Carolina QuotesAK-47: A selective fire, Russian-designed and manufactured assault rifle used by the North Vietnamese. Fires a 7.62mm round at a muzzle velocity of 2,330 feet per second. Noted for its simple and rugged construction, it is much heavier than an M-16 (11.3 lbs vs. 8.42 lbs) and harder to control (harder kick because of the heavier round) when firing on full automatic. A somewhat crude but effective weapon.
Franklin D. Miller Carolinian
Source
Glossary, p. 203
- work
- Reflections of a Warrior (1991)
- year
- 1991
- locator
- p. 203
Cite this record
“AK-47: A selective fire, Russian-designed and manufactured a…” Franklin D. Miller. Carolina Quotes, record CQ-0EED64574F. https://carolinaquotes.com/quote/0eed64574f
More from Franklin D. Miller
But I'll tell you what. I'd rather have one of them in an asskick than an American, any day. That's not meant as a derogatory comment on American fighting men, but simply a compliment regarding the tremendous fighting abilities of the Yards. They are natural hunters, people born to the hunt. Many times we'd be in a fight and I'd look downhill or across from me and the Yards would be on the move. I very rarely had to tell them anything. I'd see them fix their eyes on the enemy and move like they were stalking game. Once they learned your personality and technique no words were necessary. Eye contact said it all.
Once, a student asked me what the secret was to being a good combat leader, a man who commands the loyalty and respect of his subordinates. That was a question I'd been formulating the answer to for many years, almost from Day One when I set foot on Vietnamese soil. My answer to him and the class was a simple one which I would repeat many times throughout the years. "If you want a soldier's respect and loyalty, you must demonstrate two things. First, you must show that you know more than the soldier you are leading. Your subordinate must be aware that you have knowledge he does not possess, and that you are trying to teach him. "The second thing you must demonstrate is a genuine concern for his safety and well-being. The concern must be real, because a young soldier can spot a faker a mile away. If your concern for him is genuine- and he knows it- then you can rest assured that he will follow you into the jaws of death."
And so I began in earnest my awkward assimilation into the training environment and the peacetime Army. And after all the trials and tribulations, the blood, sweat, and tears, I'm still in the Army today, twenty-five years and untold heartaches later. Maybe I'll make it a career.