“Every Marine is, first and foremost, a rifleman. All other conditions are secondary.” When General Alfred M. Gray Jr. first spoke these words many years ago, he probably didn’t anticipate just how ubiquitous they would become for the Marines who were [Read More…]
The look in the eyes of these U.S. Marines is pretty interesting, and I can’t blame them! We’re sitting behind a screen looking at this Photo Of The Day, while they are trying to overcome what has to be one of the wettest and muddiest obstacle course [Read More…]
In this Photo Of The Day, you can see Sgt. Charles Schilling, from Port Angeles, Washington, assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, as he provides security on the bridge wing of the amphibious transport [Read More…]
We previously covered the Marine Corps M27 in last weeks episode and will be really getting into the weeds here in terms of some of the issues and benefits the weapon system afforded to Infantry Marines. Topics such as the choice of magazines for the automatic rifle, why it was so accurate and [Read More…]
At the 2018 SHOT Show, Geissele Automatics made fans very happy by bringing out 3 new and much-asked for products. First, the company released its new Remington 700 trigger line, which consists of a single SKU adjusted from the factory to two models: Single stage and [Read More…]
The USMC M27 IAR first came on the scene in late 2010 when it was issued to five deploying units that would see if the new automatic rifle was to be as viable as claimed. This video will cover some of the issues with the weapon system and some of the debate surrounding it, getting […] [Read More…]
Commemorative Firearms are a class of their own in that they can sometimes be seen as the wall plaques of small arms. Simple ones have a small engraving or something etched in the metal or wood while much more ornate ones can be gold plated and even diamond stuffed. In this case, Miles takes a look [Read More…]
The United States Marine Corps has finally officially announced its adoption of the 5.56mm M855A1 EPR round, developed in the late 2000s by the US Army, marking an important step towards ammunition commonality between the two services. Until now, the USMC has officially [Read More…]
There is a series of short videos made by the Marine’s. CW05 Gunner Wade covers topics pertinent to Marines. In this video he covers the simple decision to use semi auto fire versus full auto fire. They use an HKM27 for this demonstration. I was surprised to see [Read More…]
When the subject is the future of infantry, the conversation inevitably turns to one thing: Powered, armored exoskeletons. Since the publication of Heinlein’s Starship Troopers in 1959, the concept of an armored suit with enhanced mobility from an internal power [Read More…]
The United States Marine Corps is looking for new advanced optics for rifles and IARs that are capable of switching between a low magnification mode and a high (6-8x) magnification mode, according to a recent request for information (RFI) released through FedBizOpps at [Read More…]
With the termination of the Interim Combat Service Rifle, the CSASS program on hold, and the XM25 CDTE dead and buried, many are wondering: When will the Army get its act together on small arms? Given the long history of Army program failures, though, maybe a better [Read More…]
The United States Marine Corps has issued a new acquisition notice for up to 50,814 M27 Infantry Automatic Rifles (IAR), to be sole sourced from Heckler & Koch. The notice is technically not a solicitation in and of itself, but a pre-solicitation notice, intended to [Read More…]
The Infantry’s load is at an all-time high, resulting in a high rate of injuries and medical non-deployables. Planners are desperately searching for new ways to lift the burden on soldiers and Marines, before the problem spirals out of control. The obvious and [Read More…]
We previously covered 2nd Mar Div’s Combat Camera productions involving Gunner Wade and suppressor Fact or Fiction series, but the 2nd Marine Division Gunner is back at it again, this time he is covering how to properly boresight a service rifle and RCO using an [Read More…]
In recent testimony to Congress, USMC leadership Lieutenant General Robert Walsh and Brigadier General Joseph Shrader officially acknowledged that the USMC’s M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle, made by Heckler & Koch, encounters durability issues when used with the [Read More…]
Earlier this month, TFB relayed a report first posted on Military.com’s KitUp! site about the 3 major non-Army services – Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force – all accepting the M17 as their next service handgun. However, thanks to the hard work of [Read More…]
Australian technology company Kord Defense has been awarded an 18-month, $2.25 million United States Marine Corps developmental contract for development and production of a Rifle Accessory Control Unit (RACU), which would attach to existing M4 Carbines and M27 IARs and [Read More…]
Gentlemen, it has begun: The Silencing is upon us. Following a series of trials testing the feasibility of an infantry battalion equipped entirely with suppressors, the United States Marine Corps has moved quickly to field the first all-suppressed unit to the Værnes [Read More…]
Note- This article is the second portion of an earlier article that contiues the discussion of the dynamics of being a member of a Marine Scout Sniper platoon. To read that article, please click here. The training, weapons, and gear that takes place in Sniper platoons [Read More…]
Earlier I covered the topic of the failure rates at the Marine Corps Scout Sniper Basic Course and what the Marines wanted to do to mitigate the failures. I disagreed with the solution to the problem for a number of reasons. In this article I would like to provide some [Read More…]
Note-This post is a continuation of the earlier post that began, talking about some of the issues that are inherent with chopping the current Scout Sniper Basic Course in two. To read part one, please click here. Back to the supply and demand. Who are you going to send? [Read More…]
The Marine Corps Times (not associated with the Marines) has highlighted an issue that hasn’t entered the public domain in firearms news as of yet, but has really been smoldering at the surface for many years now. The basic premise of the issue is this: The [Read More…]
The issue of ammunition standardization between the United States Army and the Marine Corps has come to a head: Congress has delivered an ultimatum in the final version of the FY 2017 National Defense Appropriations Act for the two services to kiss and make up. [Read More…]
On the defense side, sound suppressors have been relegated to special roles ever since their invention. Used to give stealth to special operatives, assassins, and direct action teams, silencers have been valuable tools, but not central fixtures in normal military [Read More…]
The Marine Corps Times (not affiliated with the USMC) released an article detailing the activities of Marine Infantrymen from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines while undergoing training in the Cultana Training Area of South Australia. Post OIF/OEF, [Read More…]
By this point, most of my readers will be familiar with the fabulous work being done (almost single-handedly) by Ian McCollum for his site ForgottenWeapons.com, and those who aren’t should click through and subscribe to his channel for some of the best gun-related [Read More…]
The Marine Corps Special Operations Command posted a video showcasing their tactical driving and shooting course. They teach driving and shooting techniques to build on proficiency for the MARSOC Marines.
According to the Marine Corps Times (which is not formally affiliated with the United States Marine Corps), the USMC is starting to phase out the OTIS soft cleaning kits in favor of an old-time favorite – the three rod cleaning kits originally issued with the [Read More…]
While the (at least one would hope) “normal” saber rattling from North Korea continues unabated, the United States and South Korea are conducting their yearly Operation Foal Eagle, a yearly exercise of US and Korean military personnel. This year, the [Read More…]