Marines Call US Help Desk in The Middle of A Firefight To Fix Gun
For Don Cook, a veteran of the U.S. Marines, it was the customer service call of a lifetime.
Cook has been servicing Barrett .50 caliber M-107 rifles for 17 years. You can imagine the beating they take from recoil, sand, salt water, blistering heat and arctic cold. He also sometimes mans the customer service line.
The memorable tech support call he received from a Marine was anything but routine. The Marines were in the middle of an active firefight, and they needed help, according to Tribunist.
The weapon wasn’t firing reliably, the seconds were ticking by, and lives were at stake.
Cook surmised that the ears of the lower receiver had been bent during maintenance the night before. He instructed the Marine to pound down the ears with the bolt carrier of the rifle. Incredibly, the trick worked and the weapon resumed firing.
“They accomplished that in over 30 seconds, 45 seconds, and before I knew it, they actually had the weapon firing again. They told me, ‘Thank you very much.’ They had more important things to do, and I heard a dial tone. It was that quick,” Cook said.
Here’s a terrific background video on the creation of the Barrett .50 caliber M-107. Our incredible story begins just after the nine-minute mark:
“It’s probably one of the biggest highlights of my life, to be able to help a Marine unit in a firefight,” Cook said.
The M-107 is a recoil-operated, semi-automatic sniper rifle officially manufactured as an anti-materiel rifle for blowing up cars and such.
Due to its extreme range and the effectiveness of the .50 Browning machine gun round it uses, it’s also mighty efficient on humans and is often used as an anti-personnel sniper rifle, according to Range365.
The brotherhood of Marines is eternal. Those Marines never dreamed they would be talking to one of their own when their gun jammed, and Cook likely saved lives that fateful day.
Semper fi, Don Cook. We’re glad you were there when you were needed.
Please share on Facebook and Twitter to honor our Marines, there and here, who give their all every day.
What do you think about this quick-thinking gun technician?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for commenting. Your comments are needed for helping to improve the discussion.