# What is this soldier with a mortar wearing on his wrist?; All soldiers know can operate the weapon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 10, 2013, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472 "2013-09-10T03:47:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472/41 "2013-09-13T19:01:17Z")
> [@yoyodyne](#): > > This guy is almost certainly not a mortarman though right? Don’t the special forces guys just get special training on the weapons they use? I’m not sure about the Marines. In the Army an 18B Special Forces Weapons Sergeant is trained and proficient in the use of all mortars (and all other weapons). Its not just a familiarization. ---
**Author:** ![Blakeyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blakeyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blakeyrat)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472/42 "2013-09-13T20:07:41Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Hip fired. > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB-r352j2FI](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB-r352j2FI) Intellectually I know it’s a drop in the bucket. But emotionally it bugs the hell out of me seeing soldiers just dicking around with expensive military equipment. Kind of like if I took a company car, spun donuts for 15 minutes, filmed it, then sent the film to the CFO of my company. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472/43 "2013-09-13T20:26:56Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Hip fired. > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB-r352j2FI](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB-r352j2FI) Aren’t mortars normally fired by dropping the round down the tube and having it hit a firing pin? How did the soldier in this video control the firing? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472/44 "2013-09-13T23:39:43Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I’m not sure about the Marines. In the Army an 18B Special Forces Weapons Sergeant is trained and proficient in the use of all mortars (and _all_ other weapons). Its not just a familiarization. Italics added. Surely there is some limit. Do you know what that might be? ---
**Author:** ![Glazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e57/32.png) [@Glazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glazer)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472/45 "2013-09-13T23:53:54Z")
I don’t think they train on the atlatl any more. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472/46 "2013-09-14T03:35:18Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > Aren’t mortars normally fired by dropping the round down the tube and having it hit a firing pin? How did the soldier in this video control the firing? Normally, yes. But the 60mm is unique in that it has a trigger and a selector switch allowing it to be either drop-fired or trigger-fired. Trigger firing allows the weapon to be preloaded and ready to fire immediately upon enemy contact. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472/47 "2013-09-14T03:40:54Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Normally, yes. But the 60mm is unique in that it has a trigger and a selector switch allowing it to be either drop-fired or trigger-fired. Trigger firing allows the weapon to be preloaded and ready to fire immediately upon enemy contact. Learn something new every day, thanks. 🙂 I had heard of them being used in the Brown Water Navy and could never understand how that worked. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472/48 "2013-09-14T23:02:34Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > Learn something new every day, thanks. 🙂 > > I had heard of them being used in the Brown Water Navy and could never understand how that worked. BWN means Coasties or Littoral Protection ships (I don’t know if that is a thing)? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472/49 "2013-09-14T23:04:15Z")
> [@Glazer](#): > > I don’t think they train on the atlatl any more. Thang-kyoo! Definitely worth a google. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472/50 "2013-09-14T23:40:08Z")
Well, a Navy blog has this motto: PROACTIVELY “FROM THE SEA”; LEVERAGING THE LITTORAL BEST PRACTICES FOR A PARADIGM BREAKING SIX-SIGMA BEST BUSINESS CASE TO SYNERGIZE A CONSISTENT DESIGN IN THE GLOBAL COMMONS, RIGHTSIZING THE CORE VALUES SUPPORTING OUR MISSION STATEMENT VIA THE 5-VECTOR MODEL THROUGH CULTURAL DIVERSITY. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472/51 "2013-09-14T23:43:10Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > BWN means Coasties or Littoral Protection ships (I don’t know if that is a thing)? [These Guys.](http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/riverine.htm#viet) ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472/52 "2013-09-16T11:40:37Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Well, a Navy blog has this motto: > > PROACTIVELY “FROM THE SEA”; LEVERAGING THE LITTORAL BEST PRACTICES FOR A PARADIGM BREAKING SIX-SIGMA BEST BUSINESS CASE TO SYNERGIZE A CONSISTENT DESIGN IN THE GLOBAL COMMONS, RIGHTSIZING THE CORE VALUES SUPPORTING OUR MISSION STATEMENT VIA THE 5-VECTOR MODEL THROUGH CULTURAL DIVERSITY. Sweet Jesus, **Chaco** and Joseph, that has got to be some of the Navy’s [del]finest[/del] worst writing _ever_. I mean, doctrine is tough to read, but it’s supposed to be easy enough for a bare-bones basic trainee to follow. That’s just. . . _painful_. Where the hell did you find that? 😕 Tripler I had to slap myself, and re-read that three times. