RetiredUSNChief
Member
True that. 28 years in, and for almost all of that it was peacetime training. We had the standard combat loadout of 210 rounds. My first combat deployment was pre-9/11, and nothing changed. 9/11 hit and I was stuck on an air base for much of that tour seeing little action, but that 3rd deployment... Double load for everyone. Had SAW pouches on my body armor, 6 mags each side, one in the gun, and one on a buttstock pouch. Never ran out, but actually came close once. We through a LOT of lead around... but I only got 6 of the ******** the whole year. (all within about 15 minutes on the same day, the day I almost ran out) You're hot, tired, mad, scared... you end up missing a lot. I mean A LOT. It was like the "A-Team" out there... lol. Keep in mind I was already in my 40s, just waiting to retire.
BTW, I was a Cub Scout leader at the time, so the corresponding Girl Scout leader sent me several cases of Girl Scout cookies, and I passed them out to the local kids when we had a chance to. You can see the big ass SAW pouches filled with mags... That Beta C-mag, well, that's a whole nother story. Heavy, but it worked well. Since we operated out of vehicles it wasn't that big of a hassle. Sold it when I got back. Not practical for dismounted patrolling, but I could start off things right...
View attachment 1001368
210?
Are you sure you didn't mean 203?