PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-694
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 694
SEPTEMBER 2010
24
PS 694
SEP 10
Dear Editor,
Through our work repairing weapons here at the Ft Polk DOL, we’ve come
up with several ways armorers can let their support support them:
Clean weapons
thoroughly before
you take them for
gaging or repair.
It is
a waste of everyone’s time
to bring a dirty weapon
to field support. A dirty
weapon can’t be gaged
accurately, particularly for
headspacing and barrel
straightness. A dirty
weapon will almost always
flunk those two tests.
If we receive a dirty
weapon, we immediately
kick it right back to the
unit, which means the
armorer has to redo the
paperwork. The armorer
should check every weapon
for cleanliness
before
he
sends it to support.
Be as specific as
possible about what’s
wrong when you fill
out paperwork for
repairs.
Sometimes
we receive forms that
say nothing more than
“Doesn’t work.” Then we
have to try to figure out
what the problem is. The
more specific you are,
the quicker we can repair
the weapon.
Pay special attention to the chamber.
Armorers can save trips to
support if they make sure the chambers of all their weapons are kept clean.
A dirty chamber leads to extracting problems, which leaves shells stuck in
the barrel. Once the barrel cools and contracts, it’s sometimes impossible
for us to get the shell out. Then we have to replace the barrel.
Some Soldiers think CLP
alone will get the chamber
clean. That’s wrong. You need
CLP (or RBC for the MK 19),
a chamber brush, and lots
of elbow grease to clean the
chamber. A clean chamber
should shine. You can check
by shining a flashlight in the
chamber.
Small Arms…
Let
Field
Support
Support
You!
hey,
I’m
not going to
support until
you clean me.
it’s a
wasted trip
otherwise!
tell ‘em
I’m not
extracting
well…
Chamber should shine if it’s clean
…don’t tell ‘em
I’m not worth a
darn again!
no
way we’re
taking
those
weapons!
what!?
why
not?!
you gotta
clean
‘em
before
we
fix
‘em.
694.24-25.indd
1-2
8/4/10
11:29:24 AM
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