Number of magazines/rounds issued to current troops?

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Because I was flying comercial I had to have my weapon locked in my luggage, the FMEC conficitated my bag until they checked out why I had a gun.
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Back in the Good Old Days, I landed at Than Son Nhut airport in '66 with a Colt M357 and 200 rounds of handloads that would make your hair stand on end. I had to fill out some paperwork, but beyond that, no hassle.

Why we don't encourage officers and senior NCOs to buy their own sidearms is beyond me.
 
Vern,

It's actually beyond me too. I have heard arguments about weapons being standard. That makes sense, but really, if regulations require a 9mm pistol and you don't like the M9, is it that hard to find one that you do like? I also don't think its particularly difficult logistically to arrange for qualification courses. Generally, our troops know well ahead of time when they are going somewhere, and even reactionary forces (which, incidentally, was part of the reason I got 10 rounds of ammo when I stepped off the plane in Somalia.) can get their quals out of the way ahead of time. To me, its really just a case of saying "Hey, its my ass and I feel more comfortable with this particular weapon" than it is any indication of the quality of weaponry. For the same reason, I never understood why we couldn't wear whatever boots we wanted to in the field. In garrison, I could understand it, but in the field, I never ever understood why those that didn't get along with the standard military boot could not wear something more comfortable. At the time, Hi-Tec made a very comfortable military boot that was far and away superior in all aspects to the standard jungle boot, and I don't think anyone in the battalion wouldn't have bought a pair. I love the Marine Corps, but the jungle boots were awful. I liked my all leather pair though!
 
Maybe Slick Willie wanted the enemy to have a better chance?
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Sorry for the double post, but it actually was George Bush that was president at the time. Matter of fact, he came to visit the troops in Mogadishu and I got to shake his hand.
 
Today's M16A2 and A4 are what they are because civilian shooters had the liberty to experiment with the basic platform and introduce major improvements -- which the service then copied.

We have better boots because a couple of lieutenants at Fort Lewis convinced Danner to make a quality boot that looks like a military boot.

I think we should set broad parameters for a privately-owned sidearm, and let officers and senior NCOs pick their own. It doesn't even have to be 9mm, although we might only issue 9mm ammo, and let those choosing other calibers buy their own.

Who knows, we might actually learn something?
 
combat load

I was an 11Bravo from '82-'86. Our standard combat load for riflemen was 7 mags = 210 rds. Cartons containing linked ammo belts for the M60 were dispersed throughout the platoon, we each carried a few. Each man had a LAW. Each platoon had a Dragon missile, some unlucky sob had to carry that hog. We each carried 4 grenades, and usually 2 smoke grenades. If on patrol or ambush we each carried a claymore also. Assault or breaching would call for baglelore (sp) torps. I'm surely forgetting stuff.

Ammo resupply for the 16's was almost always in bandoliers, with stripper clips. Ammo resupply for the 60's was almost always in ammo cans containing the cartons mentioned above in green cloth carriers - these same carriers are really handy for carrying a box of shotgun shells!
 
Basic load is 210 rounds, though more may be carried depending on location and mission.

My IBA is set up where I could carry 10 mags, if I wanted. Everyone seems to forget that weight is a consideration. Carrying too much ammo and weighing yourself down is a common newbie response to potential combat, and US troops already are carrying 40 lbs or so without adding in water or extra ammo for the SAW or 240 Bravo.
 
How did you guys carry your mags in combat? A couple dual mag pouches on a pistol belt? Bandoliers? Stuck 'em in pockets?
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I used a blackhawk, recon chest rig, i set up the ammo pouches and aid pouches as i wanted, it worked out really well and made things easier than the molle they issued us. The blackhawk was very comfortable, and the weight really didn't bother me, i tuffed it out. I would rather tote the extra mags around and never need them then to not be weighed down and run out of mags. People make sacrifices everywhere but ammo is not of those areas!
 
I carried 8x 30 round mags (260 rounds) plus stripper clips for resupply when on patrol. Some people used bondoliers, I preffered to just use my pockets. The number of mags went up to 9 (290 rounds) when using vehicles or when on 'proper ops'. It went down to 6 (200 rounds) most of the time in NI.
 
Jagdpanzer

I carried the 20 round mag but always took all the ammo out, cleaned them, and then put just 18 rounds back in. The mags were carried in cloth OD bandoliers that I tied around my waist (usually 2 or 3 of them). That way I never even came close to running low - but then I was more fortunate than many in the action seen.
 
In 'the old days' ( before the 30 rounders....yes there was a time ) we carried 10-12 for the M14, 12-15 for the M16. Usually had some spare ammo also.
 
I have done 2 tours in Iraq in the last two and a half years. During OIF I anybody attached to the main breaching the berm into country after we got marching orders had 12 mags if you were in the rear you had 6. I aslo had 3 bandaleers with HE,HEDP,and white star clusters for my 203. In OIF III everybody had 6 mags but as far as I could tell crew served weapons were more plentiful then.






one shot one kill
 
Minor point but the new MOLLE gear features 3 mag pouches that each hold 2 mags and have no grenade holders, vice the 2 3-mag pouches with the holders on the old ALICE gear LBE (what is it with the Army and using girls names for load bearing equipment, anyway?). Basic rifleman MOLLE gear comes with 2 grenade pouches.

I really can't say what grenadier, SAW gunner, or 240 gunner MOLLE gear has, since I've never been issued any.

That said, a lot of guys, assuming their unit allows it, buy their own rigs from Blackhawk, Tactical Tailor, etc.

Textbook basic load is what's carried on your person, in your LBE/LBV/MOLLE vest/chest rig of choice. That doesn't include anything carried in your assault pack or ruck.

