11-20-2011, 02:11 AM
I had read another account of that MSG Pryor incident years ago when he got the Silver Star, and may have misinterpreted it to come away thinking that a speed reload had contributed to him winning the fight.
Either way, I personally train to reload as fast as I can do it without going spastic and losing control, which makes things worse when you fumble. I also do it while slung-up, vest on, jogging in place, prone, rolled left, rolled right, and I will work in some other oddball positions into my mag change drills, which I do when I'm shooting carbines high volume.
In my 1st Scout Platoon, we were taught one technique where we stuffed the empty mags in our BDU tops as we peeled back during break contact drills. This required you to tuck your BDU top into your trousers, and it even led me to start cutting off my lower pockets on the front of the BDU top, which I then sewed onto the upper sleeves, after taking a ton of dosimeter pouches (that one evreybody thought was for pen) from thrashed BDU's and using them for mini compartments under the sleeve pockets for SERE items. Anyway, the "stuff it in BDU top technique" doesn't work with SAAPI plates, but is viable for those who don't have armor, provided you tuck in your top so the mags don't fall out.
I built my own dump pouch and leg rigs, but I think they come more into use during range drills, and maybe extended contact like a lot of the guys are encountering in A-stan when on dismounted patrols.
I've also experimented with two mags clamped together side-by-side, but opted to not use that technique since dealing with them when empty is an issue, and the exposed mag can encounter more debris being introduced into it when going through brush, or in a sandy environment.
I think the hardest thing to internalize when fighting in these dynamic environments is when to throw the switch of aggression into maximum overdrive, and then turn it off and be patient while your buddies consolidate or communicate with you. I've made the mistake before, when I had much less training, and it would have ended up with fratricide had it been real on at least two occasions I can think of, without a threat even being in the rooms.
The fog of war can be thickest in MOUT, especially at night.
Either way, I personally train to reload as fast as I can do it without going spastic and losing control, which makes things worse when you fumble. I also do it while slung-up, vest on, jogging in place, prone, rolled left, rolled right, and I will work in some other oddball positions into my mag change drills, which I do when I'm shooting carbines high volume.
In my 1st Scout Platoon, we were taught one technique where we stuffed the empty mags in our BDU tops as we peeled back during break contact drills. This required you to tuck your BDU top into your trousers, and it even led me to start cutting off my lower pockets on the front of the BDU top, which I then sewed onto the upper sleeves, after taking a ton of dosimeter pouches (that one evreybody thought was for pen) from thrashed BDU's and using them for mini compartments under the sleeve pockets for SERE items. Anyway, the "stuff it in BDU top technique" doesn't work with SAAPI plates, but is viable for those who don't have armor, provided you tuck in your top so the mags don't fall out.
I built my own dump pouch and leg rigs, but I think they come more into use during range drills, and maybe extended contact like a lot of the guys are encountering in A-stan when on dismounted patrols.
I've also experimented with two mags clamped together side-by-side, but opted to not use that technique since dealing with them when empty is an issue, and the exposed mag can encounter more debris being introduced into it when going through brush, or in a sandy environment.
I think the hardest thing to internalize when fighting in these dynamic environments is when to throw the switch of aggression into maximum overdrive, and then turn it off and be patient while your buddies consolidate or communicate with you. I've made the mistake before, when I had much less training, and it would have ended up with fratricide had it been real on at least two occasions I can think of, without a threat even being in the rooms.
The fog of war can be thickest in MOUT, especially at night.