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472/53 "2013-09-16T15:17:48Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Italics added. > > Surely there is some limit. Do you know what that might be? All. US fielded Personal and crew served weapons up to .50 cal. Heavy weapons up to 120mm mortar. Anti aircraft and anti-tank portable weapons systems. And their equivalents fielded by other countries since they often have to train others on foreign weapons. As you might imagine, their training program is quite long. [http://usmilitary.about.com/od/enlistedjobs/a/18b.htm](http://usmilitary.about.com/od/enlistedjobs/a/18b.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472/54 "2013-09-16T16:25:35Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Well, a Navy blog has this motto: > > PROACTIVELY “FROM THE SEA”; LEVERAGING THE LITTORAL BEST PRACTICES FOR A PARADIGM BREAKING SIX-SIGMA BEST BUSINESS CASE TO SYNERGIZE A CONSISTENT DESIGN IN THE GLOBAL COMMONS, RIGHTSIZING THE CORE VALUES SUPPORTING OUR MISSION STATEMENT VIA THE 5-VECTOR MODEL THROUGH CULTURAL DIVERSITY. > [@Tripler](#): > > Sweet Jesus, **Chaco** and Joseph, that has got to be some of the Navy’s [del]finest[/del] worst writing _ever_. > > I mean, doctrine is tough to read, but it’s supposed to be easy enough for a bare-bones basic trainee to follow. That’s just. . . _painful_. Where the hell did you find that? 😕 > > Tripler > I had to slap myself, and re-read that three times. It is the standing motto of this [US Navy blog](http://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/), not a US Navy US Navy blog. Things are bad at the Navy Yard now. > [@Loach](#): > > All. US fielded Personal and crew served weapons up to .50 cal. Heavy weapons up to 120mm mortar. Anti aircraft and anti-tank portable weapons systems. And their equivalents fielded by other countries since they often have to train others on foreign weapons. As you might imagine, their training program is quite long. > > [http://usmilitary.about.com/od/enlistedjobs/a/18b.htm](http://usmilitary.about.com/od/enlistedjobs/a/18b.htm) Wow. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472/55 "2014-11-17T01:51:10Z")
I just watched the HBO miniseries _The Pacific_. (Horrifying, profound. No way a “Pacific Band of Brothers.”) Anyway, one of the central characters is a mortarman. What does “hang” or “hang {something I couldn’t hear}” mean? It seems like “The shell is now being dropped into the barrel.” Do they still call them stovepipes? Any comments about the scenes with the mortar? Eg, re old-style/new-style weapon and associated firing techniques, or how they are directed to be used by commanders, and how they are used by the soldiers, in awful fast moving battles? ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472/56 "2014-11-17T02:24:31Z")
Yes, “to hang” a round means " to drop it into the tube, thereby firing it". Haven’t seen the mini-series, so can’t comment on any of the scenes. Calling the mortar a “stovepipe”? I assume someone does. I don’t think it’s common, but maybe around a mortar company it might be. I think, if anything, “tube” is more common. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472/57 "2014-11-17T06:47:27Z")
I figure the guy’s grasping the tube with both hands to 1) help steady himself, B) help prevent the tube from jumping as the round fires, and iii), if his hands are there around the tube, they’re out of the way of the round as it comes out of the tube. Think of the actions to fire a round. He’s holding the round base down just barely in the tube, he give it a good shove down there and his hands are on the way down, so he grabs on to the tube to stop his hands and the other stuff I mentioned. In my time, it was a SF Armorer/Artificer Sergeant who knew EVERYTHING about any man or crew portable (you try lugging a M-2 .50 cal. BMG around over your shoulder without some help) weapon the US had and the opposition was likely to have also. And they’re good fellows to be friendly terms with if you wish you had a rear sight with a smaller aperture on your M-16a1 and you happen to have a bottle of Jack, Jim, or Johnny you don’t have any other use for. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472/58 "2014-11-17T07:41:05Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > The soldier is wearing something on that harness on his back with an antenna folded into an upside down “U” sticking out. He could be receiving some sort of targeting information on that unit and the wrist-piece is the readout/control for it. Or he could be carrying this high-tech marvel of space-age engineering people call “a field radio” 😉 (beaten by a mile, I know) [QUOTE=Blakeyrat] But emotionally it bugs the hell out of me seeing soldiers just dicking around with expensive military equipment. [/QUOTE] What do you expect from 20-somethings dropped in the middle of nowhere with expensive military equipment and orders to wait…and wait… and wait… ? Rock tossing and drawing dicks on every available surface only goes so far. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472/59 "2014-11-17T12:12:50Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > **Bear\_Nenno** beat me. He’s wearing a GPS on his wrist, and Merrell brand boots on his feet. It’s not Gucci gear, per se, but damned comfy and necessary if you’re on the move-and-shoot. > > Tripler > Mmmm, Merrells ::drool:: Need some alone time in your bunk?:dubious:😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472/60 "2014-11-17T14:53:22Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Or he could be carrying this high-tech marvel of space-age engineering people call “a field radio” 😉 I apologize for not being all that current in modern military communications equipment. It’s been over 35 years since I had to hump a Prick 77, and what the soldier was wearing in that photograph looked nowhere close to being as bulky or heavy as an AN/PRC 77 Radio Set. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-soldier-with-a-mortar-wearing-on-his-wrist-all-soldiers-know-can-operate-the-weapon/668472.md?page=4)