Photo By Lance Cpl. Stephen Benson | A Marine from a Marine Special Operations Company with the 2nd Marine Special...... read more read more
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HAWTHORNE, Nev. — When most Marines think of shooting weapons on the range, their minds go to images of a long expanse of flat land and shooting at targets directly ahead of them. In combat, as many Marines and Sailors are aware, the enemy can appear from anywhere - a rooftop, on top of a ridge or from the bottom of a valley. With this in mind, members of a Marine Special Operations Company with 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command, took their weapons and Ground Mobility Vehicles high atop Rocket Mountain here to conduct high angle shooting drills and demolition training, April 17.
Teams gathered in the morning preparing their vehicles and packing their long-range weaponry for the trip to the top of Rocket Mountain. Once they reached the top, the team members assembled by the edge of a cliff face, looking down on a wide valley many hundreds of yards below. In the valley beneath, other members of the team had set up steel-plated sniper targets. For the crew-served weapons mounted onto their vehicles, larger targets were available, such as broken down shacks, barrels and large metal containers no longer in use.
Operators improved their ability to employ weapons from high angles, becoming familiar with small differences in how their weapon operates when they are tilted downward, such as how rounds and links eject from their weapons, maneuvering their weapons to clear stray bullet casings and fixing malfunctions. Snipers learned the changes they must make in shooting positions and sight adjustments when engaging targets thousands of meters away and far beneath their position.
Before nightfall, the team departed Rocket Mountain to conduct demolition training on a separate range. Marines and Sailors used TNT and C4 explosives in a variety of ways to destroy targets. Explosives require a lot of care and knowledge in order to be effective weapons against the enemy while maintaining safety for the user. Explosive Ordnance Disposal Marines are assigned to each team within the MSOC and are able to assist their team members in this regard. After destroying targets effectively during the day, Marines later made their way back up Rocket Mountain to continue their high-angle shooting at night.
The night shooting portion allowed teams to practice using night vision. This included the use of spotlights mounted to their crew-served weapons, tracer rounds, night vision goggles and laser sights mounted on their weapons.
All of the teams were able to sharpen their skills during their high-angle shoots and demolition training, which was yet another important part of their training. Marines and Sailors in the MSOC can now take the lessons learned and build upon it during their next training event, and eventually to the battlefield.
| Date Taken: | 04.17.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 05.04.2009 12:18 |
| Story ID: | 33173 |
| Location: | HAWTHORNE, NEVADA, US |
| Web Views: | 515 |
| Downloads: | 381 |
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