MCB Camp Pendleton

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Practice makes perfect

7 Apr 2006 | Cpl. Miguel A. Carrasco Jr. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Several Marines were pinned down inside a small Iraqi house with no communication, no ammunition and insurgents closing in on them. One Marine noticed AK-47 rifles in the house and enough ammunition to fight off the insurgents.

Without hesitation, a Marine loaded an AK-47 and took aim on the fast approaching insurgents. The other Marines followed quickly behind him and found themselves back in the firefight.

Scenarios like this are a reality and have taken place during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Thanks to foreign weapons training, many Marines are well-equipped with the knowledge to engage the enemy with something other than the standard issued M-16 A-2 service rifle.

More than 30 Marines with different Military Transition Teams, took part in a Foreign Weapons Shoot here Friday, as a part of a training package in preparation for a deployment to Iraq.

Thanks to an Iraqi Transition Team with I Marine Expeditionary Force, many Marines are given classes and hands-on experience with some of the weapons they might encounter while in Iraq.

“There have been plenty of cases where a Marine had to pick up some type of foreign weapon and use it against the enemy,” said Maj. John M. Capps, a logistics officer and the range officer-in-charge with the ITT. “With proper training, the Marines will not have to worry about how to use the weapon and will remain a vital asset among his unit.”

For most Marines, the only weapon they have ever used and fired has been the M16 A-2 service rifle, which is taught during boot camp. To a Marine unfamiliar with foreign weapons, the weapons could be seen almost like a foreign language.

The foreign weapons shoot is part of an overall course which is teaching the Marines how to be advisors to the Iraqi Army.

“By giving these Marines the knowledge of the foreign weapons used by the Iraqi soldiers, the Marines will also have great credibility with the Iraqis,” said Maj. David B. Haynes, a course advisor with the Iraqi Transition Team, I MEF.

“The Marines are taught how to load, unload, break down and fire each of the foreign weapons,” said Haynes, 36, a native of Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Haynes also added that trying to learn these techniques while on the battlefield might not end in a successful manner.

Capps, 49, a native of Yuma, Ariz., has been working with C&T Enterprise Inc. from Tucson, Ariz., to make this course available to Marines since 1999.

Walt Puczkowskyj, a Marine Vietnam veteran and Purple Heart recipient, owns C&T Enterprise Inc., which provides the weapons and personnel to teach Marines how to use the weapons.

“My company has worked with Maj. Capps since the program was introduced to Marines at (Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Ariz.),” said Puczkowskyj, 60, a native of Tucson. “We hope to give them the tools they need to do their best while on the battlefield.”

Although the Marines enjoyed being able to send rounds down range, the training is meant for familiarization and sharing amongst their units.

“This is a great opportunity to get familiar with the weapons that we might come across while in Iraq, but it’s more important to pass this knowledge back to our Marines,” said Capt. Sean K. Butler, a Military Transition Team officer.

The Marines in the course shot many variants of Yugoslavian, Romanian, Polish, Soviet and Hungarian-type weapons. The Marines were able to put rounds through a silhouette target with pistols and watched as 7.62 mm rounds pierced life-size dummies with different rifles and belt-fed machine guns.

The Marines shot different variants of AK-47s, the Soviet-made pistol called the Makarov PM and the PKM general purpose machine gun, which is similar to the M240G medium machine gun used by Marine infantry units.

The Marines found the knowledge to be a necessary way to be one step in front of the enemy.

“This is awesome training,” said 1st Lt. Javier Torres, Military Transition Team. “It is one thing to know your enemy but another to know their weapon.”

The Marines were glad the course was made available to them but were more satisfied with the hands-on practice with the weapons.

“The AK-47 is a well-made weapon, and it was great to get a feel for it. I still prefer my M-16,” said Torres, 30.

“The training that the Marines received here should be enough for them, without hesitation, to pick up the enemy’s weapon, for whatever reason, and continue on in the fight,” said Capps.

As the Marines prepare for an upcoming deployment to Iraq, they will continue on with their training as they head to Mojave Viper, a battlefield simulation held at Marine Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms.

