Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit

by Tom Clancy

  * M7A3 CS Riot Hand Grenade-This is a "non-lethal" device, designed to deter or incapacitate a rioting crowd. Weighing only 15.5 oz/.44 kg, it is loaded with a mixture of pelletized CS (tear gas) and a burning agent, which helps atomize and disperse the gas. When inhaled, ingested, or exposed to mucous membranes (eyes, mouth, etc.), it incapacitates the victim within fifteen to thirty seconds, with an effect duration of less than ten minutes following exposure to fresh air and, if necessary, water to flush the eyes and mouth. Troops using the M7A3 normally wear a gas mask to avoid exposure themselves.

  * M18 Colored Smoke Hand Grenade-The M18 is not designed to kill or wound anyone. It simply marks areas for helicopter landing zones and no-shoot areas during strikes by aircraft and helicopters. Weighing some 19 oz/.54 kg, these grenades come in four varieties: red, green, yellow, or violet smoke. Each M 18 will generate smoke for approximately fifty to ninety seconds, and the volume of smoke is suf ficient for screening squad movements, if the wind is not too strong.

  There is little research on improved hand grenades, since these do exactly what is required. The Marines maintain a stock of more than 1,138,000 grenades of all types, showing how important they are to the firepower of the Corps.

  M203 40mm Grenade Launcher

  One of the problems with hand grenades is that a human being (even Dan Marino) can only throw one so far. In World War I grenade-throwing attachments were developed for bolt-action rifles to provide more standoff range for the infantry. These were not direct-fire weapons, and they were not terribly accurate; the grenades had to be lofted, like a mortar round. During the Vietnam War the U.S. Army introduced the M79 grenade launcher (nicknamed the "thump gun"). This stubby weapon, resembling an oversized, sawed-off shotgun, fired a 40mm shell, called a grenade, to a range of about 150 meters/492 feet. At this range, a good thump gunner could put a round through a door or window. Each 40mm projectile has about the same lethality as a hand grenade, but with considerably more accuracy and range. There are several different types (smoke, fragmentation, gas, flechette, etc.), with various effects.

  The M79 was used extensively in Vietnam, and is still favored by law enforcement agencies for riot control and SWAT teams, but it is an extra weapon the soldier has to lug around that is not useful for anything else. Thus, the M203 grenade launcher was created. The M203 is a "clip-on" device, which attaches to the bottom of the forward receiver of an M16A2 combat rifle. A Marine with the M203 still has full use of his M16A2, but he can also launch 40mm grenades. You load it by pushing the barrel of the M203 forward, and then sliding a round into the breech. By pulling the barrel tube backwards, you lock the weapon shut and are ready to fire. All you have to do is release the safety, aim the weapon, and pull the M203's trigger, located just forward of the magazine loading chute of the M16A2. Surprisingly, the M203 is quite accurate, and gunners can put rounds through a door or window at quite a good range. Each fire team includes one M203 gunner. It is a deadly little weapon, well liked by Marines.

  An M203 40mm grenade launcher attached to an M4 5.56mm carbine. The M4 is the shortened version of the M16A2 combat rifle.

  JOHN D. GRESHAM

  Mines

  Mines are weapons that wait, sometimes for decades. Combat soldiers both love and hate land mines. They love to sit behind a minefield and watch the enemy blunder into it. But they hate the feeling of helplessness and terror that comes from being caught in a minefield, seeing their friends suddenly and horribly maimed. And then once the war is over, the winners get to pick all the damned things up and disarm them. Unfortunately, this doesn't always happen, and large areas of luckless countries like Cambodia, Angola, and Afghanistan have been rendered uninhabitable by millions of land mines. Although some European countries that profited hugely from the sale of land mines are beginning to ban their export for humanitarian reasons, mines are so effective and cheap that there is little hope of a workable international law prohibiting their manufacture and use.

