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Thread: OIF/OEF Veterans. Technical Lessons Learned wanted

  1. #91
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    Keep it on topic.
    Pretty please.
    Jack Leuba
    Director, Military and Government Sales
    Knight's Armament Company
    jleuba@knightarmco.com

  2. #92
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    Thanks

    Until this thread diverted focus, I was really digging it. Thanks to all the guys with experience who have passed on valuable lessons. I will put a lot of it to use.
    US Army Military Police 97-03
    Federal LEO/M.R.T. 05-Present
    NRA Life Member

    "There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter."
    -E. Hemingway

    "I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it."
    -Jack Nicholson (A Few Good Men, 1992)

  3. #93
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    lessons learned

    Ive been lucky/unlucky enough to deploy mulitple times to both AFG and Iraq. Here are some things I've learned in my 20+ years in the army.
    1. The army is a job, and as such some times you must buy your own gear and supplies. (Cleaning kits, pouches, lights you name it).
    Keep in mind some commands will not allow soldiers to use anything but US issue stuff.
    2. The M4 works, mine I keep relatively clean but I lube it well with slip-2000 see #1 above. Big army is stuck with whatever round they get fact so dont armchair with well if they did that and that. You will get whatever bullet type the supply guy finds and puts on a pallet for you.
    3. All battery operated sights will fail at some time, pick one that you like and are good with and use it. I have the option of three different type of sights and I stick with the Eo-tech.
    4. The military issues pistols as secondary weapons and to those people who are not designated as needing a rifle. The main issue is with the mags see #1 above. It is all about shot placesment. Big Army has rules in place for what kind of service pistol it issues and we are a member of NATO so we kinda have to allow for commonality of ammo there.
    5. Kit, whatever you get issued is it. The higher NCO's and COC do not like people to have there own body armor, thats just the way it is. Find a system/configuration that works for you and practice with it, in the dark, light and such.
    6. Troops dont need a huge med pouch like the IFAC its to big. Tone it down to a tourniquet (exposed for all to see) and an isreali dressing, kerlex and a cpl of 3 inch 14guage catheters and x2 of whatever chest seals you are issued. The main troops aim is to plug the holes, open the mouth and stop the red stuff from coming out. Anything over that is adanced care that a medic shoud do so the troop can shoot back.
    7. Dont overload your kit with needless crap. If you cant walk at least 12 k with your kit on and still be combat effective then its got to much crap on or you are outa shape.
    8. Fitness- keep combat fit, you should be able to IMT, carry a buddy, run and jump and still be able to fight after doing that.
    9. Dont bitch and moan about the conditions and that it sucks, it does and it always will get over it. Yes the people at the main bases have no idea what its like outside the wire. It has been that way ever since war began and it always will.
    10. NOD's are ok, but we are now limited to the amount of stuff we can do at night just remember that in training.
    11. Heavy weapon training is a must load, fire, clear and reduce stoppages.
    12. DA hits are for the sexy people, get over it and deal with it. Now most units work with a partner force and they go in first, we dont like it but thats how it is.

    Long post but ive been doing this along time. Those are just some observations.

  4. #94
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    lessons

    Forgot to mention just in case anyone was wondering that I'm not one of REMF I'm out in the hinterlands.

  5. #95
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    Quote Originally Posted by Duct Tape View Post
    Half of the guys with M14s didn't even know how to disassemble them. That's a failure as far as I'm concerned. With how much time we get preached at and told "you're an infantryman, hooah? you need to know everything about your weapon, hooah?" they just hand people rifles and tell them to go.
    True enough. One reason why I collected every bit of M14 instructional material I could find when I heard we were deploying again.

    Too many people are not given trigger time on crew served because when everyone is sitting back in CONUS we hear "that Soldier wont need that"...then they get tossed on convoys during their tour. Yeah, they need *that*, whatever *that* is. Peoples jobs in-theatre can change 2-3 times over the course of a tour. Mine did.

  6. #96
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    A lot of good info out here in this thread.

    I will keep my points to suggestions that can be influenced at an element beyond unit level. In my eyes a lot of complaints and suggestions found in this thread stems to a BDE, BN and below issue.

    With that said:

    Optics. All three major optics that are issued are good optics, ACOG, CCO, Eotech. With that, I know the Army is trying to transition to a "CWO" or some random acronym but it's essentially an ACOG w/ a Dr. Optic. This in my mind is a great idea. Tragically, my unit couldn't get those mini-red dots but we tried. Here in Afghanistan, I can get out of a vehicle and have a threat present it self at 50m and below very quickly and seconds later receive SAF from 300+ meters on a hilltop. The ability to transition to non-magnified to magnified gives the shooter a huge advantage. With that the Army needs to give the warfighter quick detach capabilities on all of their optics. Think Larue here. We have irons on our weapons, but ACOGs on top that prevent the buis from even being fully erect. With that, you either have it tied down or twist cabled down and now if the optic goes down you can't use it, nor can you use your irons.

