Posing with SFC Clarkson and Doc Ballard. Doc is the senior medic in ABU, and SFC Clarkson is the 1st Platoon Sergeant.
I was in my supply conex, and was sorting and counting the 40 mm ammo.Each one of those rounds are used in the MK-19 Automatic Grenade launcher. The MK-I9 is effective at 1,500 meters against point targets,such as an individual, and out to 2,200 meters against area targets,like a building. The weapon has a sustained rate of fire of 40 rounds each minute and a rapid rate of fire of 60 rounds each minute. Sustained means careful, controlled burst, and rapid is trigger down for a full minute. The weapon system (gun, tripod, and T&E) weighs about 120pounds. A container of 48 rounds weighs 64 pounds. The weight of this system precludes man packing for other than short distances, which means that it is not carried by a crew, almost predominantly vehicle mounted.The standard round of ammunition is HEDP,(High Explosive, dual purpose)which can defeat 50-mm of RHA (Rolled Homogenized Armor) or 16 inches of concrete. That's what I have laid out on the ground. It was an interesting day, since those are old rounds, which means that there maybe some already armed, or unstable. But it is pretty hard to make them prematurely detonate. An HE(High Explosive) round is also available for engaging troops in the open or other soft targets. Both rounds have a bursting radius of 15 meters and a flat trajectory out to 800 meters.The weapon can be employed in an indirect-fire role to engage targets from 800 meters out to the maximum effective range. Which basically means we use it like a mortar, launched at a 45 degree angle to maximize distance of the round.
