Navy Training

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280PLUS

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"U.S. Petty Officer 2nd Class Barbara Silkwood moves through mud under a barbed wire as she undergoes the endurance course at the Jungle Warfare Training Center at Camp Gonslaves in Okinawa, Japan in this photo released March 6, 2005."

My question:

How well will that rifle (you can just barely make it out) function after it's mudbath?

attachment.php
 
Probably about 5 rds...then it's an ineffective (too short) bayonet holder! Unless you took the time and used most of 2 canteens to ****** it out.

Remember, all of her mags/ammo are also submerged in the guck.
 
The real question is what is a squid who is likely not a GI Jane SEAL, and is unlikely to be a combat medic, doing humping a rifle at a Jungle Warfare Training Center?

I know one possible answer because I did something similar with the 2/25ID (Light) at Schofield Barracks in Hawai'i in the late 80s, and to this day nearly everyone believes that no one who isn't a SEAL or a medic ever fires more than a couple of mags a year at best while in the regular Navy. The entire Weapons Division of my ship rotated through Schofield doing a mini advanced infantry course nearby at Makua Military Reservation. That place is scenic, and we got to see almost all of it in MILES gear. :D

Well, those folks who say you can't get any trigger time on Uncle Sam's dime in the regular Navy are wrong. There are a good number of squids besides SEALs who know small unit tactics, though of course not to the degree the members of NAVSPECWAR do.

BTW, here is JO2 Silkwood of the USS Abraham Lincoln without the mud:
450Lincoln07_silkwood.jpg

As she is an armed forces Journalist, she is probably in the mud for a story. ;)
 
I was thinking,

Don't a lot of women pay a lot of $ for those mud pack beauty treatments?

She's gettin' hers for free...

:D

But, back to the rifle, if the little door is closed and theyve got something covering the muzzle would it stay functional?

I've never tried dragging mine through the mud like that (shudder) :eek:

She looks much better without the mud btw..
 
Q: how well would sloshing it out in a nearby stream work, if such were available? Should she be issued an 870 for this assignment? ;)

My view: it's always good to get more training. Good for JO2 Silkwood.
 
I've listened to several brown water Navy vets who said an M16 will NOT function like that. It won't function with water in the barrel and/or gas tube either. They said if you get an M16 submerged you have to blow all the water out of the barrel/gas system before you can fire it. Otherwise, you'll blow it up. If the enemy is right there when you come up out of the water, you don't have time to burp your rifle. The M14 and AK47 are the only two I can readily think of having heard are the only ones that'll come up out of the swamp ready to fire.

The 870? Yeah. I'd bet on an 870.
 
But, back to the rifle, if the little door is closed and theyve got something covering the muzzle would it stay functional?
Click to expand...

I'd think so- with a magazine in the gun, the dustcover closed, and a muzzle condom on, there wouldn't be anyway for the mud to get into the internals. Yucky on the outside, but functional on the inside.
 
The real question is what is a squid who is likely not a GI Jane SEAL, and is unlikely to be a combat medic, doing humping a rifle at a Jungle Warfare Training Center?
Click to expand...

My wife did that earlier in her Navy career as a corpsman. She spent some time 'on the green side' when she worked with the Marines as a field medic. She reports that all the field medics for the Marines had to do some very basic infantry training with the combat medics getting more. At that time in the 80's, and I assume still today, being a combat medic for the Marines was closed to women. She recalls that during her stay with the Marines, one of the more charming sayings that the corpsmen had was 'sometimes the best medical care for your patient involves emptying a 30 round magazine at the bad guys'.
 
'sometimes the best medical care for your patient involves emptying a 30 round magazine at the bad guys'.
Click to expand...
MillCreek, your wife sounds like a sharp cookie. Very cool. :cool:

They wouldn't let us do that back when I was a volunteer firefighter. :evil:
 
They wouldn't let me do that either, back when I was a volunteer firefighter, EMT, paramedic and hazmat team lieutenant. Although I do have to say that I know of EMS personnel who have discreetly carried while on the job.
 
For Those Interested....

The Navy's Pacific Fleet and the Atlantic Fleet rifle and pistol matches are coming up in April and the All-Navy championship beginning the first weekend in May. The winners may continue on to the Inter-Service championships taking place afterwards at Fort Benning, Georgia - in July I believe.

While competition is open to military personnel only, viewing and cheering is open to all who care to come see. Some darn good shooters at the sites on both coasts from all around, and lots of good camaraderie.
 
I'd think so- with a magazine in the gun, the dustcover closed, and a muzzle condom on, there wouldn't be anyway for the mud to get into the internals. Yucky on the outside, but functional on the inside.
Click to expand...

Negative. This is not a match grade AR we are talking about. Even with all the things mentioned you are still going to get water into the internals through the trigger, the charging handle, and most will come in through the play between the upper and lower recievers.

If she were to stand up right after that top picture and fire a round, the round would fire without fail. There would be what would look like an explosion as all the water inside the weapon was rapidly forced out of the iternal components of the weapon. After firing my ol M16A2 after being completely submered it mud a little thicker than that, it would not cycle for about 4 rounds, so the charging handle had to be racked every time. After that it worked with what I would say was 80% reliability until I had a chance to wash it down with a 5 gallon water jug.
Of course after about an hour after the bath it turned completely orange :what:
 
Hey Captain Mike,,,

Where are they being held on the east coast?

the west coasties can ask for themselves...

:neener:
 
What is Silkwood looking at in the second photo? Brad Pitt? :D

As for the fellow who said his M16 changed colors, might he have referred to rust?

Lone Star
 
I'm amazed if a 16 ever works, it's crap.
Anytime I had one issued in a combat zone I traded it, tossed it (ain't combat loss a great term) and got an AK. Now that works no matter what.

AFS
 
At Knox I ran an A2 through a little mudbath (never, ever, EVER be the first to voluntarily run a combat assault course), dragged it all over the place in the mud lowcrawling, etc before pretty much 90% submerging it under mud/water/goop going under the barbed wire as the pit had turned into a pool. I kept the muzzle clear with the BFA on it, but otherwise it was underwater. It was only under a few minutes getting under the obstacle but after a severe shaking off and clearing the action, it kept firing at pretty much a 95% reliability rate as far as I remember. You're gonna get jams with blanks anyways (not enough gas to work the action) but it, considering it was wet and muddy and using blanks, didn't jam nearly as bad as I thought it would.

With live ammo it was just fine.
 
Actually, I was in ROTC, running through their version of basic.

I was about a year from commissioning, about to leave for Fort Lewis when the Clinton Years BS just got to be too much and it was obvious we were not wanted. So I got out.

Now I'm trying to get back IN (enlisted) Air Force and it's not easy. If I wanted to go Army again, I'd be off in a week. it's still an option.
 
Well now,
I would never have thought i would actually find someone i knew on this board...lol This JO2 is not what i would call a tactical or practical lady. I do find it nice to see she is actually getting dirty though. I do not trash people as a norm, but in this instance i'm sure there is a guy involved in her doing this and not a story. I served with her onboard the U.S.S. LINCOLN 00-03.
 
Dust cover closed, muzzle pointed up out of the mud, it will fire.

She looks better in the mud bath.
 
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