Gunner Certification

Introduction
Leading SME: Guyan

So what are Gunners? Gunners are trained in the ability to lay suppressive fire and asset destruction through the use of high-volume light machine guns, squad automatic weapons (SAWs), and general-purpose machine guns. They are additionally trained as assistant gunners and are familiar with belt linking, barrel swaps, and heat mitigation. This workshop will touch on "talking guns".

Now, how do we go about doing this? You will find that a job as simple as being a machine gunner can in fact bring forth quite a few complexities, like any specialized role, it has its nuances--''and flaws. ''Two of the largest inconveniences you will face is the weight of your ammo and weapon overheating. If you want to learn more about USMC machine guns then you could ever want to know, check here.

Ammo Weight & Magazine Choice
Let's start with ammo and weight conservation. As you know, we have a strict 50 kilogram and under the policy so at to keep our efficiency during operations at peak. ''"Well what does that mean for me as a gunner?" ''You might ask. There are multiple ways of breaking up your ammo pool, but the most important of all is kicking all the non-essentials and carrying as much ammo as possible on your person. This means breaking down the weight of your plate-carrier, the weight of your backpack while empty--even bringing a lighter weight sidearm or changing your ''magazine type. Yes, even your magazine type.'' Specifically "hard-pack magazines". It all affects your overall weight value, and the lighter you are, the more ammo you can carry on your person and be as independent as possible. Being independent is a good thing, but having squadmates on and ready to assist is even better.

On that note, you will be left with two other alternatives. Breaking up your ammo within your four-man team, and loading any surplus ammunition into any surrounding vehicles that you will be bringing with you onto your missions. Use your assets. If you have access to a vehicle as a gunner, your first move should be to load it with as much ammunition you are granted. Additionally, any gunner should carry a healthy mix of "Tracer" magazines, or at least a few boxes of ammo that have the "mixed" configuration. Tracers serve the entire squad well as it allows you to coordinate the rest of your guns onto the target for your team, and allow your team to find exactly where the enemy is. Just always keep in mind, '' tracers work both ways. ''RHS/NATO tracer magazines have one tracer every fifth round in each "Mixed" belt.

Most importantly, being able to link belts as a machine gunner or assistant machine gunner, will allow you to keep your gunner constantly sending rounds downrange. You may perform this action by getting close to your gunner and pressing your ace interaction key and selecting "link belt". To gather an approximation of the number of rounds you currently have left in your magazine, simply press CTRL + R, and an estimation of that magazine will appear in the top left of your screen. In emergency situations, should you find yourself black on ammo, weapons systems such as the M249 SAW may feed 5.56 STANAGs to keep your weapon up, and in the fight.

Something to watch out for as a gunner, is that some magazine types may not be compatible with one another and will not provide you with the "link belt" option. An example of this is the "M249 Softpacks", they may not be compatible with the 'link belt' feature if you are using two different types of magazines; [i.e: M855A1 Softpack(Olive), and M855A1 Softpack(Coyote)].

As previously stated, magazine choice is an important selection for you to make upon the choices that are provided for you both in our mod pack, and in the vanilla Arma 3 content. Some ammo types to note below are listed.
 * M855(Mixed) - SS109/M855 NATO ball can penetrate up to 3 mm (0.12 in) of steel at 600 meters. "Mixed" stands for 'tracer mix'.
 * M855A1 - A lead-free 62 grain (4.0 g) projectile with a solid copper core, and is tailored for use in rifles with shorter barrels.
 * M200(Blank) - These are 'blanks'.  NEVER  take these rounds into an operation. They have no projectile, and are only designed for training use.

Weapon Overheatin g
Onto weapon heating. The rate at which your barrel temperature heats is all dependent on both the rate at which you fire, and the caliber of the weapon you are firing. The larger up you go in caliber, the faster the weapon overheats. This is why it is extremely important to bring a Spare Barrel with your gunner loadout. Having the option to change your barrel is a crucial tool that every operator of a machine gun should have access to. To change your barrel yourself, you may press your self-interaction key and select "Swap Barrel". To check your barrel(s) temperature, self interact, and select "check weapon temperature/check spare barrel's temperature". It is always best to change your barrel when your temperature gauge enters the yellow zone. This is when you will likely begin to experience weapon jams. If you are to ever encounter a weapon jam, you may clear it by pressing SHIFT + R.

Now, how else do we manage our barrel temperature? The answer is quite simple. One tactic to keep your weapon from overheating is to fire it in three to five-round bursts, or five to seven round bursts. This will allow your weapon to cool between engagements and keep you from encountering weapon jams.

Assistant Gunning
It is the "Assistant Gunner's" responsibility to spot targets for the Gunner (i.e.; call range, call references, and call out where your gunners rounds are landing), change barrels, check weapon temperatures, and check round counts for the Gunner. The assistant gunner naturally performs all of these actions at a faster rate as he is not the individual focusing solely on shooting. Additionally, a well-timed Assistant Gunner can in fact time his barrel swap perfectly with his Gunner's magazine change. Timing it just right will allow the Assistant Gunner to slot in a cool or "cold" barrel and if done correctly, both the Gunner's weapon will be locked, loaded, and with a fresh barrel.

One way to spot and call out targets to your Gunner is by using "ADDR"; Alert, Direction, Description, and Range. ADDR is a contact report you would most commonly use as a rifleman to alert your team members to threats. An example of what this would sound like would be; "Contact southwest, enemy fireteam 500m out."

Talking Guns
"Talking Guns" refers to two Gunners firing in succession of one another--  'or one after the other'. Applying talking guns on the infantry level allows you to have a sustained continuity of fire on an enemy position whilst conserving ammo and barrel temperature on your Gunners' weapons.

Certification Grade
All operators attending the certification will be expected to engage and suppress six random targets with accurate area fire at engagements distances of 800 meters and below. Shooters will also be graded on the speed and technical knowledge at which they will change barrels, link belts, clear jams, and maintain barrel temperature throughout the certification process. All shooters attending this certification will be working in pairs, with one person as the gunner, and one person as the assistant gunner. After one individual engages their five target areas, the roles will flip. You will lastly be graded on your communication and success at applying talking guns on one target area.