Ariz. Guardsmen and the 'Ma Deuce'

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Adrian Borunda | Pfc. Jerimiah Wiltfang, a truck driver with the 1404th Transportation Company, inspects his .50-caliber ammunition before his familiarization fire.  

FLORENCE, AZ, UNITED STATES

04.05.2014

Story by Sgt. Adrian Borunda 

123rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

FLORENCE, Ariz. – ‘The M2,’ ‘the Ma Deuce,’ and ‘the 50,’ are all names that soldiers from Afghanistan to Florence, Ariz., use to refer to the M2 .50-caliber Browning machine gun and soldiers from the Arizona Army National Guard fired that weapon April 5 at the Florence Military Reservation.

For more than 75 years the M2 has served as one of the premier heavy machine guns used by all kinds of units in the U.S. Army and Arizona Army National Guard, to include the 1404th Transportation Company.

“When it was designed it was meant to last and endure, hot and cold weather,” said Staff Sgt. Brian Brown, a truck driver with the 1404th and the noncommissioned officer in charge of the .50-caliber range at the reservation.

Over its time in service, the .50-caliber has acquired a reputation among all soldiers, from truck drivers, who transport supplies to keep the Guard running.

“Shooting the .50-caliber for the first time for me was one of the best experiences I can remember,” Brown said. “I trained on that weapon for three months, only after my sergeant felt that I was proficient in that weapon did I get to fire it and it was just an unbelievable experience.”

Brown says there is a group just as respectful of the .50-caliber, but not for the same reasons it’s famous among all the US branches of the service.

“I saw [the respect] when I was deployed [to Iraq] and even the enemy had serious respect for the .50-caliber,” Brown said.

One sentiment that was repeated by guardsmen in the 1404th was how fun the .50-caliber is to fire.

“I was scared at first, I was hoping someone would be there with me but I kept asking questions during the pre-marksmanship instruction until I figured it out,” said Spc. Mamadou Souaure, a truck driver with the 1404th. “ Now I could spend all day shooting the .50-caliber and not get tired.”

For others, their first time firing the .50-caliber was more exciting

“It’s like riding a roller coaster, that feeling you get going up and down the tracks, it's a rush,” said Pfc. Breon Cree, a truck driver with the 1404th.

• Date Taken: 04.05.2014
• Date Posted: 04.06.2014 13:49
• Story ID: 124534
• Location: FLORENCE, AZ, US