A long time ago in a Marine Corps far, far away I was a young Private at Camp Geiger being issued my fancy M16A4. This was late 2008 and the M16A4 was quite modern for the time, at least for this future infantryman. I spent my time on boot camp with an M16A2, so the […]
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Old school Marine Corps 782 gear and how it relates to modern day survival gear
I served in the Marine Corps back in the 1990s and was issued this exact gear for all training deployments and field exercises. We used the 782 gear loadout for desert warfare, jungle warfare and mountain warfare. We didn’t have different loadouts for different environments like they do now. We used the same gear and […]
Photo of the day: SPIE Rigging above Camp Lejeune
During my enlistment in the Marine Corps, I had the opportunity to use a lot of different gear. Towards the end of my enlistment, my unit was attached to the 24th MEU(SOC) to perform recovery of downed aircraft personnel. In layman terms, if one of our pilots went down behind enemy lines, we got the call to […]
Who’s more fit–US Marines or Royal Marines Commandos?
U.S. Department of Defense photo For the past few years, select members of the U.S. Marine Corps travel to the U.K. to participate in Royal Marines Commando training. True to the U.S. Marines’ institutional mentality to always adapt and improve, this provides them an opportunity to observe what works and how it can be implemented […]
Why I prefer a two-point sling and the versatility it offers
Photo courtesy of DVIDS To put it simply: the one-point sling is not versatile enough. It’s really good at a specific role, and that is accommodating a direct action based use of the weapon. It is extremely good in this capacity but because it is such a specialized piece of kit, it lacks the versatility of the […]
Photo of the day: Reconnaissance and surveillance patrol hones Marines readiness
JOINT BASE LEWIS MCCORD, WA, UNITED STATES Sergeant Ben Deweese, assistant team leader, Company C, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, makes final gear preparations prior to a three-day reconnaissance and surveillance patrol aboard Joint Base Lewis McCord, Wash, April 9, 2015. Marines with the company operated in remote locations of the wilderness and provided surveillance of the […]
Photo of the day: Riflemen prepare for Scout Sniper Basic Course
OKINAWA, JAPAN Lance Cpl. Seth M. Richardson, a Carbondale, Illinois, native, prepares to fire an M40A5 sniper rifle Aug. 17 at the Central Training Area in Okinawa, Japan. The M40A5 rifle is a bolt-action sniper rifle with a muzzle velocity of 2,550 feet per second and an effective firing range of up to 900 meters. […]
How to clean your rifle like a Marine
“The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle.” General John Pershing, U.S. Army. No matter what their MOS is, every Marine is a rifleman. They are all trained to effectively engage targets out to 500 meters, perform basic battlefield maneuvers, and professionally maintain the standard issue service rifle. This is one of […]
My most used piece of gear while in the Marine Corps
Pictured above was my first Gerber multi-tool I purchased at the PX on Camp Lejeune, NC shortly after checking into my unit (2/8 WPNS Co.) in June of 1993. Back then we didn’t have the internet to order stuff or even research options. You could order through a catalog at the time, but I didn’t want to […]
Constructing urban breaching charges
Marine Assaultmen and Engineers conduct urban breaching in Integrated Training Exercise 3-18 on Range 220 MOUT in 29 Palms California. The Marines used detonation cord (det cord) to construct a variety of urban breaching charges that are standard for urban shot and experimented with some newer charges including the “Copenhagen charge” developed to defeat deadbolted […]