A US soldier on patrol In Mosul, Iraq, scans the street warily, his M4 carbine held at the ready and ammunition pouches strapped across his chest. Note the front grip on his carbine for more stable handling of the weapon.
CHAPTER ONE
INFANTRY FIREPOWER
Although the modern infantry unit can draw upon a massive spectrum of firepower – including artillery, armoured support and aerial bombardment – it still needs to possess the fundamental skills of small-arms handling to be effective. Without such skills, the unit will be unable to effect the fire-and-manoeuvre tactics so central to competent war fighting, and it will also jeopardize its own safety should support resources not be available. As recent experience in Iraq and Afghanistan has shown, small-arms engagements still occur with great frequency in low-intensity and counter-insurgency warfare, as well as in open conflict, so personal weapons handling remains at the forefront of military training.
THE FAMILY OF WEAPONS
Military units deploy small arms within certain categories, each category complementing the other in terms of firepower and capabilities. The members of this family are: handguns, submachine-guns, rifles and machine-guns.
In military use, handguns have limited applications. Their low penetrative power, relatively poor accuracy and limited range of around 30m (98ft) make them inadequate weapons in substantial firefights. They are primarily used as backup weapons in case of main weapon failure and as precautionary side arms for situations where security issues are not pressing. Typical examples of modern military handguns are the Beretta Model 92 (the standard side arm of the US Army) and the Glock 17/18, both weapons in 9mm (.35in).
NATO troops stop for a communications break during a training exercise. They are armed with a mix of weapons: most have AK assault rifles while one soldier carries the US M16. All the guns are fitted with laser training devices.
Submachine-guns are, in many ways, the least commonly deployed types of small arm in military units. The high rate of fire and low-powered pistol rounds used by weapons such as the 9mm Uzi and the 9mm Ingram Mac 10 make them lethal at very close ranges, but wildly inaccurate for aimed fire. However, Special Forces soldiers use high-quality submachine-guns such as Heckler& Koch’s MP5 family for urban counter-terrorist operations, where instant heavy firepower is useful. Beyond that, submachine-guns tend to be used in a similar way to pistols as backup weapons, particularly for armoured vehicle crews (the submachine-gun’s smaller dimensions ensure that it is easily stowed).
RIFLES
The rifle is the defining small-arms type within infantry units, and each soldier is issued with one as his standard weapon. Most military assault rifles today are either 5.56mm (.21in) firearms such as the US M16A2 and British SA80A2, or 7.62mm (.3in) weapons such as the FN FAL or the infamous AK-47/AKM. (Although even the AK family includes small-calibre rifles such as the 5.45mm AK-74.) Assault rifles command ranges of up to 500m (1640ft), and they provide accurate fire in semi-auto, burst or