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Practice makes perfect

7 Apr 2006 | Cpl. Miguel A. Carrasco Jr. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

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MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Several Marines were pinned down inside a small Iraqi house with no communication, no ammunition and insurgents closing in on them. One Marine noticed AK-47 rifles in the house and enough ammunition to fight off the insurgents.

Without hesitation, a Marine loaded an AK-47 and took aim on the fast approaching insurgents. The other Marines followed quickly behind him and found themselves back in the firefight.

Scenarios like this are a reality and have taken place during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Thanks to foreign weapons training, many Marines are well-equipped with the knowledge to engage the enemy with something other than the standard issued M-16 A-2 service rifle.

More than 30 Marines with different Military Transition Teams, took part in a Foreign Weapons Shoot here Friday, as a part of a training package in preparation for a deployment to Iraq.

Thanks to an Iraqi Transition Team with I Marine Expeditionary Force, many Marines are given classes and hands-on experience with some of the weapons they might encounter while in Iraq.

“There have been plenty of cases where a Marine had to pick up some type of foreign weapon and use it against the enemy,” said Maj. John M. Capps, a logistics officer and the range officer-in-charge with the ITT. “With proper training, the Marines will not have to worry about how to use the weapon and will remain a vital asset among his unit.”

For most Marines, the only weapon they have ever used and fired has been the M16 A-2 service rifle, which is taught during boot camp. To a Marine unfamiliar with foreign weapons, the weapons could be seen almost like a foreign language.

The foreign weapons shoot is part of an overall course which is teaching the Marines how to be advisors to the Iraqi Army.

“By giving these Marines the knowledge of the foreign weapons used by the Iraqi soldiers, the Marines will also have great credibility with the Iraqis,” said Maj. David B. Haynes, a course advisor with the Iraqi Transition Team, I MEF.

“The Marines are taught how to load, unload, break down and fire each of the foreign weapons,” said Haynes, 36, a native of Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Haynes also added that trying to learn these techniques while on the battlefield might not end in a successful manner.

Capps, 49, a native of Yuma, Ariz., has been working with C&T Enterprise Inc. from Tucson, Ariz., to make this course available to Marines since 1999.

Walt Puczkowskyj, a Marine Vietnam veteran and Purple Heart recipient, owns C&T Enterprise Inc., which provides the weapons and personnel to teach Marines how to use the weapons.

“My company has worked with Maj. Capps since the program was introduced to Marines at (Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Ariz.),” said Puczkowskyj, 60, a native of Tucson. “We hope to give them the tools they need to do their best while on the battlefield.”

Although the Marines enjoyed being able to send rounds down range, the training is meant for familiarization and sharing amongst their units.

“This is a great opportunity to get familiar with the weapons that we might come across while in Iraq, but it’s more important to pass this knowledge back to our Marines,” said Capt. Sean K. Butler, a Military Transition Team officer.

The Marines in the course shot many variants of Yugoslavian, Romanian, Polish, Soviet and Hungarian-type weapons. The Marines were able to put rounds through a silhouette target with pistols and watched as 7.62 mm rounds pierced life-size dummies with different rifles and belt-fed machine guns.

The Marines shot different variants of AK-47s, the Soviet-made pistol called the Makarov PM and the PKM general purpose machine gun, which is similar to the M240G medium machine gun used by Marine infantry units.

The Marines found the knowledge to be a necessary way to be one step in front of the enemy.

“This is awesome training,” said 1st Lt. Javier Torres, Military Transition Team. “It is one thing to know your enemy but another to know their weapon.”

The Marines were glad the course was made available to them but were more satisfied with the hands-on practice with the weapons.

“The AK-47 is a well-made weapon, and it was great to get a feel for it. I still prefer my M-16,” said Torres, 30.

“The training that the Marines received here should be enough for them, without hesitation, to pick up the enemy’s weapon, for whatever reason, and continue on in the fight,” said Capps.

As the Marines prepare for an upcoming deployment to Iraq, they will continue on with their training as they head to Mojave Viper, a battlefield simulation held at Marine Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms.