MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. – The cool morning was filled with a gray sky as the sun rose above the trees when the radio squawked saying the range is hot and the sound of belt-fed ammunition cycled through machine guns giving the air a distinct smell of expended gun powder.
Marines with Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS) 272’s motor transportation company recently completed proficiency training in machine gunning, March 12.
“As part of always maintaining mission readiness, the Marines complete proficiency training as often as possible,” said 1st Lt. Jason Williams, range officer in charge.
The Marines used and honed their skills and knowledge while on the range as they went through different courses of fire at different targets and distances.
They fired from mounted positions aboard Humvee and Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacements (MTVR) commonly referred to as 7-tons.
The Marines started off by performing the proper preventative checks and maintenance on the M240Bs prior to shooting along with receiving hip pocket refresher classes from the personnel safety officers (PSO).
During the course of fire the shooters had to get their weapons on target using a traversing and elevating mechanism that the PSO would adjust off target after each shooter fired their rounds adding a more realistic feel to the training.
“We had them shoot at a known distance of 100 yards, and we bumped it up after we saw the Marines were getting on target,” said Williams.
The range personnel decided to create a more challenging test of skill by having pop-up targets come up at various ranges to effectively train the Marines.
While at the range, the commanding officer and sergeant major of MWSS-272 came to see how their Marines were performing.
“We have got some real good shooters out here; they did a great job,” said Lt. Col. Alfredo Dubois, MWSS-272 commanding officer.