Photo By Sgt. Justin Updegraff | A Marine with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, fires rounds at a...... read more read more
Subscribe
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Looking down the sights, the pop-up target is acquired and the trigger is pulled. The burst of rounds are thrown down range, knocking the target down allowing the Marine to sight in and wait for the next target.
Marines with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, conducted a medium machine-gun and light machine-gun range with the M240 Bravo medium machine gun and the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon light machine gun aboard Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, April 27, 2015.
“Right now we just got a drop of new Marines,” said 1st Lt. Joseph Jansen, the Weapons Platoon commander with the unit. “We’re trying to figure out who’s going to fall in with which billets. So we’ll do our evaluation: the basic qualification tables for day and night. This is to also ensure that everybody is capable of operating their weapon system. So when we go over to teach these foreign countries, we’re capable of giving instructions for that cross integration for whatever weapons systems they have to offer.”
Lance Cpl. Brett Collum, a fire team leader with the unit said the range will consist of zeroing the M-240’s, conducting an unknown distance range, a day and night shoot as well as tryouts for billets.
Zeroing is the process of aligning the scope on the weapon to the barrel, which is normally done with a target placed 100-200 yards away.
The Marines have a deployment coming up where they will take the role of instructors and teach other countries how they conduct operations. This range allows them to not only be ready for combat, but to give them the confidence behind the weapon system.
“We are becoming mission ready by establishing those basic skills and the understanding,” said Jansen. “You don’t want to send those Marines forward deployed without a true understanding of their weapon system. Whether it is actual combat or the instructor role that we’ll fill in our upcoming deployment, the ability of us to bring those complete understanding skills is why we are out here.”
“It’s good to knock the rust off,” Collum said. “Train, train and train, and do our jobs. Anytime you can get on a range and actually do your job, it’s always good.”
| Date Taken: | 04.27.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.30.2015 09:27 |
| Story ID: | 161755 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 117 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Letting bullets fly: 1/8 conducts medium and light machine-gun range, by Sgt Justin Updegraff, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
