The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant Megathread

[Siege]

My G3 was 30 years old at the time of my using it.

I'm guessing it was at least well-maintained.  The M60 issued to my squad in ROTC advanced camp was Vietnam-era and had definitely seen better days.  We could never get that thing to reliably fire more than 5 or 6 rounds at a time.  Then again, the M16A2s we had could not have been too old but were also worn the hell out. 

The M16A1s we shared with a local National Guard unit back at school were pristine, though.  Plus you could easily remove the thing that blocked the selecter switch from full-auto

Well, yeah. It never gave me any trouble. Some guys had issues with the thingies you put on the muzzle so you can properly fire blanks without having to manually reload after each shot, but that's about it. Same with our machine guns. Those were really fun. Or the Uzis. I was a crappy shooter, though. Even with pistols. The only thing I was half way decent with was the MG.

Pistols are harder to shoot accuraly than rifles.
You only have two points of contact, while you got 3 with a rifle.
Machine guns are easy when fired from a tripod, but it takes a lot of training to get the gunner to properly use the sights and deliver accurate fire with his first burst.
If you fire your MG at the enemy and miss, you just gave away your position and became an early warning system for the enemy.
"Walking the rounds into the target" is not an effective engagement technique, to say the least.

[jimmy olsen]

An unwise decision

http://rt.com/news/184836-isis-putin-kadyrov-syria/

'This message is to you, Vladimir Putin': ISIS threatens 'to liberate Chechnya and Caucasus'

Published time: September 03, 2014 17:05

Islamic State jihadists in Syria have made a video threatening to bring the Russian republic of Chechnya into their self-proclaimed caliphate, after capturing Russian-made planes in Syria. The viral video drew an angry response from the Chechen leader.

The radical Islamists, who have been fighting the government troops of Bashar Assad, captured a key base in Tabqa in northern Syria late last week. Amongst their loot was a hangar containing several antiquated Soviet-made Sukhoi planes, which prompted the Jihadists to record a video address that has now gone viral.

"This message is addressed to you, oh Vladimir Putin. These are your aircraft which you sent to Bashar, and with the help of Allah we will send them back to you," says a militant in Arabic, though accented Russian voices can be heard off-camera.

"Remember this. And with the permission of Allah we will liberate Chechnya and all the Caucasus. The Islamic State exists and it will exist and it will expand with the help of Allah. Your throne is already shaking. It is in danger and it will collapse when we get to you. We are on the way with Allah's permission," says a second Islamic State fighter.

It is unlikely that the rebels have pilots to operate the Russian-made planes, and modern, working jets were reportedly flown out of the base prior to its capture, which resulted in the public executions of 250 government soldiers.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the flamboyant President of the Chechen Republic, which is a highly-autonomous part of Russia, reacted angrily to the video.

"Those bastards have nothing to do with Islam. They are enemies of Muslims everywhere," he wrote on his Facebook page.

"Whoever dares to threaten Russia and say out loud the name of our President Vladimir Putin will be destroyed right where he is... These people will end their days under the hot sun of Syria and Iraq and moments after death they will be greeted by the flames of eternal hell."

Kadyrov also intimated that IS "took orders from their handlers in Western security services."

Russia's General Prosecutor has opened a criminal investigation over the potential incitement to violence contained in the statement, and has asked the communications watchdog to block the video on all social networks.

Chechen fighters and field commanders have featured prominently in the uprising against Bashar Assad, almost from its start over three years ago. While a number of them may have departed directly from the Russian republic, others are likely veterans or relatives of exiles from the two separatist Chechen wars that took place in the 1990s.

The Islamic State is a Sunni jihadist group that formed during the sectarian conflict in Iraq following the toppling of Saddam Hussein by the United States and its allies in 2003. In June, it proclaimed itself a caliphate, which currently stretches from northern Syria to central Iraq. 

[Valmy]

Kadyrov also intimated that IS “took orders from their handlers in Western security services.”

Ok now that is awesome.

[Ed Anger]

Kadyrov also intimated that IS "took orders from their handlers in Western security services."

Ok now that is awesome.

You need to read more RT. CIA controls everything.

[derspiess]

Pistols are harder to shoot accuraly than rifles.
You only have two points of contact, while you got 3 with a rifle.

