CLB-6 fires ‘big guns’

Photo By Maj. John Parry | Marines from Combat Logistics Battalion 6, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, fire automatic weapons during CLB-6’s crew-served weapons range at Twentynine Palms, Calif., May 14, 2013. The Marines qualified on multiple automatic weapons to include the M240G medium machine gun, M2 .50 caliber, and Mark 19 automatic grenade launcher.  

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA, UNITED STATES

05.14.2013

Story by 2nd Lt. John Parry 

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. - He who brings the biggest gun usually wins the battle. So goes an old adage.

In the spirit of such conventional wisdom and in preparation for its upcoming deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Combat Logistics Battalion 6, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, went to the range at Twentynine Palms, Calif., to train in the use of the Marine Corps’ largest automatic weapons.

The Marines fired the M240G, the most popular machine gun for NATO forces, the Mark 19 automatic grenade launcher, and the M2 .50 caliber machine gun, deemed the oldest machine gun in use by the U.S. military.

“I’m a gunner,” said Pfc. Craig King, a turret gunner and native of Baltimore, Md., over the rat-a-tat of a M240G. “(Crew-served weapons are) fun, you get to shoot big guns all day.”

Braving winds up to 30 miles per hour and more than 105 degree temperatures, the Marines fired off the turrets of armored vehicles, which resembled real life circumstances.

“The thing I like about crew-served weapons is the larger caliber,” said Lance Cpl. Terry L. Dison, an armorer and native of Jacksonville, N.C. “You get to see more bullet splash and aim out farther.”

Making an appearance with the CLB for the first time, the Marines fired practice rounds from the M32A1 multiple grenade launcher, which resembles a weapon fired straight from the Terminator movie franchise.

“It was definitely good,” said Sgt. Christopher Barton, a warehouse specialist and native of Fort Wayne, Ind. “I had never shot it before then, had great classes, and hit the targets right from the start. Shooting real rounds, I know we can take care of business.”

According to Sgt. Christopher Nelson, a squad leader with 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, and the CLB-6 M32A1 tactics instructor, he only had to fire the weapon once while in Afghanistan. After the first engagement with the enemy, they never attacked his squad again when they carried the weapon.

• Date Taken: 05.14.2013
• Date Posted: 05.18.2013 16:33
• Story ID: 107186
• Location: TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA, US
• Hometown: BALTIMORE, MD, US
• Hometown: FORT WAYNE, IN, US
• Hometown: JACKSONVILLE, NC, US