We had the opportunity to watch a test fire drill the other night of the 60mm mortar team shooting illumination rounds and Mk-19 40mm grenade launcher gunners firing at a berm in front of our combat outpost here in Paktika province Afghanistan.
We had a great time watching the Mk-19 fire, and it reminded me that the US troops do have a pretty good mix of weaponry to engage enemy attacks. Though the Mk-19 doesn’t have the range of an RPG, its ability to rapidly fire and even defilade targets is pretty impressive. We also talked to the Joes about the Mk-48 – the Army’s new lightweight 7.62mm machine gun. Bottom line is they love it, but they say that it is susceptible to jamming.
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We owe a very special thanks to American Technologies Network which supplied Kit Up! with two sets of night vision monoculars and helmet mounts. Without them, we would not have been able to shoot the night footage on missions here. Though the civilian version of the PVS-14 we got has a narrower view than the military version, it’s better than stumbling around in the dark.
So, again, thanks to ATN for their help and be sure to come back to see more night vision footage from our missions here.