    The ARMY not the BDE, BN or Company needs to procure better mounts for optics and create a standard tie down point that all optics can utilize w/ all mounts.

    If the Dr. Optic ACOG combo doesnt work and the Army want's to not have excess Eotechs and CCO's they could acquire the 3x magnifiers made by both companies. Both work great, with a flip to side mount, these things are awesome. I run one on my rifle right now. My Eotech is zeroed and confirmed out to 400m. Throw the magnifier in front and I'm even more deadly.

    Other items that I've seen recently which have helped the overall Soldier is the grip-pod. While I hate it in the DFAC to hear the bi-pod legs flip out; it does allow a shooter a more stable platform. It's not for everyone but it works as advertised.

    Magazines. The GI-mags with yellow followers are great. I have yet to have a failure to feed. PMAG's are also great. But I prefer the export pmags because they are smoother. The ridges on the original pmags, with the lips on the bottom create an issue when stacking mags in kit. I prefer GI or export pmags for that reason.

    I've got a lot more so if the author of this thread want's any info just PM me.

  7. #97
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    Make sure if you're running a dump pouch that it is somewhere on your kit that is accessible in the prone.

    Two point slings are a must when you have to walk, run or climb with both hands occupied.

    PMAGs work better than GI mags when dirty, but make sure the cherries perform regular maintenance on both so you don't end up like this:

    I like girl scout cookies.

  8. #98
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    Hello All,

    My info might be a little outdated, I served 02-07 with three combat deployments: one OEF, one OIF, and one MEUSOC with an infantry battalion. I also worked in the armory primarily as an optics tech, but got outside the wire a lot for convoys with CAG and maintenance trains. Caution: some of my views may differ from most here...

    Some things I learned:
    - Keep your gear clean. clean your mags periodically, hell, even running a dust rag through them kept them running fine. clean your weapon really quick after each patrol, keep it lubed.
    - ACOGs are awesome, if they train everyone how to use them properly. A few of us got a two day course on using them and we were able to consistently hit out to 500 in the prone with them. Then we were supposed to train the whole battalion on using them....bad idea. Kind of like whisper down the lane. Everyone needs the class, not just a few.
    - ACOGS should be mounted on the carrying handle with the nut, not the rail. Everyone wanted to mount it to the flat top and have a backup sight, but the best way to use it was on the handle using the native sights through the little hole underneath.....less parts, less to go wrong.
    - green followers in magazines suck, hopefully they have changed them to the tan or gray followers
    - More M4s, or better at assigning them....there just weren't enough for everyone in the battalion. everyone wanted one, but the people who needed them most got shafted(read: drivers, platoons, radiomen, field corpsmen)
    - I ditched the issued sling for a single point sling with a QD.
    - While I despise grip pods, they actually served their purpose for those that wanted to get a little of both worlds without having to add extra weight. Just wish they were more durable, we went through them like candy.


    I could go on forever, what type of things can I touch on to be more relevant?

  9. #99
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    Quote Originally Posted by swa0210 View Post
    - ACOGS should be mounted on the carrying handle with the nut, not the rail. Everyone wanted to mount it to the flat top and have a backup sight, but the best way to use it was on the handle using the native sights through the little hole underneath.....less parts, less to go wrong.
    It's impossible for me to get proper cheek weld with the optic mounted that high. I also think that you will have a similar amount of parts either way. Whether you mount it on the rail or on the handle, each one acts as an optic mount. Try running it on the rail with a rear BUIS. On another note that you mentioned, though: they do seem to be getting better about training Marines as to how to properly employ the ACOG. Welcome to the forum!
    Last edited by William B.; 07-02-11 at 16:21.
    Owner/Instructor at Resolute Response
    Assistant Instructor at Protective Shooting Concepts

  10. #100
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    I just disagree, which is okay. It is good to have many perspectives.

    I know it is higher. But when you use the acog, while I could pling at 500 in the prone, you won't use it like that in reality....at least we didn't. Anything out to that range our companies had SAM-Rs.

    Mainly it was used within 200 yards for fire fights, with the BDC mainly used to range. By having it on the handle you don't have to squeeze into your cheek weld but can keep your head slightly canted with both eyes open. Using this method is efficient for quick target acquisition and is just better ergonomics. Then if the ACOG fails for any reason, one just needs to use a tight cheek weld and look through the peep hole and use iron sights, all without moving the ACOG or distorting the picture.

    Just takes a little more training is all.

    And you are technically right that the hardware is the same if used with the newer M16A4, which has a flat top and a carrying handle mount with two nuts.

    If we just consider the ACOG it is less hardware; one nut on the carrying handle versus the screws to mount the rail adapter to the ACOG and two tightening nuts on the adapter to the rail... more moving parts, more can go wrong to the $1600+ optic.

    Thanks for the welcome, I love this place already!

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