Saturday, September 12, 2009

Covering Fire

A One Five Marine with his M-249 squad automatic weapon covers his platoon during a road recon patrol in Helmand Province Sept 6/2009. The M249 AKA SAW is a belt-fed light machine gun. The SAW fires the 5.56x45 mm NATO round, four ball rounds to one M856 tracer fed from M27 linked belts. Belts are held in a hard plastic or soft canvas box that you can see attached to the underside of the weapon. Something the M-60 did not have. Our gunner draped the belts around his chest. The thing was---every time he had to provide cover for his platoon---the linked belts picked up mud, crud and corruption until the doodo hit the fan and the belts were practically useless. Details. Photo SSgt. William Greeson

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