'It's My Rifle'

[thedrifter]

'IT'S MY RIFLE'


By David Hasemyer
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

May 4, 2003

Despite a sophisticated array of laser-guided bombs, computer-directed Tomahawk missiles and other cutting-edge technology, the fighting in Iraq often came down to the troops and the rifles they shouldered.

Some of the most searing images of the conflict were of urban warfare and the pop, pop, pop of rifle fire. And unlike the high-tech weapons, the standard M-16 has roots dating back about 35 years.

Marines are taught ? it's drilled into them, actually, from the third week of boot camp and later at Camp Pendleton and Camp Lejuene ? that their rifle is their most valued tool and trusted companion.

The Corps' "My Rifle" reads:

"My rifle is my best friend. It is my life.

"My rifle, without me is useless.

Without my rifle, I am useless."

Ever since the Vietnam War, the M-16 and its offspring, like the M-4 carbine, have been the U.S. military's primary battle rifle.

Cpl. Luke McGinn, 19, a graduate of Poway High School, understands what he has vested in his M-16.

"It's either you or it's him," he said while coaching shooters on the firing line at a Camp Pendleton rifle range. "With this rifle I am confident ... it will be me and not him (who survives)."

The M-16s are suited for long-range shots on the battlefield, close-in firefights or house-to-house combat.

It is deadly accurate at 500 yards, farther in the hands of an expert rifleman. It can lay down a curtain of fire, up to 90 rounds a minute, although the rate of fire for optimum accuracy is about 15 rounds a minute.

The rifle's detachable magazine holds 30 rounds, and most riflemen carry six magazines.

Marines are expected to put rounds into a target that is 40 inches tall and 20 inches wide without the use of a scope. The target simulates a human torso, and from 500 yards it appears to be about the size of a soda can seen from across a room with the naked eye.

"This is the rifle that can do that," said Warrant Officer Gene Rucks, chief range officer at Camp Pendleton. "And we expect our Marines to employ the rifle such that they can make use of its accuracy and dependability."

It doesn't matter whether a Marine is an office clerk, mechanic or cook. In the Corps, everyone is a rifleman first.

"Knowing your rifle and being proficient with your rifle is a basic element of being a Marine," Rucks said.

When Cpl. Michael Cota talks about his rifle, it takes on almost human qualities. "This bad boy is gonna get me home," Cota, from Camp Pendleton, said in a telephone interview from the outskirts of Baghdad.

That's how the Marines want it.

It's not an urban legend that Marines sleep with their rifles. They do. "My rifle is never out of my reach," Cota said. "I sleep with it. I eat with it."

Cota knows he may need to bring his sights to bear on an enemy that won't hesitate to shoot first.

That's what happened when Iraqi soldiers confronted Cota and his 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance unit as the Marines closed in on Baghdad.

In an instant, the enemy appeared and put the Marines in their sights. Cota swung his M-4 carbine ? a shorter version of the M-16 ? to his shoulder and in fluid motion clicked off the safety, chambered a round, took aim and fired.

He said he can't remember the sharp report as he pulled the trigger, but the rifle functioned flawlessly and with deadly accuracy.

Cota felt neither jubilation nor regret for the outcome. "The rifle did what it had to do, and I did what I had to do," Cota said.

He is a gunsmith, responsible his unit's weapons, so he knows the M-16, which carries a price tag of about $600. "Oh, it's a good rifle," he said. "I'd stake my life on it . . . and I do."

At Camp Pendleton, just about every Marine has to qualify on the rifle range once a year.

Marines are taught how fire standing, kneeling, sitting and prone, aiming at targets 200, 300 and 500 yards away.

Firing becomes instinctual: Breathing is controlled. The trigger is squeezed, not pulled.

"You stay alive with this rifle. That's what I teach," Rucks said. "I don't teach how to kill with this rifle."

The 7-pound weapon fires a bullet that weighs about one-tenth of an ounce. The projectile travels 3,100 feet per second ? more than a half mile in the blink of an eye.

The military version of the bullet can pierce metal, stopping vehicles. It can penetrate bullet-resistant vests. Several well-placed rounds can bring down a cinder-block wall.

When it strikes a human target, the bullet tumbles through the body, creating a massive wound.

The M-16 and M-4 can be fitted with a variety of scopes, night vision devices and grenade launchers, making for a versatile weapon.

The M-16 has a civilian kin, the AR-15, which is a favorite of target shooters and an emerging favorite of law enforcement. It's also a killer on the streets, wearing the label "assault rifle" in California.

In its upcoming budget, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department has requested 125 of them, to add to the 30 already in use.

The M-16's counterpart in the Iraqi Army and other countries is the Kalashnikov, or AK-47, a Russian-designed rifle that is less complicated and arguably less accurate. The AK-47 is incredibly rugged and dependable, however, and fires a heavier bullet.

Although Rucks acknowledges some M-16s will jam because of sand, he has not heard anything directly from Iraq that would indicate the rifles are not performing properly.

"When you're rolling in the sand they will get dirty," Rucks said. "You have to be aware of that and make sure they are kept clean."

Military experts say victory in battle comes down to the troops and their rifles.

"You will always have to send somebody in after the bombing and shelling," Rucks said. "And that Marine most likely will be carrying an M-16."



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David Hasemyer: (619) 542-4583; david.hasemyer@uniontrib.com


Sempers,

Roger