As marinecorpstimes.com reports, the Type 69 75mm Airburst Anti-Personnel High-Explosive rocket-propelled grenade—which “impacts the ground before bouncing to about chest height and detonating”—is indigenous to China and North Korea. So the chances that you know how to load and fire the weapon are low. The chances of needing to do so are even less—unless you’re one of our armed services’ readers deployed in some third developing world hell hole. If you are, and you’re a Marine, good news! The Corps are training grunts how to fire that bad boy, and a bunch of other non-standard issue weapons you may encounter in the course of your travels. This is mission critical stuff! If only from a safety perspective . . .
There is also an important safety component for Marines seizing enemy weapons caches, Hiett said. During one classroom presentation here, he recounted an occasion in Fallujah, Iraq, when Marines seized weapons that included a PKM machine gun. Marines opened the feed tray and removed the belt, thinking they had cleared the weapon. But because they did not have a thorough understanding of the PKM, they didn’t realize a loose round was still on the feed tray, he said. One grunt threw the weapon in the back of their Humvee and it discharged, striking another Marine in the leg. He had to be evacuated from the battlefield.
Unfamiliarity also meant Marines were less likely to spot booby trapped rifles. In Fallujah, insurgents would pack AK-47s with explosives and leave them behind, Hiett said. Marines would strip the magazine and rack the bolt to clear the chamber. When they sent the bolt home, it would strike a blasting cap, turning the rifle into a large grenade that would kill anyone within five meters and potentially wound others.
By the time he and his fellow instructors finish teaching the students in the class, they will have an intimate understanding of the nine weapons systems, their capabilities and their advantages and disadvantages. That could give them a tactical edge on the battlefield.
So, the question to you: how many guns can you run? Not that your average concealed carry Armed American is likely to have to pick up a bad guy’s gun and use it to defend life and limb but you never know . . .