  The Marines deploy a variety of different mines, including the following, which are man-portable:* M16A1 "Bouncing Betty"--This is a "bounding" anti-personnel mine. When someone steps on one of the firing prongs (which are left exposed when the M16A 1 is buried), a small propelling charge fires it about 6f/1.8m into the air, at which point it detonates. The M16A1 contains a 1-1b/.45-kg explosive charge, which produces a lethal fragmentation range of around 88f/27m.

  * M18A1 "Claymore"--This is a flat curved plate filled with steel balls embedded in plastic explosive. It has folding metal prongs that stick into the ground and a chilling label embossed on the housing: "This side toward enemy." It functions like a huge shotgun shell. Once the M 18A1 is emplaced, it can either be fired by a trip wire or command-detonated from a distance. When detonated, the 1.5-1b/.68-kg C-4 charge fires a 60deg fan-shaped pattern of fragments, each the size of a ball bearing. The fragments are lethal out to a range of around 328f/100m. The Claymore is primarily used for ambushes, but it can also function as a "silent sentry," covering ground that cannot be brought under direct observation and fire.

  Anti-personnel mines are effective against opposing infantry, and Marines can carry them in sufficient numbers to make them a real threat. Though there are larger mines like the M15 and M18 used against tanks, they are too heavy to be man-portable.

  Explosives and Breaching Tools

  In addition to grenades and mines, Marines frequently carry supplies of plastic explosives and detonation gear for demolitions. They may use explosives to breach doors and other obstacles. In most cases, these are improvised devices, tailored to a particular situation. Today, C-4 is the most common explosive used by U.S. forces. With the consistency of modeling clay, it is extremely powerful, clean, and quick-burning. Another common explosive tool is detonator cord, which burns so hot and fast it can cut through metal. These explosives are usually detonated electrically, with a positive control whenever possible. Explosives experts hate time fuses, because they are just one more thing to fail, or to be disarmed later.

  The growing menace of domestic terrorism raises legitimate concerns about showing people how to build homemade explosive devices. For that reason I will not give you specifics. That said, explosives have some positive uses; they are not always used to kill or injure people. Consider a door. Any cop will tell you that going though a door with a perpetrator on the other side is a good time to have your insurance policy paid up and your sins confessed. Door-busting quickly and safely is vital, especially in the tricky business of hostage rescue. So consider this little improvised device.

  Cut a large coffee tin or other institutional food container in half, down the long axis. You now have a concave container, into which you loop a length of detonator cord and a detonator. On top of the detonator cord, you pack the remaining space with soft plastic packages of saline solution from the medical supplies carried by your Navy corpsman. Once this is done, the open side is sealed with duct tape. Now apply double-sided sticky foam tape over the duct tape. Then slap the sticky side onto the door you want to go through and step back. When the detonator is fired, it drives the saline liquid forward with such force that the door is knocked off its hinges. Since the explosion is quick and clean, and the area is drenched with the saline solution (its just salt water, remember), there is virtually no danger of fire.

  Marines learn dozens of such tricks for taking down different kinds of structures. To a properly trained Marine, explosives are another tool, like a saw or bulldozer, to get a job done. In the arts of combat, Marines are world-class masters of creative improvisation.

  Tools of the Trade

  "We must not be lulled into complacency because we have always

  been ready, relevant, and capable. What might be ready, relevant,

  and capable today may be less so the day after tomorrow. We

  must anticipate change, adapt to it, and foster it. We shall remain

  relevant only if we are willing to meet future challenges and

  adapt to new needs.
"

  --General Charles C. Krulak, Commandant of the Marine Corps

  Even though the Marines focus on building better personnel and giving them superb personal combat skills, the Corps still lugs around a fair amount of stuff. Perhaps not as much per capita as an armored unit or an Air Force wing, but even a small Marine Expeditionary Unit--Special Operations Capable--MEU (SOC)--must operate in many environments and roles. On one day, you might see an MEU (SOC) staging an embassy evacuation or rescue. On another day, the mission might be disaster relief or peacekeeping. Meanwhile, a MAGTF still has to be able to perform traditional combat missions, such as amphibious and helicopter assaults. A battalion landing team (BLT) like that in an MEU (SOC) might operate about two dozen armored vehicles, while an equivalent Army unit like a cavalry squadron would own three times that many. The difference is like the one between a draft horse and a thoroughbred. You can ride both, but the draft horse can also pull a cart or plow. The MAGTF is a shock unit (a thoroughbred), which requires reinforcement to conduct really long-term operations.

