MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. -- Green figures darted up a desert mountain carrying their savior -- M240G machine guns with thousands of rounds of ammo - and, out in the distance, more of the same men dashed down toward a small valley in the Mojave Desert clutching their 60mm mortars with rounds and sights.
The mission of these Leathernecks is to provide support for rifle platoons. They've got the big guns that take out enemy defensive positions from more than 1,000 meters. They are members of Weapons Platoon, Company L, 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marines, 4th Marine Division, taking part in Combined Arms Exercise 7-02 here.
With their Shoulder Mounted Assault Weapons (SMAW), M240G machine guns, and 60mm mortars, these Marines pack the big punch that wins firefights.
"If we weren't a factor in the infantry, the line platoons couldn't move forward to their objective, said Sgt. John Meadows, mortar section leader.
The clock began to tick and the first team of mortars ran through the terrain. They had only five minutes to set up shop and fire a round. One Marine draped the "hip pocket artillery" on his back. The other two carried the base plate, rounds, and the sight system. They reached their objective and began to expediently set up the weapon for fire.
"After the base plate sinks in the sand, and you hook the weapon on, you have to make sure the weapon is level with the terrain," Meadows said.
Then they begin to sight a target about 1,000 meters away. There is still time left on the clock for these Marines to make their objective, but it keeps ticking in their heads.
"You got a million things going through your head at once," said Lance Cpl. Chris Stinson, gunner, mortar section. "You just have to take a few breaths and focus on your task, suppress the enemy."
The first round was dropped down the chamber. It hit the firing pin and blasted out of the tube. Everyone waited patiently to hear the splash of the mortar--hopefully on the planned target. About ten seconds later it landed a little behind the intended target, but this weapon is by no means intended for its accuracy -- it's known for its ability to keep the enemies' heads down and its destructive power. It has a maximum effective radius of 15-20 meters and can cause casualties up to 30 meters from wherever the shot lands.
The mission was a success; they hit their target and suppressed the enemy in time for the line platoon to push forward.
"I love this weapon," Meadows said. "The Marines want to learn and most of all shoot it as much as possible."
Across the range from the mortars, a team of Gulf' was making their way up to their position, a hill overlooking the range.
"We're the backbone of the infantry," said Cpl. Jon Patrick, 3rd Squad leader.
These Marines have an accurate weapon of up to 1,830 meters and rounds are able to travel 3,725 meters to suppress the enemy.
"We have to know our objectives and also the objectives of the line platoons," said Sgt. Michael S. Wilson, a squad leader in the M240G section. "When the line platoons destroy an enemy position, we have to know to redirect our fire to another enemy defensive position to provide support."
This is highly important to avoid friendly fire casualties. The machine gunners on the hill have to pay attention to the whole area to make sure this doesn't occur, said Wilson. Star clusters are shot out into the sky to signal us to redirect our fire onto the next position.
"So we know we have enough ammo to complete our mission, we use a low sustain rate of fire throughout the exercise," said Sgt. Michael W. Walker, machinegun section leader.
Each of the M240G machine guns fired seven round bursts at their targets. Between each burst they stayed locked on their target and waited an exact number of seconds before laying down fire again.
"The machine gunners gave us awesome support as we made our way up the range," said Sgt. Anthony S. Daughtry, 1st Platoon guide, Co. L.
A weapons platoon is an essential component in an infantry company. Without suppression, line platoons could never move forward in a real world environment. The whole concept is to keep the enemy's head down, if not killing them, so rifle platoons can meet and destroy their objectives. And these Marines did exactly that here in extremely hot conditions.