M-60 Gunner

The M60 Gunner was a crital member of the squad.  He had the ability to lay down a large volume of fire.  He usually has an Assistant Gunner somewhere very close by to help with the ammo and laying of the gun.  The Assistant Gunners job also included protecting to some degree the Gunner who is, needless to say, attracting a great deal of attention when he opens fire.  Many members of the squad would be humping ammo for “The Pig”, so it is always good to have a few belts of ammo scattered amoung your men in the squad.  Remember to carry the belts like bandoleers and the bullets point out away from your neck, not inwards so they can jab you.  Given the weight of the M60 machine gun your gunners were often of larger build or muscular in nature.  You did not see a lot of 100 pound troops humping the Pig!

The 60 Gunner was issued an M1911A1 pistol, so he would have the magazine pouch on his web gear along with the pistol holster (black not brown).  He would be carrying at least two spare belts of ammo.  These might be carried in the small canvas bandoleer pouches which had a carboard box inside containing 100 rounds of ammunition, or they might be removed from the pouch and clipped together into a loop and worn that way.  The gunner would also have the larger sized bottle of LSA lubricant handy.  The Assistant Gunner would also be carrying the spare barrel bag which contained one spare barrel, an asbestose mitt to handle it with and various cleaning rods and tools.