Yep.  I'm a much better shot with a rifle than pistol, but pistol qualification seemed way easier than rifle (after I got my technique down I routinely shot 40/40 on the rifle course, but it was still more stressful). 

Machine guns are easy when fired from a tripod, but it takes a lot of training to get the gunner to properly use the sights and deliver accurate fire with his first burst.
If you fire your MG at the enemy and miss, you just gave away your position and became an early warning system for the enemy.
"Walking the rounds into the target" is not an effective engagement technique, to say the least.

We got very limited MG training-- basically they showed us the M249, M60, and M2 and let us fire a ridiculously small belt through each.  The M2 was easy since it was on a tripod and I had vehicle-sized targets to shoot at, but I don't know how the hell anyone can accurately fire an MG on a bipod. 

[DGuller]

The trick is to make sure that the MG is pointed at the enemy at all times during the firing of the burst.

[Ed Anger]

The trick is to make sure that the MG is pointed at the enemy at all times during the firing of the burst.

Or like you was taught, into the backs of your own troops to encourage them to advance.

[mongers]

The trick is to make sure that the MG is pointed at the enemy at all times during the firing of the burst.

And ideally, no 9 year old children should be involved.

[derspiess]

The trick is to make sure that the MG is pointed at the enemy at all times during the firing of the burst.

Or like you was taught, into the backs of your own troops to encourage them to advance.

DG got the bullets but not the gun in his training.  "The one with the rifle shoots..."

[Syt]

MG3 had a bipod. Obviously you need to lean into it A LOT, and make sure your feet are pushing against something. A guy got a black eye because he didn't lean into it.

At exercises we only got 15 live rounds. For target practice the trick was to fire as short a burst as possible (the lowest you can manage is two rounds). But that's obviously not how you use the weapon IRL where you would go (at least that's what we were told) for ten to fifteen round bursts.

[Ed Anger]

The trick is to make sure that the MG is pointed at the enemy at all times during the firing of the burst.

Or like you was taught, into the backs of your own troops to encourage them to advance.

DG got the bullets but not the gun in his training.  "The one with the rifle shoots..."

Ah, DG was the dude reading bulletins from STAVKA through a bullhorn.

[DGuller]

Stop mocking me! 

[Darth Wagtaros]

He's not wrong about the eternal flames of hell part.

[derspiess]

MG3 had a bipod. Obviously you need to lean into it A LOT, and make sure your feet are pushing against something. A guy got a black eye because he didn't lean into it.

At exercises we only got 15 live rounds. For target practice the trick was to fire as short a burst as possible (the lowest you can manage is two rounds). But that's obviously not how you use the weapon IRL where you would go (at least that's what we were told) for ten to fifteen round bursts.

A Danish dude I knew once told me in his Army days he could get his MG3 to fire a single round by tapping on some part of it (maybe with a partial trigger squeeze?).  Not sure what the point would be since it would be wildly inaccurate due to the tapping, but he was pretty proud to have figured it out.

[Siege]

MG3 had a bipod. Obviously you need to lean into it A LOT, and make sure your feet are pushing against something. A guy got a black eye because he didn't lean into it.

At exercises we only got 15 live rounds. For target practice the trick was to fire as short a burst as possible (the lowest you can manage is two rounds). But that's obviously not how you use the weapon IRL where you would go (at least that's what we were told) for ten to fifteen round bursts.

Rapid fire for a 7.62x51mm MG is 200 rounds per minute, 10 to 13 rounds per burst, 2 to 3 seconds apart, with barrel change every 2 minutes.
The problem with this is that you can't control a burst pass 9 rounds. The recoil of the MG tends to push the buttstock down and left, especially on the bipod, with the rounds climbing right and high. Even if you compensate for this applying the opposite force, your beaten zone, where the rounds impact, will widen enourmously when compared to a 6-9 rounds burst.

Sustain rate of fire is 100 rounds per minute, 6 to 9 rounds per burst, 4 to 5 seconds apart, barrel change every 10 mikes. Because you are always limited in the amount of rounds you can carry, gun math force you rely on sustain rate of fire as your primary rate of fire, going rapid only for short times to suppress the enemy right before friendlies jump on top of them, or in the defense right when the enemy is on top of you, within 35 meters.

So, for rapid fire, I make my guys fire 6 to 9 rounds as in sustained, but with only 1 or 2 seconds between burst.
More than 9 rounds is really a waste. Even on tripod.