Victory Point - Ed Darack [148]
Marine infantry must be masters of the M16, capable of field-stripping the weapon, cleaning it, repairing it, and most importantly, sending rounds downrange from its muzzle—on target—aiming with either optically enhanced or basic, iron sights. The M16 has a rated maximum effective range of 550 meters for a point target, but in reality, Marines have had confirmed kills (some using just iron sights), at much greater distances, some exceeding 1,000 meters.
An M16 configured with an attached M203 40 mm Grenade Launcher represents one of the deadliest weapons in the Marine Corps infantryman’s arsenal. Mounted below the frame rail, forward of the magazine well, the launcher adds just three pounds, but can lob a 40 mm grenade as far as four hundred meters during a firefight. Not only can an M203 launch high-explosive rounds, it can send smoke grenades downrange, to “mark” a target for a close air support attack or an artillery or mortar-fire package.
M4 Carbine: “An M16 with a collapsible buttstock and a short barrel” probably best describes the M4. While over 80 percent of the M4’s components can be interchanged with the M16, the weapon strongly distinguishes itself as a stand-alone platform because of its size and collapsible buttstock—allowing Marines to “dismount” from a Humvee (jump out of the vehicle) and engage the enemy in one fluid movement, whereas the larger M16 has proven to be cumbersome. Firing a 5.56 × 45 mm round (like the M16), some versions of the M4 can be operated in either semiautomatic single shot or fully automatic, or semi and three-shot burst, like the M16A4. Like the M16, the M4 can be fitted with a number of accessories, including the M203 40mm grenade launcher, infrared floodlights, the ACOG, and others. ⅔ brought just a few M4s with them to Afghanistan, where they were issued to unit commanders and the sniper team. The SDVT team also used a version of the M4 known as the SOPMOD (Special Operations Peculiar Modification), which allows a highly customized upfitting of the weapon. Each SDVT member had his SOPMOD fitted with the M203 40 mm grenade launcher, a muzzle suppressor, an ACOG, and a suite of visualization/aiming aids.
M249 Light Machine Gun/Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW): A lightweight machine gun capable of firing up to 725 rounds of 5.56 × 45 mm belt-fed ammo per minute out to a maximum range of two and a quarter miles (accurately out to one thousand meters, or .6 miles), Marines use the SAW to lay down suppressive fire—keeping the enemies’ heads low while other Marines lock their weapons’ crosshairs onto specific targets. Marine SAW gunners typically carry one-hundred- or two-hundred-round belt-fed magazines, and can fire the M249 while moving, standing, knee-bracing, or from the prone position.
M240G Medium Machine Gun: Firing up to nine hundred rounds of heavy 7.62x51 mm belt-fed ammunition, the 240 is one of the Marine infantryman’s most lethal tools. During ⅔’s deployment to the Kunar province, Marine machine gunners used the G, or Golf model almost exclusively; later in the deployment, the battalion issued some gunners the B, or Bravo. Requiring brute force to haul up the side of a steep mountain, and then delicate finesse to fire accurately, once it is emplaced in a covered position, the 240 can lay waste to both enemy as well as many hardened structures behind which they hide. The Marines of ⅔ used the 240 both on foot mobile operations and mounted on the turrets of Humvees and 7-Tons.
M2 Machine Gun: Known as the “Ma Deuce,” the M2 is a beast of a weapon, capable of sending up to 550 rounds of heavy .50-caliber (half-inch diameter, or 12.7 mm) rounds into the enemy per minute. The Marines in Afghanistan used the M2 as a fixed-perimeter defense weapon, as well as mounted on the turret of Humvees. With a maximum effective range of 1,830 meters (1.1 miles) and a maximum total range of 6,800 meters (4.2 miles), the M2 is both powerful and capable of accurately knocking out distant targets.
MK19 Grenade