One of my instructors in IOBC, back in '96, jumped into Panama with the 82nd. The only personal gear he carried was a toothbrush, razor, poncho, and two pairs of socks in his buttpack. His entire rucksack was full of ammo, running the gamut from 5.56 ball all the way to a claymore and a couple of M72 LAW rockets. I assume he didn't have to walk all that far with it.
 
With the number of vets and combat vets sounding off, how can you come to the conclusion that this discussion violates OPSEC? If that were the case, then we would all keep our traps shut.
 
Nah, this isn't dangerous to anyone. What, are enemy soldiers going to count how many times an indifividual rifle is fired?

"Two hundred and fifty eight...two hundred and fifty nine...two hundred and sixty, alright lads, he's empty, chaaaarge!"

Besides, all you need to do is look at any of the webbing or vests used by troops and count how many magazine pouches they have to get a rough idea.

I can never remember an officer ever telling me "Look and see how many magazines they have, that's really important top secret information that is, we could use it back at headquarters".

As for privately own sidearms. Logistics NIGHTMARE. What happens when your custom STI 1911 breaks something? You can't call the armourer and have him fix it or give you a spare part or a replacement. You can't have people using different calibers. Imagine it, convoy of AFVs, ambushed, AFV gets hit by an RPG, crew bale, firefight ensues. AFV driver with his Kimber Eclipse runs dry and shouts desperately "Anyone got any 10mm Auto mags I can borrow?", the rest of the crew with their Berreta 92s look round in pity and leave him be.
 
Vern Humphrey said:
I think we should set broad parameters for a privately-owned sidearm, and let officers and senior NCOs pick their own. It doesn't even have to be 9mm, although we might only issue 9mm ammo, and let those choosing other calibers buy their own.
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What about Joes? I'd shell out for a...Glock 19 in a heartbeat.

-an E-4 who misses his sidearm


dragongoddess said:
"This stuff ain't OPSEC."

Oh yes it is. This is the kind of info that gets people Killed.
This thread should be locked and removed from the site.
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OPSEC is a debatable quantity. I personally tend to take a dim view of what is considered OPSEC, so my judgement is admittedly suspect. But since numerous current and former soldiers, including a number who have been downrange, feel that this information is benign, perhaps you could share why you feel it has the potential to get people killed.
 
"This stuff ain't OPSEC."

Oh yes it is. This is the kind of info that gets people Killed.
This thread should be locked and removed from the site.
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Well, we better just go ahead and get a court order to shut the internet down in general, then, in case anyone in Al Qaeda starts studying up for the E-5 promotion board, since places like armystudyguide.com dish out the hard numbers like candy, as well as providing references to the FMs (also open source and viewable online by anyone with internet access) for more detailed particulars about the M16/M4 family of weapons, etc.
 
Not even close to OPSEC.

Al-Queda can watch the news from Iraq and count the mags on the soldier's chests. :p
 
Oh yes it is. This is the kind of info that gets people Killed.
This thread should be locked and removed from the site.
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dragongoddess. maybe you should take the quarterly opsec class!

No it is not, do you understand what you are saying? do you kow what opsec is or what it is relation to? Do you have any military knowledge other than weapons and vehicles? maybe you didn't read or understand my earlier post, so i have placed it at the bottom of this post, please read it again. if this still doesn't change the way you feel, then the army as a whole is guilty of breaking opsec, because they are the ones that say the fm's which are (field manuals) can be distributed, to the general as well. So that means, think hard now with me!:uhoh: that means that you and everyother person in the us and abroad has access to that info. Just google it for example and you will find out everything you need to know.

Also while you are at it, google opsec, so maybe you can understand what it is, and that way you will actually maybe be able to put in a valid point to your disscussion. my wife knows better than that to think that is opsec, come on now!

i am currently an e-5 in the Infantry. The basic combat load is 210rds which was stated previously. While i was in Iraq from June 04 to june 05 I carried extra mags 11 in my chest rig one in my weapon, and a 20rd " i am gonna die if i have to use this mag" in my right cargo pocket. I see no reason why the amount of ammo carried would cause an issue. That info is in many military manuals that have ulimited distrubution, you can find these at gun shows and on the www.armystudyguide.com website which is where there is alot of general info, and the one resourse i used to study for the e-5 board. Just because that is the basic combat load that dosen't mean that everyone carries that little or that much. There are some that I saw with only 2-3 mags at a time in sector. Being infantry and around the "*hit" more than most I carried more, along with many others. But I also had a 25mm chain gun and coax to back me up!
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dragongoddess. maybe you should take the quarterly opsec class!

Yeah. I'm not current or former military, and I've even had that class. ;)

jmm
 
if you want to see what the internet has to offer the unfriendlies overseas...go to GOOGLE and put in "failure" and click on the very 1st on the top of the page. :cuss: don't use the quotes just failure :banghead:
 
boneboy96, first and foremost welcome THR

I didn't what to expect by, following what you said, that is pretty darb funny, what google pulls up. Wow you or someone must have alot of free time!:)
 
if you want to see what the internet has to offer the unfriendlies overseas...go to GOOGLE and put in "failure" and click on the very 1st on the top of the page. don't use the quotes just failure
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Bunch of leftwing bloggers managed to make that one go. You can deliberately manipulate/guide Google's search functions with enough people, websites, and know-how.
 
Sigh,

The beauty of fixed ammunition in detachable magazines, is the ability to tailor the ammo load to the mission. You carry what your leaders believe is the appropriate load for the mission.

Geoff
Who carried an M-3 Grease gun and four magazines during a Badder-Meinhof gang alert, to pick up some weapons coming back from depot maintenance. :what:
 
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