Caseless
July 5, 2003, 01:07 PM
There was a documentary on PBS public TV a few days ago on Navy SEAL ops and training. The operators demonstrated some of their tools of the trade. These include:
M60 GPMG
M4 carbine/M203 grenade launcher combo
M 14 full auto rifle
M2 50 caliber MG
Mk19 self loading grenade launcher
MP 5 subguns
Mcmillan M88 50 caliber anti-material rifle
One operator showed how to properly shoot the M60 while standing, and explained that in a land-based mission 4 out of 8 squaddies will use a M60 and carry between 500-1,000 rounds.
In addition, there are quite a lot of M14s in use/training in this documentary. Contrary to what I expected, they seemed to control the full auto M14s quite well. I guess extensive training allows you to use any full auto weapon proficiently.
Aside from CQB and ship seizure missions, there seem to be at least 2 M14s for each 8-man squad. In fact, when they are riding the high speed boats, I think all eight operators were using M14s.
Finally, another operator/trainer? commented that a fully outfitted 8-man SEAL squad will have the firepower of an entire army company. I figured maybe he was referring to some third world army company. Since 4 M60s + 2 full auto M14s + 2 M4/M203 combo guns don't equal the firepower of a U.S. army company last time I checked.
Overall, this is an awesome documentary with a lot of live fire action using all the above weapons. I think PBS will show this again next week here in northern CA.
M60 GPMG
M4 carbine/M203 grenade launcher combo
M 14 full auto rifle
M2 50 caliber MG
Mk19 self loading grenade launcher
MP 5 subguns
Mcmillan M88 50 caliber anti-material rifle
One operator showed how to properly shoot the M60 while standing, and explained that in a land-based mission 4 out of 8 squaddies will use a M60 and carry between 500-1,000 rounds.
In addition, there are quite a lot of M14s in use/training in this documentary. Contrary to what I expected, they seemed to control the full auto M14s quite well. I guess extensive training allows you to use any full auto weapon proficiently.
Aside from CQB and ship seizure missions, there seem to be at least 2 M14s for each 8-man squad. In fact, when they are riding the high speed boats, I think all eight operators were using M14s.
Finally, another operator/trainer? commented that a fully outfitted 8-man SEAL squad will have the firepower of an entire army company. I figured maybe he was referring to some third world army company. Since 4 M60s + 2 full auto M14s + 2 M4/M203 combo guns don't equal the firepower of a U.S. army company last time I checked.
Overall, this is an awesome documentary with a lot of live fire action using all the above weapons. I think PBS will show this again next week here in northern CA.