  The money that buys Marine weapons and equipment comes from three sources. First is "Blue" (Navy) money, which buys landing craft and amphibious ships, operated and maintained by sailors. Second comes "Blue" Navy dollars which buy "Green" equipment for Marines, like aircraft, helicopters, and communications and electronic equipment. Finally, there are "Green" Marine Corps funds, to purchase tanks, uniforms, missiles, etc. Marines only control the last category; they have to request the other two from the Navy. The Marines are technically part of the Department of the Navy, after all.

  In Fiscal Year 1995 (FY-1995), the Marines only received about $554 million in "Green" dollars. Even with the other "Blue" dollars from the Navy, the total Marine Corps procurement budget is under a billion dollars a year. This level of funding will have to increase if procurement of new systems like the tilt-rotor MV- 22B Osprey transport helicopter and Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAAV) is to begin in the next few years. The Corps still enjoys a strong base of public and legislative support, and it is lobbying hard for what it needs.

  Most Marine equipment is not designed specifically for the Marines. The Corps must depend on technologies and systems developed by other services, such as the Army and Air Force. The Air Force might define its key technologies as stealth, airframe structures, jet power plants, avionics, and precision guided weapons. The Army knows all about armor systems, ordnance, vehicle power trains, and command and control networks. By comparison, the Marines have only a few limited areas of technical specialization. These include tilt-rotor aircraft propulsion technology, high-speed water-planing hull designs, and lightweight man-portable anti-armor systems. By taking advantage of other services' technology investments, plus a few key investments of their own, the Marines have become the world's most capable sea soldiers. Remember, though, that the Marines have been on the cutting edge of technology since before World War II. Precision weapons delivery (dive bombing) and vertical envelopment (helicopter warfare) are Marine Corps inventions. Systems like AAAV, the MV-22B Osprey, and the Predator anti-tank rocket may represent the shape of the future for the other services as well.

  In reviewing the heavy equipment of the Corps, we'll look closely at only those that are Marine specific. For others, like the M 1A1 Abrams tank and the TOW antitank missile, you can refer to Armored Cav and Fighter Wing. Unlike the other services, the Marines are not defined by the equipment they use. They are defined by how they use the tools that they have, and the missions they perform.

  Personal Equipment and Sustenance

  The best personal weapons are of little value to the soldier without food, clothing, navigation equipment, and the like. Many such items used by the Marines are developed in Army laboratories and centers. For this reason, many Marines sometimes feel their requirements are held captive by their "big brother" the Army. Let's take a look.

  Clothing and Sleeping Gear

  The dress uniforms of the Marine Corps may be the smartest and best-looking of all the services, but the basic Battle Dress Uniform (BDU), or "Utilities" as they are known, is nearly identical to what the Army wears. BDUs come in a variety of camouflage patterns, including Woodlands (greens and browns), Desert (beige, brown, and gray), and Urban/Arctic (white, black, and gray), which doubles as a good winter/mountain uniform. BDUs come in various weights, from light knit (a fifty-fifty cotton/nylon rip-stop mix) to quilted high-technology fabrics (Gore-Tex, Supplex, Thermex, and FiberFill) for cold weather. They can be also treated with a waxy substance so that they do not absorb or pass chemical agents onto the skin of the wearer.

  Boots are a big problem. Though this situation is changing, the Corps has traditionally had inferior boots for the all-important feet of its Marines. New boots are finally being evaluated and fielded for the Marines. These include the Dannon desert boot, popular in the Persian Gulf in 1990 and 1991, as well as a new winter /wet boot system designed to keep feet dry in the worst conditions. The helmet is still the Kevlar "Fritz" design used by the Army, though the first new lightweight Kevlar-29 units are beginning to arrive.

