Went to Camp Ripley this weekend to fire pistolas and do sling loads. We fired qualification Saturday AM then loaded the pistols up on racks and left them with the supply dude. We then went and did lifts and sling loads for an infantry platoon.

Around 4 in the afternoon when we finished we went in search of our pistols to clean them. We were told the Brigade HQ people were at building # 90-134 cleaning their rifles and our pistols were there also. When we found the building, I was amazed to find it is a [b]weapons cleaning building![/b] complete with spray tanks, bins for the parts of each rifle or whatever and all kinds of other neat stuff.

[img]www.milpubs.com/images/cleaning.jpg[/img]

and another

[img]www.milpubs.com/images/cleaning2.jpg[/img]

Its a great idea I think, but I wonder what happens when the troops who never have to actually use a cleaning kit end up in combat and there is no "cleaning building" to be found?

Aviator  [img]www.milpubs.com/aviator.gif[/img]

Nice!  That's what I need.

Can you explain what the guys at each station are doing?

Nice, Its bad enough the Marines get Army leftovers. No wonder there is no extra cash for aircraft engines and chemical suit bags... The Army is using it all to make their troops even more lazy :)

Being a Marine was all about cleaning that bitch anyway!

2 weeks in the field (army inf) at ripley only to come back to desolate shithole of a base (no weapons cleaning building then...)  got old real quick.  Got a pizza outside the gate. I didnt smell to good, got some funny looks from the local yokels with the face paint/lbe on.  flew in there once on a 130 an did some sort of "combat landing" did a 180 turn in about a 1/4 mile and dropped like a rock on the short runway.  had to bring a 130 engine up there for another one of our planes.  Just about got flattened by a 2000 lb generator when the 130 winch broke sending the thing down the ramp untethered-much more fun being in the AF.

I need a weapons cleaning building!

Do those little booths have ventilation systems to suck out the nasty fumes so the guys won't lose any brain cells? he he

what brain cells?


heheh  i need one of them there cleaning rooms...

Your tax dollars at work! [pissed]

I recall being shown this Advanced Weapons Cleanings System (AWCS)(?) back in the early 80's.  was something like a heated and presurized cleaning solution with a fixed sprayer.  Worked great in the one training segment we had (2 hours(??).  NEVER saw that thing again!!

The red thing was sort of like a parts washer setup with brass brushes. The taller grey ones were steam/solution sprayers with high pressure spray guns. There were no exaust hoods, but the whole building was like a garage. Square and seperated into 6 cleaning "bays" by chain link fence. I suppose that is so there could be no theft of another units weapons. Each bay had a garage door that led into it. I was standing in those doors when I took the photos. Outside there were air compressors you used to spray the cleaned weps to get any remaining solution off. You also oiled em back up outside. Each person had a grey tub to keep his or he parts in.


Aviator  [img]www.milpubs.com/aviator.gif[/img]

Since when do troops wear headgear inside?

ps.. no, I don't think that cleaning weapons is considered "Under Arms" either.