranean cruise. The current SINCGARS variants are shown in the table below: [image]

Marines deploy a number of satellite communications systems, ranging from large fixed systems for command posts to backpack models for on-the-scene commanders. The key to military satellite communications is access to the proper frequency channels, which are usually overbooked and the subject of intense compet.i.tion by users, all of whom need to communicate right now. The Department of Defense maintains a number of satellite communications systems to support military operations. But the high tempo of U.S. military deployments has saturated existing military systems. Every communications satellite has a number of transponders, which provide television or radio channels. Each transponder is a.s.signed according to priorities determined by theater commanders, or even by the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. There are simply not enough to go around. As a result, the Defense Department is also a major customer for commercial satellite communications air time from commercial suppliers like INMARSAT and Hughes. The Marines have equipment that operates on most standard satellite frequencies, though the most common is the man-portable UHF TACSAT system. This version, known as the PRC-117D, is carried by a communications specialist, with a backpack battery and transceiver and an attached antenna. Able to transmit voice or data, it works well in the field, though it is a battery hog.

While the Marine Corps has a robust and effective communication architecture today, things are going to be changing fast. Already on the horizon are direct-broadcast /receive commercial satellite phone systems, and military communicators are drooling to get some. Global handheld satellite phones will create a telecommunications revolution that makes current-generation cellular phones look like soup cans connected by a string. For example, Texas Instruments has already developed a two-way satellite antenna that is just a flat square a few inches/centimeters on each side. Requiring only minuscule power to operate, it can be fitted to the roof of an HMMWV, or possibly even the top of a Kevlar "Fritz" helmet. The dream of tying every Marine into a global communications net is now within sight.

Food and Water Marines might be able to hold a position without fuel and with just the ammunition they are carrying, but without food or water, they will have to surrender or die within a few days. Water is usually no problem; Marines have a ready supply of pure water from the s.h.i.+ps that bring them ash.o.r.e. The Corps has also made a significant investment in portable reverse-osmosis water-purification systems that can be delivered via transport aircraft or prepositioned s.h.i.+ps. As a result, other services and coalition allies frequently depend upon Marine units to supply their water needs until follow-on logistics forces arrive.

Food is a different matter. The Corps is a virtual hostage to the meal systems produced by the U.S. Army; it must order food items from the Army logistics system. Options are limited. To begin with, there are Meals Ready to Eat (MREs), heavy, bland, but nouris.h.i.+ng rations. Since Desert Storm, MREs have actually gotten heavier, for the Army has chosen to pack more stuff into the brown plastic packages, rather than make what was already inside more appetizing. The result is that field troops tend to throw much of the MRE away, and thus fail to take in the nutrients and calories they need. Though MRE manufacturers like Star Foods already have better products on hand, the Army is not willing to buy them at this time. It is working to issue better MREs, though, and expects to field several new kinds in FY-2000. Because MREs are so unappetizing, American peacekeepers in Bosnia have been using their own money to buy nutritional snacks or freeze-dried camping food; and if they're lucky, they can get some French or British rations. The French version of the MRE, for example, contains fresh bread and pate!

The Marine food service system falls into three levels. The first or "A"-type rations are boxes with three trays of prepackaged food (meats, vegetables, and starches), which are heated in tray boilers and served cafeteria-style to troops. The "B"-type rations are actual meals that are cooked in field kitchens made from locally purchased ingredients as well as dehydrated/freeze-dried ingredients s.h.i.+pped from the U.S. Finally, there are the field rations, normally composed of MREs. I say normally, because when troops enter cold-weather and high-alt.i.tude areas, they begin to burn calories at an incredible rate. While a typical Marine might burn about three thousand calories per day under normal environmental conditions, cold weather can double this rate. Since Marines routinely throw out much of the stuff inside the four MREs issued each day, something else is clearly required for cold-weather operations. That is the cold-weather ration. Produced by Oregon Freeze Dry, Inc. (they also produce Mountain House brand camping food) and packaged by Right Away Foods, these rations take up only half as much s.p.a.ce and volume as a comparable diet of MREs, and deliver more calories. The ration itself is composed mainly of freeze-dried foods which are contained in a sealed plastic bag. These only require rehydration to make them ready to eat. Given a supply of snow for melting and a heat source, the cold-weather ration can provide an excellent source of hot food for field units. As an added benefit, it is very high in calories (about three thousand per issued ration), and quite light in weight. Compared to MREs, cold-weather rations are quite tasty, and this means that the troops eat everything in the packs issued each day.

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A cold-weather ration, with its contents displayed on the right. This is a two meal, freeze-dried ration, containing a breakfast and lunch. It includes oatmeal, soup, granola, crackers, cocoa, coffee, candy, and a powdered drink. The breakfast rations are designed to provide maximum sugar/carbohydrate content on cold mornings.

JOHN D. GRESHAM.

As the Marine Corps moves towards the 21st century, it is looking forward to the new varieties of MREs due to be fielded by the Army. But don't be surprised if the USMC finally begins to produce rations to its own design and specification. The Commandant's Battle Lab at Quantico, Virginia, is studying the problem from a purely "Marine" point of view, and may yet produce field rations with an "expeditionary" flavor.