Today’s Picture(s) Of The Day are from the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, with the focus on Kalashnikovs in the hands of US soldiers.

The top picture is taken by Senior Airman Ryan Conroy and shows U.S. Marines and Airme, as they fire Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifles during a foreign-weapons familiarization class at Marine Special Operations School’s Individual Training Course in 2017. This took place at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

 

We continue with a few more:

Above: “BULBOACA TRAINING AREA, MOLDOVA – North Carolina National Guard Soldier Sgt. Geoffrey Huntley of headquarters, 1st Battalion, 113th Field Artillery Regiment (113th FA), fires a Moldovan military AK-47 Kalashnikov assault rifle at Bulboaca Training Area, Moldova, Sept. 19, 2016, as part of Multinational Exercise Fire Shield 2016. Moldovan Special Forces members trained several NCNG Soldiers on the weapon. The exercise, hosted by the Republic of Moldova Sept. 9-25, 2016, is an opportunity for the 113th FA and NCNG’s 1st Battalion, 120th Infantry Regiment (120th INF) to develop relationships and improve capabilities with European partners.”

 

 

Above: “One of the riflemen with 1st Battalion, 25th Marines Regiment, Alpha Company, prepares to fire an AK-47 during a foreign weapons course with the Advisor Training Group at Range 314 here, June 30. The training gives Marines a basic understanding of weapons like the Singular Valve Decompression Rifle, Kalashnikov’s Machinegun-Modernized rifle and the AK-47.”

 

Above: “A soldier with the Ukrainian army inserts a magazine into a Kalashnikov modernized automatic rifle or AKM March 10, 2016, during basic rifle marksmanship training at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center near Yavoriv, Ukraine as part of Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine. Each JMTG-U rotation will consist of nine weeks of training where Ukrainian soldiers will learn defensive combat skills needed to increase Ukraine’s capacity for self-defense.”

 

During my Military Training, we fired both M16s, Uzis and AK47s (don’t remember which versions) as part of the basic training to understand different firearms.

Did you do something similar in your training?

I realize we have readers from all of the world, some don’t own a firearm of their own and some might sit on the largest collections.

Do you own one? Have you ever fired a Kalashnikov? Tell us what you think in the comments below.