Another thing that goes 'BOOM'

My teeth rattled in my head, but I absolutely loved it.

The large cannon recoiled down into the dirt. I looked to the sky. The round sailed into the clouds and disappeared. One of the marines clicked open the back hatch of the gun and ejected the canister. White smoke billowed from the tube as he interested a long swab to clean it out. Black water dripped from the barrel down the beige steel. Two marines came running from the ammo cache with another round to insert, followed by a third to push it in. Their hands and faces were stained with gun powder and soot. Their movements were fluid and almost robotic.


The 155mm Howitzer is the modern day cannon. What was once simply loading a cannon ball into a iron cast tube is now a complex series of calculations and loading procedures. It is a weapon that can reach it's target from over 11 miles away.

Several commands were being shouted as the Marines systematically reloaded the weapon. One marine looked through an instrument on the side and repeated the measurements from the radio man. The gun powered packet was inserted after the round, and the gunner slammed the blacken hatch shut.

BOOM

The shot forced me to blink my eyes. The round flew through the sky. My teeth rattled again. I followed the 95 pound round through the sky as it left the gun. It disappeared behind the clouds. The Marines repeated the same movements to reload the gun.





Military occupation specialty (MOS) selections are coming soon. For each officer, we get to choose what specific job to have while severing in the marines. Many choose infantry as their first choice. For me, after watching this massive cannon fire and the Marines that operated it, artillery is now among my first choices.


Although, I might want to keep all my teeth and hearing intact for the next four years. So I'll keep thinking about this one.


Thanks for reading :-)