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Improving Soldier Lethality: A Machine-Gun Training Outline for Small-Unit Leaders

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??CSM (RETIRED) JOHN DUDAS

The M240B machine gun is one of the most important weapons assigned to platoons and companies. The large caliber 7.62 ammunition and high rate of fire make it invaluable in supporting attacks and ambushes as well as protecting defensive areas and mounted patrols.

The purpose of this article is to provide the small-unit (team, squad, and section) leader a training outline that will help improve the knowledge, performance, and more importantly, the lethality of their machine-gun crews.?One of the first things the reader may notice about this article is that it does not discuss the techniques of machine-gun live-fire training. Subjects such as fire commands, marksmanship, and range operations will not be covered. This training outline focuses primarily on machine-gun theory (explanation of terms) and employment practices (crew drill).

??The training program is outlined in four instructional topic areas:

- Characteristics of Fire

- Classes of Fire

- Application of Fire

- Crew Drill

The aim of these topic areas is to provide the crew members with a basic understanding of machine-gun theory and to explain how machine-gun fire relates to the ground, target, and the weapon itself.?The crew will also learn about the types of machine-gun targets and the methods used for successful engagement.?An overview of the crew drill will be provided to give crew members an opportunity for “hands-on” learning and practical application of emplacing the machine gun into and out of action.

Characteristics of Fire

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The purpose of this topic area is to provide and explain terminology that describes machine gun fire.?These terms are important for the crew to understand what happens to the 7.62 round(s) after the trigger is pulled. As shown in Table 1,there are five terms that crew members should know. Understanding these terms will set the foundation for the following modules that further discuss machine-gun theory.

The two most important terms in this topic area are danger space?and beaten zone. These?terms describe to the crew members how to make machine-gun fire lethal. Understanding?how range can affect danger space and the beaten zone gives crew members useful knowledge, especially when selecting firing positions in tactical scenarios.

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Classes of Machine-Gun Fire

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This subject explains to crew members how machine-gun fire is directly related to the ground (terrain), the target, and the machine gun itself. After discussing the previous subject, which only concerned the effect of rounds leaving the barrel,this topic area teaches the crew how machine-gun fire is inter related between the weapon, target, and terrain.Understanding this relationship is vital when selecting firing positions for the machine gun. This relationship is outlined in Table 2.

The most important instructional points from this topic area are for crew members to fully understand grazing and enfilade fire. Both are related as they make the maximum use of the beaten zone. It is critical to impress upon the crew that anytime they select a firing position, it should incorporate grazing fire and enfilade fire whenever possible.?

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Application of Fire

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Continuing to expand on theory, this subject area covers methods of emplacing the machine gun to take advantage of the weapon’s inherent superiority in range and rate of fire over lesser weapons on the battlefield such as rifles,carbines, and grenade launchers.

Application of machine-gun fire describes the type of targets a machine gunner will engage on the battlefield along with the maximum effective ranges of the weapon system.?Rates of fire and the timing of barrel changes are also discussed to ensure the target area is kept engaged with the correct amount of ammunition without damaging the machine gun’s barrel or causing stoppages from an overheated gun.

To the left are four tables that describe in detail the type of machine-gun targets, maximum effective ranges for the M240B machine gun, and rates-of-fire data that apply to the weapon system (Tables 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d).

The most important instructional point in this topic area is for crew members to know and understand the M240B’s rates of fire.?They should know that the rapid rate of fire is used when initiating or receiving contact with the enemy.?This rate of fire allows the crew to gain fire superiority over the enemy — allowing movement and maneuver of friendly forces. Once fire superiority is achieved, the crew can begin using the sustained rate of fire to conserve ammunition while still keeping the enemy’s head down. Knowing the scheduled times for changing the barrel is also important for ensuring the weapon system does not become damaged or overheated during the engagement. Instruction on changing the machine-gun barrels will be covered in the next topic area concerning the crew drill.

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Crew Drill

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Any training outline concerning machine-gun training would not be complete without discussing the crew drill. The crew drill is the most important method of training a machine-gun crew to employ the weapon system. For new machine-gun crews, the crew drill provides basics of emplacing the machine gun into and out of action. For the advanced crew, the crew drill can perfect the weapon’s employment and coordination amongst the team. When training new crew members,actions should be instructed slowly but deliberately.The ultimate training goal is for the machine-gun team to execute each move of the crew drill rapidly but never at the cost of precision.

The crew drill can be conducted with a two Soldier or three-Soldier machine-gun crew. For this article, the three-Soldier crew will be referenced.The three-Soldier machine-gun team is made up of:

1. Gunner (G) carrying the M240B machine gun.

2. Assistant gunner (AG) carrying the spare barrel and case with heat-protective mitt (HPM).

3. Ammunition bearer (AB) carrying the M192 ground mount (tripod).?

Crew members execute actions on commands (cues) provided by a leader.?The following tables discuss the commands given by the leader and the actions executed by the crew members during the machine-gun crew drill.

It should be mentioned that the manner of execution as outlined in the tables above serve only as an introduction to the crew drill. Once a foundation of knowledge is gained by the crew members, the crew drill may be modified into tactical scenarios, only limited by the imagination of the leader and crew.?The crew drill is a time-tested method of training machinegun teams in the employment of the weapon system and should be incorporated in preliminary marksmanship instruction (PMI) plans and mission rehearsals.

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Conclusion

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This article has outlined a training program for small-unit leaders to improve the knowledge, performance, and lethality of their assigned machine-gun crews. Though the instruction on machine-gun theory can be delivered in a classroom setting,practical exercises will give machine-gun crews hands-on training.?For example, by placing available items such as assault packs or rucksacks in a line, column, or tactical wedge formation, a machine-gun crew can practice methods of engaging point and area targets by using fixed, traversing, or searching fire. These exercises can be conducted in the unit area after a morning foot march.

Crew drill can be done almost anywhere and should be incorporated during opportunity training at marksmanship ranges and situational training exercises (STX) while in the field.

The instruction presented is not intended to replace other techniques of machine-gun training. In fact, its purpose is to enhance and supplement other subjects used in instructing machine gunnery. For more information on machine-gun theory and practice, see Training Circular (TC) 3-22.240, Medium Machine Gun (April 2017).

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作者介紹：A former assistant machine gunner and weapons squad leader in the 25th Infantry Division (Light), John Dudas retired from U.S. Army as a command sergeant major (Infantry) in 2018. His final assignment was as the sergeant major for the Directorate of Training and Doctrine (DOTD) at the Maneuver Center of Excellence, Fort Benning, GA.

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