b'The Ordnance Bomb The Ordnance BombWarfighter Focus ity to the almost 50 yearering size constraints forinregardstocaseselec- Microsoft Excel and Visu-oldvehicle.However,asstoragewithintheAAVtion and design. First ar- al Basics for Applications withanynewtechnolo- hull and potential serviceticle prototype delivery is(VBA) to develop a local-Assualt Amphibian Communitygycomesnewchalleng- onfuturefieldedAm- pending late September. izedmethodofissuing es.WhencomparedtophibiousCombatVehi- Everyarmoryweapons/optics at no cost Champions Safety with InnovationtheUGWS,theCROWScles. This case will enableacrosstheCorpshasal- tothegovernment.This presentanobstacleforan AAV crew to conductways been challenged byenables the armory custo-Submitted by WO2 Matt Pickelsimer weaponsstorage.Asa weapons swap in orderissuingweapons/opticsdians to easily input per-whereUGWSemployto flex to mission needs,to personnel and the as- sonnelinformationinto As many are already aware,boththeMK19andM2prevent the weapon fromsociatedadministrativethedatabaseusingstep the Assault Amphibian Communitysimultaneously,CROWSbeingdamagedbyjos- burden.Theautomat- bystepinstructionslo-has been undergoing many changesemploys one weapon at atlingaroundwithintheed armory, has been onecated on user forms em-and transformations since the inci- time. The general consen- hull,preventrust,savesolutiontothisageoldbedded within VBA. The dent on the west coast last summer.sus is that AAV crews stillhullspacebyintegratingproblem.end result is a system that Theincidentalthoughtragic,hasintend to take both gunssome SL3 for the CROWSWhileoutstandinginproduces the appropriate undoubtedlyfosteredanenviron- onCROWSintegratedintodeadspacearoundmanyways,italsopres- NavyandMarineCorps ment of innovation not only withinAAVs.Thenwheredoesthe weapon, and prevententsitsownchallenges,formsforeachMarine the Assault Amphibian Communi- that leave the second ma- personnel injuries from aspecificallycost.Neverandhasashortlearning ty, but Ground Ordnance as well.chinegun?Theanswer,aheavymachineguncom- satisfiedwiththestatuscurvefortheinevitably Specifically within 2d Assault Am- ruggedandwaterproofingintocontactwithaquo,oneofourElec- high turnover rate of ar-phibian Battalion (2d AABn), thisweaponcasethatcanfitMarine. Industrial SupplytroOpticsTechnicians,morycustodians.Other has led to several innovations thateithertheMk19orM2Company and U.S. FoamLanceCorporal(LCpl) currently benefit the unit or are inplatformwhileconsid- andEtchwerecontactedKillian was able to utilizeContinued Page 12 the process of coming to fruition. Over the last year 2d AABn has begun transitioning to the 7800iMGySgt. John Pierce Retires After 30 YearscommunicationsplatformwithinAdvanced Combat Vehiclewithhispositiveandin- ateforhisMOSschool.LightArmoredRecon-ourAssaultAmphibiousVehiclesCrewman Helmet after NVD platetelligentcontributionstoLCplPiercereceivedor- naissance Battalion, where (AAVs). This modernized commu- installation boththetechnicalandders to 1st Tank Battalion,he served as the Battalion nication platform provides techno- personal domains.Please1stMarineDivision,29Optics and Turret Chief. logicaladvancestoalignwithaneral effort within the battalion forjoin together as the com- Palms, California. In January of 1998, everchangingmission.Integrateda better solution. The decision wasmunityinwishinghimIn March of 1993,SergeantPiercereport-within this system is the Advancedmadetogoforwardwithdrillingfair weather and followingLanceCorporalPierceed to Parris Island, South Combat Vehicle Crewman Helmet,a hole in order to mount an NVDseas in his transition fromwas assigned to AT/TOWCarolinaforDrillIn-commonly known as The CommBracket,andsubsequentapprovalactive service.Platoon, where he servedstructorSchool.Hewas Helmet. Although an outstandingofamodificationfromProgramMasterGunneryas a TOW Missile Techni- subsequentlyassignedto piece of equipment in its own right,ManagerAdvancedAmphibiousSergeant Pierce was borncian and, after promotionIndiaCompany,3rdRe-it has one distinct draw back. TheAssault. This will allow our Marines MasterGunneryin Pomona, California onto Sergeant, the BattalioncruitTrainingBattalion, helmet does not come with an inte- to conduct night operations in theSergeant John Pierce is re- April 23, 1969 and enteredOptics Chief.He partic- where he served as a Drill grated Night Vision Device (NVD)interest of efficiency and above all,tiring 1 October 2021 afterthe Marine Corps on Oc- ipatedintwoJointTaskInstructor, Senior Drill In-Bracket,norisitdrilled/tappedsafety. ogy to the AAV platform. CROWS30 years of faithful servicetober 29, 1991.After grad- Force6operationswithstructor, and Series Gun-for said bracket. The easy fix is ofAlargecomponentof2denables a Marine to fire either theto our Corps and the Ord- uationfromMCRDSanDEAandBorderPatrolnery Sergeant.course to utilize the old MohawkAABns way into the future has beenM2A1orMk19Mod3fromin- nance Community. Diego,hewasassignedalongtheU.S.-MexicoInJuneof2001, Strap design which has been usedthetransitionfromUp-Gunnedside the vehicle using a computerIf you have not di- theMOSof2171,Elec- border,resultingintheStaffSergeantPiercere-withsomesuccess.However,theWeaponStations(UGWS)tothescreenandjoystick.Consideringrectly served with Mastertro-opticalOrdnanceRe- seizure of illegal narcotics. ported to 1st Tank Battal-strap is prone to become loose orCommon Remote Weapon StationsthatmanyofouryoungMarinesGunnery Sergeant Pierce,pairman,andtransferredInFebruaryofion,29Palms,wherehe catch on gear or equipment within(CROWS).Thisnewintegrationarevideogamecentric,thishasknowwithoutdoubtthattoMCLBAlbany,where1996,SergeantPierce the vehicle. This has led to a unilat- has brought 21st century technol- brought a whole new level of lethal- he has impacted all of ushewasthehonorgradu- transferredtoSecondContinued Page 12 8 Custodis Pro Ferrum Volume 3, Issue 4 932 Military Appreciation Resource Magazine HOctober 2021H Thank You For Your Service'