Dear Editor,
Which is stronger: the CROWS elevation servo motor or the M2A1 machine gun mounting pin? Trick question! The answer is, neither.
After the machine gun is removed from the mount, make sure to push the pin back in. You’ll find the steps in WP 0016-7 of TM 9-1090-219-10 (Mar 17).
Correctly placed pin
Incorrectly placed pin
Otherwise, when the gun is elevated or function checked, the pin will strike the right side support assembly (RSSA). Then you've got a bent pin.
This pin has been bent.
But wait! There's more. The pin will bend, but not break. So it may damage the elevation servo. It's like a "two-fer," but not in a good way. A simple push can save you and your unit a lot of grief.
Karl Hayhurst
Ft Polk, LA
Editor’s note: Karl, that’s really the kind of “two-fer” we want to avoid. Thanks for showing troops what right looks like. Soldiers, don’t forget to push in your mounting pin, just like it says in the TM.