Corps Wants to Put Silencers on a Whole Infantry Battalion

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Corps Wants to Put Silencers on a Whole Infantry Battalion

Military.com | Nov 22, 2016 | by Hope Hodge Seck


In a series of experiments this year, units from 2nd Marine Division will be silencing every element of an infantry battalion -- from M4 rifles to .50 caliber machine guns.

The commanding general of 2nd Marine Division, Maj. Gen. John Love, described these plans during a speech to Marines at the Marine Corps Association Ground Dinner this month near Washington, D.C.

The proof-of-concept tests, he said, included Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, which began an Integrated Training Exercise pre-deployment last month at Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms.

"What we've found so far is it revolutionizes the way we fight," Love told Military.com. "It used to be a squad would be dispersed out over maybe 100 yards, so the squad leader couldn't really communicate with the members at the far end because of all the noise of the weapons. Now they can actually just communicate, and be able to command and control and effectively direct those fires."

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Christian Wade, the division's gunner, or infantry weapons officer, said the Lima companies in two other battalions -- 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, and 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines -- now had silencers, or suppressors, on all their rifles, including the M27 infantry automatic rifles. All units are set to deploy in coming months. The combat engineer platoons that are attached to these units and will deploy with them will also carry suppressed weapons, he said.

Suppressors work by slowing the escape of propellant gases when a gun is fired, which drastically reduces the sound signature. Used by scout snipers and special operations troops to preserve their stealth, the devices are also valuable for their ability to minimize the chaos of battle, enabling not only better communication but also improved situational awareness and accuracy.

"It increases their ability to command and control, to coordinate with each other," Wade told Military.com. "They shoot better, because they can focus more, and they get more discipline with their fire."

The noise of gunfire can create an artificial stimulus that gives the illusion of effectiveness, he said. When it's taken away, he explained, Marines pay more attention to their shooting and its effect on target.

"They've got to get up and look, see what effect they're having on the enemy because you can't hear it," he said.

He added that suppressors were already in common use by near-peer militaries, including those of Russia and China.

Wade said he is working on putting suppressors on the Marines' M249 light machine gun and M240G medium machine gun, using equipment from Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command. The third and final objective will be the suppression of the .50 caliber heavy machine gun, he said.

As the units conduct training and exercises with suppressors, 2nd Marine Division is collaborating with the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab to collect and aggregate data. Weapons with suppressors require additional maintenance and cleaning to prevent fouling, and the cost, nearly $700,000 to outfit an infantry battalion, might give planners pause.

But Wade said he will continue to gather data for the next year-and-a-half, following the units as they deploy. And he expects the idea to have gained significant traction among Marine Corps leadership by then, he said.

"When I show how much overmatch we gain … it will have sold itself," he said.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at@HopeSeck.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/11/22/corps-put-silencers-whole-infantry-battalion.html

Regards,
hm
 
Couldn't this be used as an example to help get the HPA passed? If soldiers want suppressors to protect their hearing, why not make them easily accessible for civilians who use them for hunting, recreation, and self defense? I have high hopes for Trump and his 2nd Amendment Coalition passing the HPA.
 
They are saying that battlefield chaos will be minimized due to the fact it will be quieter and cause less confusion. Well that goes both ways, we've used loud music and a lot noise including loud and constant gunfire to confuse and suppress the enemy's actions and now that tactical advantage will be minimized as well. And if the Government pays $148 for a hammer, what will all those silencers cost us tax payers? I don't think it was well thought out, and I'll bet the commander who is pushing this idea will have a nice, high paying job as a consultant with the contract winning silencer company waiting for him when he gets out. Nothing against silencers, just this idea for mass military use of them. They wear noise canceling communication to protect their hearing already anyway.
 
I don't care what it takes or what it costs. My brothers in arms get what they need to come home whole and victorious.
 
One big advantage to suppressors is reducing flash signature. If Johnny Jihad can't shoot at Marines because they can't see the flash signatures to shoot towards, then by all means issue them. I have a buddy that was deployed several times to Iraq with a special missions group of Rangers. He always talked about when they were in engagements the groups running suppressors wouldn't take return fire at night but the regular GI infantry would take return fire because the enemy could find their location from the flash signatures.
 
I'm sure it would be a minimum of $2000 a suppressor. I'm all for the safety of our troops and allowing them to kick @ss but personally I hope they just pull our guys out of the middle east. Our fighting muslims has spread islam around the globe just the same way obama fighting the 2nd Amendment has increased gun sales dramatically.

The more we kill the more enemies we create. Get the [beeep] out.
 
^^^ Nope you gotta stackem high and deep. Ignoring muslimes is not the answer. Neither is deplomacy. They understand death only.
 
Originally Posted By: sandy hicks^^^ Nope you gotta stackem high and deep. Ignoring muslimes is not the answer. Neither is deplomacy. They understand death only.

We are giving them exactly what they want... Their jihad, we kill them and they get their virgins, and we p!ss off their whole family, then his six sons decide to fight the infidels that killed their father. All in the hopes of dieing for islam so they get their virgins.

Letting them live in their own sh!t hole is the last thing they want. We kill them, they get virgins, we fight wars in their country and they then get spread out to other countries. Sorry but you are wrong, Europe and even my state that now has a muslim voted into office is proof. Our "war on terror" has spread islam everywhere.
 
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If they just wanted to live in their own sh!t hole as you say, then that would be great to leave them alone there. The problem is they intend to create a worldwide caliphate where everyone must submit to allah or die. That is their intention here in the good ol' USA as well.

There is one answer, and that is to make it too painful for them to bear. It can't happen when the rules of engagement are ridiculous. Hopefully that will change soon.
 
Originally Posted By: Rock Knocker
Letting them live in their own sh!t hole is the last thing they want.


It's the last thing they want, and they're all too broke to fly themselves all around the world spreading their caliphate. Not if there's a war though, then they are refugees and they have other people ship them around the world and accept them with open arms.
 
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