Annual Arizona National Guard Sustainment Exercise Weekend Competition

[lowprone]

I just finished up a great week with the Arizona National Guards annual Sustainment
Exercise weekend competition at the AZNG range in Florence Az.
Where I volunteer as a civilian RSO ( Range Safety Officer ) for the guard during their
annual exercise.
I am retired and spend the winter in Arizona, where the shooting/competition season
is in full swing.
This year I ended up on the M-249 machine gun exercise and it was a lot of fun, we first
had to zero all the M-249's for this particular 10 meter exercise, and used up a ammo
can of M 885-A1 in the process.
The Guardsmen were all very competitive and went about the competition in a very serious
manner.
Some teams were very polished and produced excellent scores, the Air Force teams had
very limited experience with the M-249 and their scores highlighted this.
Speaking of the Air Force teams, their people were armed w/ Beretta M-9 pistols and M-16
rifles that caught my attention during the pre match brief/safety orientation.
They had M-16A2's with flat side receivers, that turned out to be early Air Force Colt Model
604 rifles w/M16A2 uppers on them that had been dot matrix property and model number
marked w/ lined out full auto to burst markings .
It was very interesting weekend and a lot of fun, the AZ National Guard welcomes civilian
volunteers to help in there competitions, I have done it 5 different times over the years.
Interested people might want to investigate and help them out.

[ABNAK]

If I was retired I could get into volunteering to do something like that. In a heartbeat!

[Honu]

thanks sounds fun did not know this about non military :)

[Diamondback]

Sounds like A Good Time Had By All. :)

I wouldn't *volunteer* in the sense of "work free" on one of these, but my price would be so ridiculously low that only a moron or Democrat (but I repeat myself) wouldn't see how they're getting the better end of the deal... All I ask is a checkout on whatever weapon type I'm helping run the range for. One belt or a few mags isn't that much to ask... is it? :D lol

[ralph]

I'd settle for all the empty brass...

[ramairthree]

Yes, in an out of the way base in Colombia some AF pilots working with the indig C130 pilots had some pristine M16s like that. They were pretty cool.

[mark5pt56]

The Air Force has always cobbled together some of their weapons. I've seen plenty of Vietnam era guns and parts thereof on or making up full guns.

[ramairthree]

Oh, can’t find the pictures.

These were pristine, 1960s all original slab side FA examples. Not mixed like the OP describes.

Myself, an 18E, and an 18 series warrant were quite taken with them.

Sort of like in the 1990s and a NG unit might dig out a few 1911A1s, literally NIW/cosmoline 50 or 60 year old pistols.