Armorers in Iraq/Afghanistan

[williejc]

I'm asking IG to describe how his shops were set up in Iraq/Afghanistan. Equipment? Spare parts availability? What weapons repaired and comments on those that were known to be unreliable? Are AK's as trouble free and super reliable as many claim? Do any arsenals make a dud AK? Finally, are the Iraq armorers competent? Thank you, sir.

[Iraqgunz]

First armorer gig in Iraq was a bombed out Iraqi air base. We had self built wooden tables and vises mounted. The USMC had the armorer kits and we had to use them since the company I worked for was completely screwed up. Since these were military weapons we used all stock system supplied components. We worked on everything from Beretta pistols to MK19 GMG.

Second gig in Iraq was an old Republican Guard compound. I brought some of my own tools and had to procure more stuff down the road. Primarily because the other guys before me weren't generally properly trained and understand how to set up and store everything. Weapons maintenance was terrible and personnel did whatever they wanted until I implemented an SOP and maintenance plan.

Spare parts for foreign weapons were stripped from other weapons. We had very few parts for the M4's or any of the U.S made stuff.

Third gig in Iraq was all AK's and CZ-99 pistols. We had very few spare parts due to the Iraqi gov't not allowing us to bring in or get spares. We also had very limited access to the U.S mail system so it mad things more difficult. I had to strip weapons down and use the parts to fix other weapons. I worked in a shipping container and had to bring my own tools. A few weeks after arriving we were able to get the A/C unit and decent lights installed. Biggest issue was magazines (or lack thereof)

Both gigs in A'stan were different. One was U.S supported so I had a lot of parts available, but not everything I worked in a steel hut with no A/C or heat. The supply system was screwed up.

The other was a complete cluster. We had no parts at all (except for what was stripped down). Mags and ammo were whatever could be purchased. Most of my time was spent doing logistics since I was the country logistics manager.

AK's are not the mythical Unicorn everyone thinks. They have problems like other weapons, but they can take more abuse. Bigger issue was the tolerance issues with AK's from country to country. Not to mention anything major (blown barrels, etc..) was the end of the show. Rebarreling an AK isn't anywhere close to what it is on an M4.

Not quite sure what the meaning is of the last part?

[ptmccain]

In your experience, what was the most common reason an AR with a problem has to go into the armorer's shop?

[williejc]

Thank you, IG, for an interesting narrative. I was curious whether or not the native Iraqi military weapon mechanics knew what they were doing.

Did anybody explain why the Iraqi government forbid bringing in weapon parts for AK's or CZ's? You must have had untold numbers of bureaucrats to deal with. Maybe you were supposed to bribe these folks with booze and whores, and nobody told you(or you kept it all for yourself).

[Iraqgunz]

I never worked with Iraqi personnel. The Afghans were of little to no value. They were mostly illiterate and I doubt that they retained much information.

The reason for the Iraqi roadblocks was quite simple. They didn't want any westerners with weapons, but conceded it was going to have to continue. They couldn't regulate DoD or DoS, but they could any commercial stuff. The last company I worked for provided security at the various oil facilities in the southern part of Iraq and some PSD contracts in and around Baghdad. The oil companies made it clear that they wanted armed westerners in addition to any local personnel.

Thank you, IG, for an interesting narrative. I was curious whether or not the native Iraqi military weapon mechanics knew what they were doing.

Did anybody explain why the Iraqi government forbid bringing in weapon parts for AK's or CZ's? You must have had untold numbers of bureaucrats to deal with. Maybe you were supposed to bribe these folks with booze and whores, and nobody told you(or you kept it all for yourself).

[ptmccain]

Repeat:



In your experience, what was the most common reason an AR with a problem has to go into the armorer's shop?