#Afganistan

This is the first guest post by Grigory, author of “Kalashism” blog:  https://www.instagram.com/kalashism/
Grigory is a passionate gun enthusiast and spent his entire career working in Russian military-industrial complex in various capacities. He travels a lot, mostly to the Middle East and South Asia, and has a unique perspective on a lot of modern small arms and tactical gear.

Travis sent us a photo of himself taken and members of his squad in Afghanistan taken during 2009. He wrote…

Dwavinchi sent us this photo of the M14 EBR (Enhanced Battle Rifle) he was issued Afghanistan.

The author recently had the privilege and opportunity to qualify with 40mm Low Velocity Less Lethal rounds. As a Marine infantryman in Afghanistan, these rounds are usually not part of our tool kit. They would be much more commonplace among Military Police, Marine Security Guard detachments at Embassies overseas or base riot contingency forces. But because of the highly volatile and strategic situations Marines are finding themselves in at the tail end of the war, the issuance of these rounds have become necessary.  The need for zero civilian casualties because of the previous election and the terms of the security agreement between President Hamid Karzi and ISAF forces has made it so. With this being said, the ROEs are extremely restrictive, requiring extensive PID and EOF procedures before engaging the Taliban. This is an extremely different situation in which Marine Infantrymen find themselves in compared to previous conflicts where direct action was the name of the game. In current day Helmand, before pulling the trigger Marines must now have to decide upon a life alternating shoot, no shoot call.

Expect newly manufactured AK magazines to be in short supply in the near future. The Army is soliciting bids to purchase 592,825 7.62x39mm AK magazines.

The Double Four, or “44”, is the name given to the 7.92x33mm Kurz, the round first developed for the famous Sturmgewehr 44,  manufactured by craftsman in the famous gun workshops of Darra Adam Khel, Pakistan and which are popular in Pakistan’s tribal regions.

A reader emailed us a photo taken in an Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit’s building at an Army base in Afghanistan. This rifle was proudly on display next to a selection of disarmed M18 Claymore clones. At the readers request I cropped the rest of the photo out, to avoid identifying the soldiers in the photo.

Al Jazeera has published a video (embedded below) on the attacks on moderate Muslim clerics in Afghanistan who criticize the Taliban and the violence the Taliban inflict on the population. One of clerics profiled shows his three gun arsenal. Along with a pistol and a AKM (pistol grip, no stock) he has this fascinating AK-M4 hybrid. It has a AK receiver with a AR-15-style magazine well, an AR-15 charging handle (no side charging handle), an M16 style carry handle sight, 5.56mm AR-15 magazine, plenty of rails, a AR-15 stock and bizarrely no pistol grip. I really like its design (missing pistol grip excluded).

This photo shows a Bundeswehr solider carrying the new H&K G28 DMR (Designated Marksman Rifle) that was officially adopted by the German Army late last year. The G28 is derived from the H&K 417 and features a short 16″ barrel and 3-20×56 Schmidt & Bender scope.

A reader was sent this collection of photos said to be of Pakistani gunsmiths and gun dealers. The photos appear to be from different sources and a few look like frames taken from videos. While I would not want to fire these guns, the results they achieve in poorly lit rural workshops is impressive. Note how they load the ammunition: using a hammer instead of a loading press and very primitive dies.

An eagle-eyed reader spotted a photo, taken a few days ago in Afghanistan, showing a U.S. Army National Guard soldier carrying what appears to be a 10.5″ Adcor B.E.A.R upper on a M4 Carbine lower.

I missed this when I happened, but last year Fox News reported on an Afghan soldier who had a 14.5mm bullet embedded in his head. Neurosurgeon Maj. John Bini, anesthesiologist Maj. Jeffrey Rengel and a member of the bomb disposal team removed the bullet at the Bagram Air Field hospital.

Michael Yon posted on his Facebook page this photo of a German Solider’s H&K MP7 in Afghanistan.

The Marine Corps times have published the first photos of the M27 IAR in Afganistan.

United States, Australians, New Zealanders and Singapore soldiers got together at the Tarin Kot base in Afghanistan to play with each others toys. Army.mil reports …