Breaching Round for M-16s (Ding-Dong!)
Another SOCOM (Special Operations Command) weapon has become popular with regular troops in Iraq. It’s a 12 gauge shotgun that replaces the 40mm grenade launcher under an M-16 or M-4 rifle (using the same attachment hardware), and firing a special shotgun round for blowing down doors. The Knight’s Armament Company (KAC) "12-gauge `Masterkey’ breaching module" has a three round magazine, a ten inch barrel and weighs nine pounds. The shotgun can be used alone, with the addition of a special stock attachment.
Usually, one or two rounds will knock down most doors. The large number of raids U.S. troops perform in Iraq, makes this weapon popular. Many units simply take along shotguns, loaded with the solid shot "breaching rounds." But the KAC system means one less piece of equipment to carry, and gives the user an M-16 rifle to use as well.
"Fatima! Someone’s at the door! Open it quick before they blow it down!"
American nuclear sub grounded in Spain (followup)
An American nuclear sub (the USS Hartford) that grounded itself while training off the Spanish coast two months ago, apparently suffered worse damage that originally thought. The sub has just recently been dry docked and examined in detail. It was known that the bottom half of the rudder was torn off, but the gouges in the hull were deeper than first thought. Initially, it was thought that the damage was less serious. Although the sub was able to steam back to dry dock facilities at Groton, Connecticut, it had to do so at half speed, taking a month for a trip that normally is made in two weeks.
The cause of the accident was sloppiness by the six sailors in the navigation team. Too much time was allowed to elapse between position updates and the sub went aground while navigating shallow coastal waters. All six sailors in the "navigation party" were punished for dereliction of duty. The captain of the sub, and his boss (the commander of Submarine Squadron 22, based in Spain), were both relieved of duty. The implication here is that the training and discipline of the navigation party were not up to standard, and the ship’s captain and the squadron commander are responsible for training and discipline. The damage to the Hartford may require expensive repairs to the hull and keep the sub out of service for up to a year.
Big oops here. Sounds like a bunch of careers just hit the rocks.
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