  The Trimble Navigation Miniature Underwater GPS Receiver (MUGR), which utilizes a floating antenna to allow swimmers and divers to obtain highly accurate surveys and tactical positions.

  JOHN D. GRESHAM

  The biggest current challenge for outfitting Marines is clothing for cold- and wet-weather conditions. Historically we associate Marine operations with tropical weather, or more recently, with Middle Eastern deserts, but the Corps has faced arctic missions for over half a century. Since the U.S. occupation of Iceland in 1941, Marines have operated in high latitudes and altitudes. Even today, a Marine brigade's set of equipment is prepositioned in caves around Oslo, Norway, for operations on NATO's northern flank. The Corps is upgrading its mountain and cold-weather equipment, with new pants, parkas, mittens, socks, underwear, and balaclavas (hoods). There is a new four-part sleeping bag system, with inner and outer bags, liner and bivy sack (outer cover), certified for temperatures as low as -40deg F. Along with special cold-weather rations, these make combat operations in alpine regions and cold weather both possible and livable for Marines.

  Navigation

  In the last few years, navigation has been revolutionized by the NAVISTAR Global Positioning System (GPS). A constellation of twenty-four satellites in medium Earth orbit (about 11,000 mi/17,700 km in altitude) transmits calibrated signals that generate accurate three-dimensional positions. GPS receivers are increasingly portable, rugged, and cheap. Those receivers saw their first military use in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, where more than five thousand such systems in aircraft, ships, vehicles, and even handheld units contributed to victory over Iraq. Marines used GPS receivers in aircraft like the F/A-18 Hornet fighter bomber and landing craft like the LCAC, and handheld units in the air-ground liaison control (ANGLICO) teams that controlled artillery fire and airstrikes. GPS gave U.S. forces a major advantage on the battlefield, where knowing the exact time (from the satellite's onboard atomic clocks) and your own position is critical. GPS has emerged as a new kind of public utility, with ever-increasing military and civil applications. While the baseline civilian version is limited to 3-D accuracy of about 100 ft/30.5 m, military GPS signals are accurate to about 9.8 to 16.4 ft/3 to 5 m. Utilizing a code which must be punched into the receiver each day (called P(Y)-code), the military signals have proven so accurate and reliable that guided missiles and bombs can use them for guidance.

  Marines have embraced GPS with excitement and anticipation, as systems with embedded GPS arrive in greater numbers each year. Because the Corps is always interested in what technology can do for individual Marines, to make them more dangerous to enemies and safer to themselves, the Marines have worked hard to deliver P(Y)-code man-portable GPS receivers down to the squad level. This is a tough objective, because it requires procuring and fielding tens of thousands of such receivers. There are two current models: the Small, Lightweight GPS Receiver (SLGR
, built by Tremble Navigation) and the Portable, Lightweight GPS Receiver (PLGR, from Rockwell International). The "Slugger" and "Plugger" are about the size of portable stereos. Combined with a radio, they enable every Marine (theoretically) to call in artillery and air strikes with accuracy. By the dawn of the new century, every USMC aircraft and vehicle will have a GPS receiver, many of them embedded in navigation and fire-control systems. The eventual goal is to give every Marine an individual GPS navigation capability. General Krulak likes to talk about building a GPS receiver into the butt of every M16, and he is serious about it.

  One top priority is a new rescue radio for combat aviators. Current rescue radios assigned to U.S. combat flyers frankly stink. During Desert Storm, by simply direction-finding on their radios, Iraqi forces captured downed pilots before rescue forces could reach them. In the short term, there is a modification of the basic PRC-112 radio, called the Hook-112. The Hook-112 involves the addition of a GPS receiver and a burst transmitter to the basic PRC-112, beaming coordinates to rescue forces without betraying the position of the downed flyer. Further on, there is a system known as the Combat Survival/Evader Locator (CSEL), which will combine a GPS receiver with an almost undetectable satellite terminal into a small, handheld package.