I'm shocked our troops don't get even basic AK-47/74 training.

[Squid]

Besides loading and safety "off", the one thing AK does that might require

at least a couple hours is MUZZLE CLIMB.

I believe there is a whole host of different ways you are supposed to counter AK muzzle climb when doing rapid semi-auto fire, depending on your body position.

These are all muscle memory things you really want to get down and have some expert tell you when you are doing it right.

When my GI buddies showed me the various kneeling shooting positions I thought they were very unnatural and would take lots of practice to be practical.

Isn't the AK banana clip a lot bigger than M-16 and requires different prone position?

Also the whole different trajectory of the AK round.

[Sniper3142]

Squid, you sound like someone who has never served in the United States Military.

I have.

The issue weapon for the U.S. Military is the M16 family of weapons.

There is no need for U.S. troops to learn about the AK series of weapons. Nor is there a need to train them on FAL, HK, or Sig series weapons.

At best, a general familiarization course on multiple weapons should be implemented.

[Army]

Why would I want to pick up a weapon that nobody knows has been altered to detonate? Why would I use a crappy Soviet machine gun that is more scary to the user, than the use-ee? Fixed a BUNCH of 12.7 and 14.5 Soviet from the Georgian Army. Was amazed at their near junk status as front line weapons....and these were NEW machine guns.

We are trained to kill with what we are issued with, and we do far better than the bad guy at this.

[USMC 82-86]

at least a couple hours is MUZZLE CLIMB.

I believe there is a whole host of different ways you are supposed to counter AK muzzle climb when doing rapid semi-auto fire, depending on your body position.

These are all muscle memory things you really want to get down and have some expert tell you when you are doing it right.

When my GI buddies showed me the various kneeling shooting positions I thought they were very unnatural and would take lots of practice to be practical.

Isn't the AK banana clip a lot bigger than M-16 and requires different prone position?

Also the whole different trajectory of the AK round.

We would almost always use 2-3 round burst if were on Rock N Roll. We did not have a lot of muzzle climb, so if we picked up another system it would not change the manner in which we would conserve ammo.

We placed a emphasis on accurate fire.

[cannon]

My son did two tours as infantry. He sent videos of him and his buddies playing with AK's on the range.

So while there may not be formal schooling the troops are aquainting themselves with battle field pick ups.

[DeCloaK]

When I was in bootcamp (USMC) back in 96 we got training on assembly and dissassembly of AK's. We didn't get to fire them but the Drill Instructors did. Unless that has changed don't worry I think our troops can handle themselves even with "enemy" weapons.

[ironman5669]

My unit back in the early 80's got training with ak's rpg's uzi's and galil's, we were light infantry 7th IDL WHO AHHH!!!

[dwtt]

at least a couple hours is MUZZLE CLIMB.

I believe there is a whole host of different ways you are supposed to counter AK muzzle climb when doing rapid semi-auto fire, depending on your body position.

These are all muscle memory things you really want to get down and have some expert tell you when you are doing it right.

When my GI buddies showed me the various kneeling shooting positions I thought they were very unnatural and would take lots of practice to be practical.

Isn't the AK banana clip a lot bigger than M-16 and requires different prone position?

Also the whole different trajectory of the AK round.

How many years have you been in the military?

[dbo31]

I was in the Marine Corp 6 years(1st RADBN) and got weapons training on foreign weapons we might encounter..AK variants..old Enfields..etc..didn't spend a ton of time on them but def learned ammo type..basic field stripping..capabilities etc.

[Noonanda]

There are 2 schools/course in the Marine Corps that conduct Foreign Weapons Training. First 1 is the Foreign Weapons Instructors Course (FWIC) taught at Quantico Va.

Second one is the Foreign Weapons package we teach here in 29 Palms to Marines preparing to go on Advisor tours to Afghanistan. For example we teach AKM / AK74, PKM, SVD, and RPG. then the students get to fire all the weapons except the RPG.
The Army has a similar course, I think they are taught at Ft Bragg andFt Irwin but not sure.
Squid, you dont seem to really know either what you are talking about, or are just phrasing your questions wrong.

[haole_50]

I laugh at the AF training; my dad was in Viet Nam (70s) and their base was attacked. He said a VC came into his "hootch" with an AK-47, but my dad got the best of him - VC dropped his weapon and ran and my dad couldn't figure out how to operate it. I received basic weapons training in the Army, and can pretty much firgure out how any weapon operates. This is the training they DO need - especially if your weapon fails and the BGs is available.

[fighterpilot562]

Well there should be some training on foreign guns, i mean why not?

[PyroFox79]

Also its very frowned upon to use enemy weapons while engaged because the different sound signatures get confusing. This was something I heard that came from the Vietnam era.

[SnWnMe]

One scenario where familiarity with enemy weapons might be important is in an escape scenario where the SVM is suddenly presented an opportunity to wrestle an enemy's AK away from him. It should be second nature to use it when not even seconds but fractions of a second counts.

[TAK]

All enlisted Marines that go through infantry training, ITB, get training with foreign weapons and get to handle them. They don't fire them though.